Approaching countertransference in psychoanalytical supervision: a qualitative investigation

A recent examination of the literature concerning countertransference and its developments reveals its clinical usefulness in different psychoanalytical cultures. Nevertheless, a shortage of publications is apparent with respect to its approach in supervision. The authors' aim in this study was to examine the concepts of transference and countertransference and how countertransference is approached in supervision, in the training of candidates, at an institute of psychoanalysis belonging to a society affiliated to the International Psychoanalytical Association (IPA). Qualitative research was carried out, interviewing supervisors and supervisees. Through analysis of the material acquired, the authors classified the data into initial, intermediate and final categories. The principal findings were subdivided into three categories: the concepts of transference and countertransference, psychoanalytical listening and the complementarity of the phenomena, and the approach to countertransference. The concepts of transference and countertransference predominantly used by those interviewed are based on the totalistic outlook. Countertransference in supervision has been approached in a more direct and objective way when compared with the previous period, although great care is taken to delimit the boundaries between supervision and personal analysis. The main aim of supervision is to broaden comprehension and to deepen the interpretations directed towards the patient. These findings suggest that the evolution of the concept of countertransference in different psychoanalytical cultures and developments in the analytical field are contributing to this change.