Countertransference Issues in Psychiatric Treatment

In psychiatry, clinicians recognize the influence of their own personal
characteristics on the assessment and treatment of their patients. No
interactions in psychiatry are entirely free of countertransference dynamics.
Most major theories point to countertransference as a jointly created phenomenon
involving feelings induced by the patient combined with the conflicts and
preexisting self and object representations that the clinician brings to the
encounter.

Countertransference Issues in Psychiatric Treatment provides an
overview of theory and technique that gives the reader a detailed account of how
countertransference is used in contemporary practice. This timely reference
Illustrates the usefulness of examining countertransference issues in a wide
range of psychiatric settings, including pharmacotherapy, consultation-liaison
settings, and forensic facilities Explores the specific countertransference
dynamics evoked when clinicians treat suicidal borderline patients and the
common countertransference problems confronted when treating antisocial and
violent patients Describes the difficulties encountered in general medical
settings when physician-assisted suicide is considered as an acceptable clinical
intervention Breaks new ground in considering psychiatrist's emotional
reactions to the patient as an integral part of psychiatric practice and
discusses some of the current controversies about countertransference Reviews
cutting-edge psychoanalytic theory involving subjectivity, projective
identification, role responsiveness and countertransference enactments

Whereas most literature on countertransference is geared toward
psychoanalysis and dynamic psychotherapy, this volume illustrates how
countertransference issues must be considered in every clinical setting in which
a psychiatrist works. It is an excellent introduction to the topic for
psychiatric residents and medical students.