Transference and Psychoanalysis

Transference is a key aspect of psychoanalysis. Identify and discuss any instances of transference during the client's interaction with Dr. Donovan.

            Freud came to believe over the course of his life that transference is the key aspect of psychoanalysis (Murdock, 2013).  He believed every client will reconstruct an important relationship from their past with their therapist, and it is important for the therapist to be able to investigate and resolve this transference.  Because transference is comprised of both positive and negative emotions, Freud believed transference was ambivalent (Murdock, 2013).

            Helen relays an event to Dr. Donovan in which she had run into an old college professor while walking down the street in New York.  She told Dr. Donovan how running in to the professor had reminded her of a time when life was simpler, when she was in school and writing plays.  She stated he was surprised when he learned that she was no longer writing plays and she was surprised that he would not recognize that she has a life, a marriage, and children and the responsibilities that go with that.  She later had a dream in which she was floating on her back on a river, passing her husband and children and they did not even notice her as she floated by.  Meanwhile, her professor is running down the river bank shouting out for her, trying to gain her attention.  She relays that she has a “fine life,” but she thought there would be more to it because she feels as if she is not noticed.  Dr. Donovan suggests her life is like floating comfortably down the river but she wants to be noticed by her husband and children (Pearson Learning Solutions, n.d.).

            In some way, as Helen was relating her dream to her relationship with Dr. Donovan.  Her relationship with him was represented by the man running down the bank, which turned out to be her professor, a man who noticed her and was trying to rescue her.  She associates this to Dr. Donovan as you can hear her verbal expression and facial expression appear happier when Dr. Donovan asks her to describe why she believes he notices her.     

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References

Murdock, N.L. (2013). Theories of Counseling and Psychotherapy: A Case Approach (3^rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Pearson Learning Solutions [Video file]. (n.d.). Psychoanalytic Session. Retrieved from http://media.pearsoncmg.com/pcp/21270572125/index.html?wf=1&item=1