EP95 Panel 05 - Transference / Countertransference - Otto Kernberg, MD; James Masterson, MD; Salvador Minuchin, MD; Irvin Yalom, MD
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- Not yet rated
- Topic Areas:
- Topical Panels | Transference / Countertransference | Psychotherapy | Attachment | Dreamwork | Object Relations Theory | Psychoanalysis
- Categories:
- Evolution of Psychotherapy | Evolution of Psychotherapy 1995 | Pioneers in Couples and Family Therapy
- Faculty:
- Otto Kernberg, MD | James F. Masterson, MD | Salvador Minuchin, MD | Irvin Yalom, PhD
- Duration:
- 1:20:21
- Format:
- Audio Only
- Original Program Date:
- Dec 15, 1995
- License:
- Never Expires.
Description
Description:
Educational Objectives:
- To compare and contrast clinical and philosophical perspectives of experts.
*Sessions may be edited for content and to preserve confidentiality*
Outline:
Introduction and Panelist Backgrounds
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Panel introduced: Dr. Otto Kernberg, Dr. Salvador Minuchin, Dr. James Masterson, Dr. Irvin Yalom
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Format: each panelist speaks on transference/countertransference, followed by audience Q&A
Dr. Kernberg on Transference
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Defines transference as unconscious repetition of past relationships in present context
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Emphasizes need for technical neutrality to avoid distorting transference
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Identifies four types: neurotic, borderline, psychotic, narcissistic
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Describes technique of analysis vs. clarification based on clinical context
Dr. Kernberg on Countertransference
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Defines it as therapist’s total emotional response, including unresolved issues
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Differentiates concordant vs. complementary identification
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Stresses integrating countertransference into interpretations without acting on it
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Consistency and neutrality are key to effective use
Dr. Minuchin on Therapeutic Alliance and Transference
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Differentiates between alliance, transference, and transference acting out
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Alliance is a real relationship and essential for working with personality disorders
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Effective therapy converts transference acting out into therapeutic alliance
Dr. Minuchin on Countertransference
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Countertransference is inevitable; therapists must be aware of vulnerabilities
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If not manageable, therapist should refer the case
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Shares example of seductive patient and consulting a colleague to process reaction
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Stresses self-reflection before interpreting behavior
Dr. Yalom on Use of Self in Family Therapy
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Discusses therapist’s role as participant in family projections
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Warns against therapist colonizing the family structure
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Notes early family therapy's bias against psychoanalysis
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Emphasizes therapist joining without overtaking the family’s organization
Dr. Yalom on Self-Disclosure and Encounter
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Contrasts his relational approach with Kernberg’s analytic stance
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Advocates for genuine i-thou encounters and therapeutic self-disclosure
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Shares widow case where personal disclosure led to breakthrough
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Argues self-disclosure fosters patient self-acceptance
Dr. Kernberg’s Response to Yalom
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Agrees on value of authenticity but warns against replacing analysis with disclosure
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Self-disclosure can help but shouldn’t obscure transference work
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Encourages using countertransference awareness as part of interpretation
Dr. Masterson on Supervision
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Discusses value of self-disclosure in supervision to surface countertransference
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Notes therapist-patient issues often parallel supervisor-therapist dynamics
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Supervisors must diagnose distortions in supervisory relationship
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Countertransference seen as diagnostic tool for patient behavior
Dr. Minuchin on Language and Family Projection
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Emphasizes the power of words and therapist responses in family systems
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Family therapy focuses on system-level projections and collective narratives
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Shares example of family enacting fantasy of Nazi command dynamic
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Interpretation helped the family understand their systemic projections
Final Questions and Reflections
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Participant asks about countertransference in supervision
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Kernberg: supervisory relationship often mirrors unresolved therapeutic issues
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Yalom: parallel process in group therapy supervision; co-leader dynamics mirror client interactions
Credits
Faculty
Otto Kernberg, MD Related Seminars and Products
Otto Kernberg, MD, is a psychoanalyst and professor of psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical College. He is most widely known for his psychoanalytic theories on borderline personality organization and narcissistic pathology. Director of the Personality Disorders Institute at the New York Presbyterian Hospital, Westchester Division, and Professor of Psychiatry at the Weill Medical College of Cornell University. Dr. Kernberg is a Past-President of the International Psychoanalytic Association. He is also Training and Supervising Analyst of the Columbia University Center for Psychoanalytic Training and Research. Dr. Kernberg is the author of twelve books and co-author of twelve others. His most recent books are Psychotherapy for Borderline Personality: Focusing on Object Relations and Handbook of Dynamic Psychotherapy for Higher Level Personality Pathology.
James F. Masterson, MD Related Seminars and Products
James F. Masterson (M.D., Jefferson Medical School, 1951) was Director of the Masterson Group, P.C., which specializes in the treatment of adolescent and adult character disorders. Additionally, he was Director of the Masterson Institute (formerly Character Disorder Foundation); attending psychiatrist at New York Hospital, Payne Whitney Clinic; and Adjunct Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Cornell University Medical College. Masterson has authored seven books and edited two volumes, mostly on the topic of psychoanalytic approaches to character disoreders and adolescents. His seminal work on the borderline personality has made him one of the most influential and studied practitioners of modern psychoanalytic methods.
Salvador Minuchin, MD Related Seminars and Products
Salvador Minuchin, MD, developed Structural Family Therapy, which addresses problems within a family by charting the relationships between family members, or between subsets of family. He was Director of the Philadelphia Child Guidance Clinic. Although it was minimally staffed when he began, under his tutelage the Clinic grew to become one of the most modeled and respected child guidance facilities in the world. In 1981, Minuchin began his own family therapy center in New York. After his retirement in 1996, the center was renamed the Minuchin Center. Dr. Minuchin is the author of many notable books, including many classics. His latest is Mastering Family Therapy: Journeys of Growth and Transformation. In 2007, a survey of 2,600 practitioners named Minuchin as one of the ten most influential therapists of the past quarter-century.
Irvin Yalom, PhD Related Seminars and Products
Dr. Yalom is a Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry at the Stanford University School of Medicine. His major areas of interest are Group Psychotherapy and an existentially - inter-personally based individual therapy. In recent years, he has taught via narrative using short stories and novels to teach the art of psychotherapy.
Dr. Yalom was the recipient of the first ever Lifetime Achievement Award presented by The American Group Psychotherapy Association (AGPA) at the 75th meeting on March 6, 2017 in New York City.