Countertransference: A social relations perspective

Countertransference (CT)-therapists' perceptions of and reactions to their clients-falls within the broader domains of interpersonal perception and relations. Therefore, social psychological paradigms may prove useful for studying this phenomenon. The authors demonstrate how D. A. Kenny's (1994a) social relations model (SRM) can provide a useful approach for studying CT. Specifically, the SRM distinctions among target, perceiver, and relationship variance were used to understand some of the theoretical developments within clinical CT literature. The authors also suggest that findings from prior SRM research may have implications for issues within the CT literature. A sample of prior empirical research on CT was reviewed from an SRM perspective, and the authors offer suggestions for future CT studies using the SRM. Finally, the authors discuss the implications of this approach for psychotherapy integration.