Using Transference To Improve Connection

In today’s episode of the podcast, I would like to give you my take on transference. I want to share with you what I actually believe. Often lectures focus on the history of transference or what certain papers say, but I’d like to share my accumulated, internalized experiences and understanding of transference.
My hope is to make this easy to read and understand. I want to give a talk on this that can be understood both by experienced clinicians who are familiar with these concepts, who will imagine where I am pulling different pieces of wisdom and maybe where I am being creative and uniquely contributing to the field, but also by people who don’t have much of a background on transference and want to further explore it.
Link to blog: www.psychiatrypodcast.com/psy...

[@kimrobinson3981]

Thank you for pulling back the curtain a little and showing a compassionate and even handed explanation of the interrelationship in the working alliance.

[@psychiatrypsychotherapy6939]

Thank you for sharing your reflections on my attempt to increase provider compassion!

[@MsJenButler]

This really needs to be seen by everyone.

[@skionen1781]

Excellent stuff, thanks for sharing.

[@MartynaRowniak]

Such a shame I didn’t have such a good teacher during my psychiatry course

[@psychiatrypsychotherapy6939]

Thank you 🙏

[@Ciskuss]

Yeah

[@stephenrichardson1720]

Loving this series Dr. Puder!

[@psychiatrypsychotherapy6939]

Thank you!

[@petreang]

I really like your work, well done!

[@Ciskuss]

Really good content

[@Anythingforfreedom]

Matt Damon?

[@recipehacker9752]

Nope, it’s not called transference if outside a consulting room; that is called projection. Also, pts don’t ‘’place transference on you’. Poorly worded. If you are trained, you should do better

[@psychiatrypsychotherapy6939]

Thank you for engaging with the content of my video. I'd like to address the points you've raised about transference and projection. It's important to clarify that transference, while often discussed in psychoanalytic and psychodynamic contexts, is not strictly a defense mechanism. Rather, it's a phenomenon where emotions, desires, and expectations from significant past relationships are redirected or transferred onto another individual, often occurring unconsciously. This can happen in a therapeutic setting but is also common in everyday interpersonal relationships.
In contrast, projection is indeed a defense mechanism. It involves unconsciously attributing one's own unacceptable feelings, thoughts, or motives to another person. This can happen in various contexts and is a way for individuals to deal with emotions or traits they find difficult to accept in themselves.
Understanding these distinctions is crucial for both psychological professionals and anyone interested in the dynamics of human relationships. While both transference and projection are complex and can intersect in various ways, they serve different roles in how we process and interact with our internal and external worlds.

[@recipehacker9752]

@@psychiatrypsychotherapy6939 This is partly an issue of semantics. Let me explain, as an analyst. What happens universally (in all human interactions) is simply never termed ‘transference’ (at least not by analysts). It is termed projection. Projection does not always serve a defensive or a pathological function - the phenomenon of projection is part of how we interact with the world. Transference (at least to most analysts) is regarded as a specific case (I.e., class) of projection and has a narrower application. This technical term was meant to narrowly refer to that ‘thing’ that may develop in the consulting room. Again, the issue is semantics, but I have to point this out to my students all the time. N.B: a few analysts don’t believe that transference represents a specific case of projection. Be that as it may, today the general phenomenon is termed projection and, again, it only sometimes serves a defensive function (intrapsychically).