Psychiatric symptoms and countertransference feelings: an empirical investigation

The main aim of this study was to examine the relationship between patients' psychiatric symptoms and therapists' countertransference reactions. Additionally, we wanted to examine the relationship between symptom improvement and countertransference reactions. Eleven therapists completed the Feeling Word Checklist 58 for each patient admitted to a day treatment program. Forty-two patients met the inclusion criteria. The patients completed the Symptom Checklist-90 Revised (SCL-90R) upon admission and at discharge. The study revealed several specific and significant correlations between the therapists' countertransference reactions and the patients' self-reported symptoms. At the end of treatment, notable findings included negative correlations between higher patient scores on the symptom dimensions and the therapists' feelings of being important and confident, and positive correlations between higher patient scores on the symptom dimensions and the therapists' feelings of being bored, on guard, overwhelmed and inadequate. Symptom change was positively correlated with positive countertransference feelings and negatively correlated with negative countertransference feelings. The study revealed that the patients' levels of self-reported symptoms were significantly associated with the therapists' countertransference feelings. This empirical study confirmed findings from the clinical literature of a specific relationship between symptom improvement and countertransference reactions.