An empirical study of countertransference reactions toward patients with personality disorders

The study examined to what extent patients with cluster A + B personality disorders (PDs) evoked other countertransference reactions among psychotherapists compared with patients with cluster C PDs as well as the relationship between the different countertransference reactions and outcome.

A total of 11 therapists at the Department for Personality Psychiatry, Ullevaal University Hospital, Oslo, Norway, filled out the Feeling Word Checklist-58 (FWC-58), 2 weeks after admission and 2 weeks before discharge, for 71 patients admitted to the day treatment program. The patients were diagnosed with the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis II Disorders (SCID-II).

The study revealed that patients with cluster A + B PDs evoked more negative and less positive countertransference reactions than those with cluster C PDs. The psychotherapists varied significantly more in their reported countertransference reactions toward patients with cluster A + B PDs than toward those with cluster C PDs. Patients who dropped out of treatment evoked significantly more negative countertransference reactions after 2 weeks than patients who completed the treatment. In addition, the study revealed strong correlations between countertransference feelings and change during the treatment.

This empirical study confirms clinical narratives on specified relationships between countertransference reactions, different PDs, and treatment course.