Countertransference in Termination: Therapist Loss Resolution and Fear of Intimacy
Open Access
Author:
Cruz, Joslyn M.
Graduate Program:
Counseling Psychology
Degree:
Doctor of Philosophy
Document Type:
Dissertation
Date of Defense:
June 01, 2007
Committee Members:
Jeffrey Hayes, Committee Chair/Co-Chair Louis Georges Castonguay, Committee Member Joyce Karen Illfelder Kaye, Committee Member Mary Boutselis, Ph D, Committee Member
Keywords:
Therapist Factors Countertransference Termination Loss Intimacy Therapy Process
Abstract:
This study examined therapist loss resolution and fear of intimacy as origins of countertransference reactions involving therapists’ affective and behavioral responses to termination, potentially affecting therapeutic outcome. In this study, therapists responded to measures that assessed their fear of intimacy and loss resolution in their personal lives. Clients and therapists then completed measures of the therapists’ behavior in the termination session, and therapists rated their anxiety during the termination session as well. Therapist loss resolution and fear of intimacy individually contributed to a limited amount of the variance in therapists’ affective and behavioral reactions in termination sessions. However, when fear of intimacy and loss resolution were jointly considered, they accounted for a significant amount of the variance in both positive and negative countertransference behavior during termination, as well as therapists’ state anxiety.