Countertransference behavior and management in brief counseling: A field study

The relationship between countertransference (CT) behavior and factors theorized to facilitate CT management was examined in a study of 20 counseling dyads. Previous supervisors’ ratings of counselors’ empathy and self-integration were found to relate negatively to counselors’ CT behavior. Furthermore, CT behavior was inversely related to treatment impact in cases with poor to moderate treatment results but was unrelated to treatment impact in successful cases. These data suggest that CT is not successfully managed in cases with poor to moderate treatment results so that the adverse effect on treatment results is proportionate to the amount of CT exhibited. In successful counseling, however, CT may be managed in such a way that the overall amount present is unrelated to treatment results.