Transference the TA Way Robin Walford Teaching & Supervising Transactional Analyst

Definitions Transference is a universal phenomenon of the human mind and in fact dominates the whole of each person’s relations to his human environment. (Freud 1925) Rycroft (1968 / 1995) defines transference as: 1. The process by which a patient displaces onto his analyst feelings, ideas etc which derive from previous figures in his life; by which he relates to the analyst as though he were some former object in his life, by which he projects onto his analyst object representations acquired by earlier introjections; by which he endows the analyst with the significance of another, usually prior object. 2. The state of mind produced by 1 in the patient. 3. Loosely, the patient’s emotional attitude towards his analyst. Transference is the inarticulate speech of the heart. (Hargaden and Sills 2002 quoting Van Morrisson 1983)

Transference in TA Hargaden and Sills (2002) developing the work of Kohut (1971) and Moiso (1985) divide transference into 3 types: Projective transference – defensive splitting and projection of the parent figure’s face onto the therapist Introjective transference – early child longings (idealizing, twinning, mirroring) Transformational transference – projective identification and the erotic transference

The Projective Transference The parent’s face. The client projects the mother’s or father’s face onto the therapist and then behaves towards the therapist as if they were the parent and attributes the therapist with the qualities and attitudes of the parent.

Functional Model of Ego States Nurturing Parent Controlling Parent Free/Natural Child Rebellious Adapted Child Adult Compliant Adapted Child