In this essay, the definition of countertransference and transference will be presented and described and the psychoanalytic background will be analyzed. Additionally, later on in the essay, there is an emphasis on the role and the development of transference in psychoanalysis and Freud's point of view about transference. Also, how did Freud indicate what transference eventually is and some case studies he focused on. Furthermore, counter-transference will be explained during a psychoanalytic therapy and the potential risks that occur from unrealized transference. .
The purpose of psychoanalysis is for the patient and the therapist to focus on the inner world of the patient's. This is only applicable when there is no interference from the outside world. Additionally, psychoanalysis does not only involve two people in the sessions but also sometimes more where all of them have explicit characteristics for instance; turning the patients' attention most of the time to the unconscious. Furthermore, the goal of the analyst is to keep his/her personality to the background although giving the opportunity to the patient to take the foreground (Milton et al. 2004).
The founding father of psychoanalysis is Freud and his main focus was the unconscious. Freud as a description of psychoanalysis stated: "Psychoanalysis is part of the mental science of psychology. It is also described as 'depth psychology'. If someone asks what 'the psychical' really means, it is easy to reply by enumerating its constituents: our perceptions, ideas, memories, feelings and acts of volition - all these form part of what is psychical." (Freud. 'Some Elementary Lessons in Psychoanalysis', 1938 [1940]).
To put simply, psychoanalysis is a study of a specific object; the unconscious, conducted on a frequent basis. Additionally, the unconscious arises due to the denial of people's emotions and thoughts. This is also called repression (Freud, 1925).
