Countertransference: A contemporary metapsychological view on its intrapsychic, interpsychic, intersubjective, and objective aspects

Abstract

In her contribution, the author first deals with the general characteristics of the countertransference process and then sets forth her metapsychological hypotheses, which aim to describe the different psychic stages and movements in the analyst's mind during such process. This exploration intends to encompass its intrapsychic, interpsychic, intersubjective, and objective aspects. Her proposal aims to fulfill a twofold purpose. First is to place the countertransference process as a sort of theoretical-technical “hinge” between Freud's lines of thought imbued with the features of the modern age, and those trends influenced by postmodern ideas that put forward the opposition between the analyst's “objectivity” and his “subjectivity,” casting doubt on any possibility of being objective in our clinical practice. Her second aim is to appeal to the “witch metapsychology” and go deeper into the understanding and description of the constituent psychical movements of the process mentioned. In this case, countertransference is also suggested as a theoretical-clinical “hinge” that may help to overcome the “intrapsychic-intersubjective” opposition, based on the assumption of the predominance of one or another of these approaches during the course of an analytic therapy. This contribution attempts to add to those theoretical comprehensive trends that go beyond certain extremely confrontational positions that frequently arise in contemporary psychoanalytic discussions.

Keywords:

• countertransference
• metapsychology
• intrapsychic
• intersubjective
• interpsychic
• objectivity
• subjectivity