Therapist countertransference: in search of common themes and empirical referents

Throughout this issue on countertransference (CT) and elsewhere, the multiple terms used to describe CT events provide rich conceptual diversity, but also result in theoretical isolation and clinical compartmentalization. Our study and understanding of CT would benefit remarkably if we could agree on empirical-therapist features that any CT conceptualization must target. Subsequent discussions of CT then could specify which of the respective empirical features are being addressed. Accordingly, I offer a descriptive framework that asserts that CT and its hypothesized subtypes (e.g., subjective and objective) can be detected empirically whenever a therapist's experiences and actions with a particular client assume one of several definable "deviations from baseline." If, in our clinical or research pursuits, we are to understand CT, we have to take the time to assess the necessary behavioral baselines for therapists and their clients.