Using the Inventory of Countertransference Behavior as an observer-rated measure

Abstract

This study examined the use of the Inventory of Countertransference Behavior (ICB) as an observer-rated measure of countertransference (CT). The ICB was originally designed for use by direct psychotherapy supervisors who assess their supervisees, but this limits its use in research and with practitioners who are not in supervision. To increase the use of the ICB as an observer-rated scale, we developed clarifying statements and examples of in-session therapist behaviors for each of its 21 items, creating an Inventory of Countertransference Behavior-Observer (ICB-O). Two separate teams of observers rated therapist CT using the ICB-O while listening to audiotaped recordings and reading transcripts of four psychotherapy dyads' sessions. Our analyses indicate that the ICB-O can be used reliably as an observer-rated measure of CT, and that differences emerged in the development of positive CT over time. We also obtained ratings of client insight and clients' and therapists' ratings of quality of sessions, and present variations in these ratings, including CT, when the treatment was classified as either more or less successful. We end the paper by presenting ways in which the ICB-O can be used in supervision, training, and research.

Keywords::

• countertransference behavior
• measurement
• insight
• outcome

Acknowledgements

We thank Claudia Perolini, Adam Joncich, Marissa Miller, Arielle Kahn, Michael Kestenbaum, and Mariela Reyes for their assistance with the ratings of countertransference. We would also like to thank Clara Hill and Mark Hilsenroth for comments provided to an earlier version of this paper.