The concept of transference is one of the foundations of psychoanalysis as developed by Sigmund Freud. During transference the patient transfers attitudes and feelings from past relations onto the therapist in the here-and-now. The sign of an internal pathology, the transference manifested against the therapist is the best roadmap or insight on which the therapist can help bring unconscious feeling and experiences from the past that impact here-and-now behavior into the conscious mind. While Freud originally developed the concept of transference and underscored its significance to the therapeutic process, contemporary therapists and different forms of therapy like family counseling have been responsible for expanded definitions and views of transference and its attendant processes. This analysis provides an in depth look at the concept of transferences, including examples of patient transference from the therapeutic setting. Also provided are different ways in which the therapist can utilize transference in a curative manner. Some misconceptions about transference and the transference process are also addressed. A conclusion provides a summary of some of the most relevant points illustrated by the research.
Transference is a rather interesting psychological phenomenon of human behavior and psychological processes. Bisbey (1993) provides the psychological definition of transference as “The experience of transferring feelings to a person which do not befit that person and which actually apply to another” (1). Transference is a unique concept in that it is akin to a biological time machine in which the individual is reacting to a person in the present in a manner they reacted to a person (object-relation) from the past. As defined in The Source, this aspect of transference is more like a “biological time machine that creates an emotional time warp that transfers your emotional past and your psychological needs into th...