Psychology Commons^™

Therapist Self-Reported Attachment Organization And Countertransference Responses To Psychotherapy Clients, Morgan Janay Pell

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

Therapists experience thoughts, feelings, and behaviors in response to their clients, which are sometimes referred to as countertransference. Such responses may be influenced by the therapist’s personal history, including the quality of their attachment experiences. Research has demonstrated that adult attachment organizations influence a person’s cognitive, behavioral, and affective responses toward close others, thus providing a useful framework for understanding some countertransference experiences of therapists. This quantitative study sought to add to the existing literature by examining the relationship between therapist self-reported attachment organization and countertransference responses to clients. Seventy-three therapists participated in this study, including licensed psychologists, doctorate-level psychologists, …