Examples Of Countertransference

Within the chapter, there were several topics that were presented but one that stood out to me was the ideal of countertransference. Countertransference is when a therapist transfers his or her negative emotions onto their client without knowing they are doing so (Callanan). The transferred emotions are typically inappropriate which consist of “highly defensive” acts due to conflicts in their own personal lives. It is important that a therapist sees a therapist of their own (Callanan). When a client presents an issue to a therapist and the therapist personalize it and for example, start feeling guilt (Callanan). This can be dangerous because this can hinder the progress of the client; the therapist can give the client the wrong advice due to …show more content…
As a professional, I want to become a criminal justice attorney and the level of professionalism that an attorney has when dealing with a client is extremely important. An attorney can easily transfer inappropriate behaviors to a client because of an emotional connection they have with the case. For example, if an attorney gets a case involving a child who is being abused in some way by their guardian: if the attorney has children of their own or experienced a similar case in the pass, they can easily become overprotective of the child or overly involved in the child’s personal life. Being overprotective can “reflect a[n attorney’s] fears” and it could cause the attorney to make the case personal instead of about the wellbeing of the client (Callanan). Countertransference can also become an issue regarding a professional’s religious and moral beliefs. For example, a client comes to an attorney regarding the current restroom debate─ should transgender individuals be able to choose which restroom they want to use based on which gender they identify with─ and the attorney believes that God made no mistake when he created us or he/she believes that the an …show more content…
Professionals can become stressed easily because their work can become “demanding, challenging, and emotionally taxing” (Callanan). Stress is when an event or several events become a strain on the professional that can cause “physical and psychological health problems” (Callanan). Stress can result from emotional attachments to some clients or cases, overindulging their work, not having enough personal time, etc. Empathy fatigue, burnout, or impairment can be also be a result of stress (Callanan). As a professional it is important to be able to show empathy for clients but when the professional as a whole becomes exhausted and tired due to the constant stories regarding illness, disability, trauma, or the death of a loved one, it becomes hard to show empathy. Burnout is when a professional is “physical[ly], emotion[ally], intellectual[ly], and spiritual[ly] depleted” making them feel helpless and hopeless (Callanan). Lastly, impairment is when the professional begins to experience physical or psychological depletion