Beyond Countertransference

The Therapist's Subjectivity in the Therapeutic Process
The author argues that the therapist's subjectivity is not merely counter-transference, but an indispensable component of the therapeutic process and, further, that the subjective life of the therapist is co-equal to that of the patient in creating the therapeutic transaction.
This book shows that the therapist's subjectivity is not merely countertransference, but an indispensable component of the therapeutic process. The subjective life of the therapist is co-equal to that of the patient in creating the therapeutic transaction. Throughout the book, clinical material from patients, personal data from the therapist, and theoretical discussions weave around one another in a triple helix. Thus, the subjective life of the therapist is manifestly integral to and inseparable from the verbal and nonverbal behaviour of the patient. Natterson drastically revises basic theoretical assumptions regarding the therapeutic process