Syntonic Counter-Transference

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Syntonic Counter-Transference

In depth psychology this is a type of transference suggested by Michael Fordham in 1957 where the analyst enters into a kind of “primitive identidy” with the patient.

Apparently the analyst senses the patient’s unconscious feelings, usually at the same time as the patient but sometimes before the patient becomes conscious of them.

Clearly a mysterious and extremely difficult hypthothesis to verify, SC-T nonetheless raises questions that figures like Stanislav Grof and C. G. Jung have examined within their respective schools of transpersonal psychiatry and analytical psychology.

Another problem with the theory is that in some instances it might assume a sort of grandiose expertise on the part of the analyst, as if he or she comes to the correct realization about the supposed truth of the dynamic before the client does.

The potential for psychological abuse relating to a dysfunctional relationship and misplaced trust in the analyst and his or her ideas is arguably no small matter here.

To counteract this problem, responsible therapists speak of a “therapeutic relationship” where both doctor and client learn something from one another while maintaining emotional objectivity.

This is the ideal, of course. It’s a well known fact that Jung himself had an affair with Sabina Spielrein, one of his clients.

On the Web:

• Some thoughts on  Transference: http://pages.sbcglobal.net/mstaples/thoughts_on_transference.html

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