Beyond the what, when, and how of transference: a consideration of the why

Transference has generally been discussed in terms of its operating to distort the way in which a current relationship is dealt with and experienced because of one's past. In the present paper, emphasis is placed on that aspect of transference which operates as a defense, and which is called into play in response to signal anxiety associated with a "pathogenic complex" and is based on (1) a traumatic experience of stimulus overload or (2) an intrapsychic conflict stemming from instinctual drive pressure which in turn threatens a repetition of the traumatic experience. Clinical illustrations are presented in which both traumatic experience and drive-conflict forces are prominent, leading to a discussion of the here-and-now versus reconstruction of the past, as well as affective/cognitive and interpersonal/intrapsychic factors.