Empathy, counteridentification, countertransference: a review, with some personal perspectives on the "analytic...

To understand the affect-laden psychological processes of patients in a fully informed way, analysts must be able to tolerate a regression in which their unconscious or primary-process modes of functioning are given full sway. With the aid of impressions acquired in this way, cognitive functions in the analytic task are provided with a kind of authenticity not otherwise achievable. There are potential problems that can interfere with the analyst's functioning in the desired manner, and an awareness of these problems is essential. Basic issues of theory and technique that are involved are considered herein.