Psychology

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    Therapist reactions to a client facing terminal illness: a test of ego and countertransference
    (2013) Hummel, Ann Martha; Gelso, Charles J; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    When a therapy client presents with thoughts, emotions, or behaviors that trigger a therapist's own unresolved conflicts, the therapist may experience countertransference. Client concerns that may trigger countertransference include sexuality, aggression, and death (Gelso, Fassinger, Gomez, & Latts, 1995; Latts & Gelso, 1995; Hayes & Gelso, 1993; Lacocoque & Loeb, 1988). Countertransference has been found to relate negatively with client outcome (Hayes, Gelso, & Hummel, 2011), but countertransference management can mitigate the negative effects of countertransference, and can even result in curative therapeutic responses (Gelso & Hayes, 2007). A phenomenon known as ego depletion may cause a therapist to be more vulnerable to countertransference. Ego depletion occurs when self-resources related to impulse control, decision-making, and willpower are low (Baumeister, Vohs, & Tice, 2007). Because of the relation between ego depletion and impulse control, the effect of ego depletion on countertransference was tested. Forty-five participants were randomly assigned to either a neutral or ego depletion condition, and were then presented with a scripted analogue client who discussed a potential terminal illness diagnosis. Participants responded verbally to the client, and their responses were transcribed and coded for behavioral indicators of countertransference. Participants also completed measures of affective and cognitive countertransference. Countertransference management and ego defense maturity were assessed as potential predictors of resilience to ego depletion. The participants in the ego depletion reported higher levels of content-specific affective countertransference (death anxiety), but general affective (state anxiety), behavioral, and cognitive countertransference did not differ between conditions. Countertransference management and ego defense maturity did not significantly account for variance in the relation between ego depletion and countertransference. However, the relation found between ego defense maturity and countertransference management suggests that ego defense maturity could be a precursor to countertransference management. Overall, ego depletion led to increased death anxiety, but therapists were resilient to having this content-specific reaction generalize to other forms of countertransference.
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    Women Counselors' Countertransference Reactions to Women Clients with Body Image Disturbance
    (2006-04-25) Doschek, Elizabeth E.; Gelso, Charles J.; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    Women may seek counseling for body image concerns because such concerns are common in society. Women counselors may also suffer from body image disturbance, however. Countertransference is a threat to a counselor's ability to help a client and occurs when client presenting style and/or problem taps into unresolved counselor issues. Women counselors' countertransference reactions to women clients with body image concerns were investigated in light of counselors' body image concerns and client physique in an audiovisual analogue counseling session. Counselors interacted with a video of a woman client discussing body image concerns. Client physique was manipulated such that counselors saw either a client whose physique was close to or far from the societal ideal. No significant relationships were found between the two independent variables (counselor body image disturbance and client physique) and countertransference. The nonsignificant findings are discussed in the context of the low body image disturbance in the sample.
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    COUNTERTRANSFERENCE REACTIONS IN A CROSS-RACIAL DYAD: THE ROLE OF THERAPIST UNIVERSAL-DIVERSE ORIENTATION AND PRESENTATION OF CLIENT STRENGTHS
    (2004-05-04) Harbin, James; Gelso, Charles; Psychology
    The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of universal-diverse orientation (UDO) and information on client strengths on European American therapists' countertransference to an angry African American client. Forty-five European American therapist trainees completed a measure of UDO and were randomly assigned to one of two conditions in which they were either given or not given information on client strengths. Therapists then watched and responded to a videotape of an angry African American client. Countertransference was measured in terms of therapist state anxiety, cognitive recall, and behavioral avoidance. Results showed that therapist UDO was significantly and negatively related to their countertransference reactions in a cross-racial situation. Additionally, results were not significant for the main effect of information on client strengths and for the interaction of UDO and information on client strengths on countertransference reactions. Implications for counseling and future research were explored.