Course 304: Countertransference
Instructors
Jessica Wolman, Ph.D.
Anna Balas, M.D.
December 18, 2024 – February 26, 2025
Wednesdays, 8:40 – 10:00 pm
No class: 12/25, 1/1, 2/5
Co-requisites
Candidates must have or have had at least two cases in supervised psychoanalysis to be eligible for upper level courses.
Course Description
This course will focus on the challenges and opportunities that arise from the analyst’s emotional reactions to the patient and the clinical encounter. The class will study the topic of countertransference from a variety of theoretical perspectives and will also heavily focus on clinical experience. Candidates are encouraged to discuss their own countertransference reactions.
Course Objectives
After attending this course, participants should be able to:
- articulate different theoretical models’ understanding of countertransference.
- make use of their own countertransference experiences to enrich their understanding of their own analytic cases.
Evaluation Method
Each student’s participation in class discussion and his or her demonstration of understanding of the course objectives and reading material is assessed in a written evaluation by the instructor(s).
These articles are protected under relevant copyright regulations. They are available in the New York Psychoanalytic Society & Institute Electronic Reserve for your convenience, and for your personal use.
READINGS ARE CONFIRMED.
CLASS 1: December 18, 2024
REQUIRED READINGS
Freud, S. (1915) Observations on Transference-Love (Further Recommendations on the Technique of Psycho-Analysis III). The Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud 12:157-171
Freud, S. (1912) Recommendations to Physicians Practising Psycho-Analysis. The Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud 12:109-120
CLASS 2: January 8, 2025
REQUIRED READINGS
Reich, A. (1951) On Counter-Transference. International Journal of Psychoanalysis 32:25-31.
CLASS 3: January 15, 2025
REQUIRED READINGS
Racker, H. (1957) The Meanings and Uses of Countertransference. Psychoanalytic Quarterly 26:303-357
CLASS 4: January 22. 2025
REQUIRED READINGS
Winnicott, D. W. (1975) Chapter XV. Hate in the Countertransference [1947]. Through Paediatrics to Psycho-Analysis 100:194-203
CLASS 5: January 29, 2025
REQUIRED READINGS
Steiner, J. (1994) Patient-Centered and Analyst-Centered Interpretations: Some Implications of Containment and Countertransference. Psychoanalytic Inquiry 14:406-422
CLASS 6: February 12, 2025
REQUIRED READINGS
Ogden, T. H. (1995) Analysing Forms Of Aliveness And Deadness Of The Transference-Countertransference. International Journal of Psychoanalysis 76:695-709
Ogden, T. (1997) Reverie And Metaphor: Some Thoughts On How I Work As A Psychoanalyst. International Journal of Psychoanalysis 78:719-732
CLASS 7: February 19, 2025
REQUIRED READINGS
Searles, H. F. (1959) Oedipal Love in the Counter Transference. International Journal of Psychoanalysis 40:180-190
Davies, J. M. (1994). Love in the Afternoon: A Relational Reconsideration of Desire and Dread in the Countertransference. Psychoanalytic Dialogues, 4:153-170.
CLASS 8: February 26, 2025
REQUIRED READINGS
Holmes, D. E. (1999). Race and Countertransference: Two “Blind Spots” in Psychoanalytic Perception. Journal of Applied Psychoanalytic Studies, 1:319-332.
SUPPLEMENTAL READINGS
Sandler, J. (1976) Countertransference and Role-Responsiveness. International Review of Psychoanalysis 3:43-47
Joseph, B. (1985) Transference: The Total Situation. International Journal of Psychoanalysis 66:447-454
Bird, B. (1972) Notes on Transference: Universal Phenomenon and Hardest Part of Analysis. Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association 20:267-301
Hinshelwood, R. D. (2008) Melanie Klein and Countertransference: A Note on Some Archival Material. Psychoanalysis and History 10:95-113
Jacobs, T. J. (1986) On Countertransference Enactments. Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association 34:289-307