Religion in the psychoanalytic relationship-some aspects of transference and countertransference

This case poses the problem of the nature of transference and counter-transference dynamics in analytic relationships in which analyst and analysand share a communality of religious background, training, belief, and commitment. In this analysis, both analyst and analysand were professionally trained and committed Catholic priests. The analysis revealed the preoedipal and oedipal determinants of the analysand's intrapsychic perspective on religious matters and his engagement in religious activities. Countertransference difficulties arose in relation to empathic resonances potentially leading to excessive empathic attunement and concordant identification on one hand and a contrary pull to possible complementary identification and role responsiveness.