Transference and Unconscious Communication Countertransference, Theories and Analyst's Narcissism

In this article I will try to highlight several problematic characteristics of Freud's transference theory, concluding with a brief hypothesis of my own on counter-transference. I shall adopt Freud's conceptualization and therefore also use the lexis of this theoretical approach, also as regards countertransference.

I would like to state straight away that I believe Freud's transference theory is one that belongs — to use a common Freudian expression — beyond the pleasure principle, or rather, that it is a theory that is unsatisfactory in all manners of speaking. Fundamentally, we expect every theory to gratify a desire in some way; we expect it to shed light where there is darkness, coherence where there is disorder, and so on, until we are satisfied with a greater clarity in formulating the problem, in raising questions and clarifying the terms. Unfortunately, however, Freud's transference theory is unsatisfactory and, more specifically, we shall try and see if it is possible to shed light on the elements of this dissatisfaction at least. That would be better than nothing.

Furthermore, writing and talking about transference is the most difficult but also the most routine thing there is for a psychoanalyst. Indeed, it would appear that we cannot help but talk about transference. So much so, that if one looks up the bibliography or the unfailing list on Google, one finds millions of pages (11,800,000 on January 6, 2006 under the Italian entry transfert but skipping Uebertragung or transference etc.). Nevertheless, a great many of these pages are not only dedicated to the most extravagant things but also to the difficulty of dealing with and understanding transference, or they are testimony of it. Although it would appear to be extremely well-known as a general phenomenon, this is because transference poses a constant worry for psychoanalysts, both in clinical and theoretical work (which is just as necessary), at the different levels of our theories. So one can imagine