The use of transference and counter-transference in assessing emotional disturbance in children

SUMMARY

In this paper clinical examples are used to illustrate the view that transference to the diagnostician (and the institution) exists from the start of the process of assessment. It is also suggested that providing an analytic setting during an assessment will facilitate the emergence of both transference and counter-transference. Sensitivity to these can add greatly to the depth and richness of understanding of the object relationships and early situations being transferred, and hence add to the understanding of the character structure and psychopathology of the child. The deeper the understanding that can be reached in an assessment, the more likely it is that any diagnostic formulation will have validity and value in generating hypotheses and in directing any further intervention. An assessment not making use of these concepts would seem to be ignoring an important dimension which psycho-analytic theory and technique can offer.