‘Countertransference: a review of the concept’

Dear Sir,

In Volume 80 Theodore J. Jacobs draws a most remarkable outline of the concept of countertransference—‘Countertransference past and present: a review of the concept’, Int. J. Psychoanal., 80:575-94—integrating historical developments and implications of shifting meanings with a clarity rare in this much-battled terrain. Regrettably, his otherwise superb view from the bridge bears a singular flaw: the only mention of his own work is a bibliographic reference buried among many others.

Such authorial modesty might be appropriate on a more conventional occasion. However, Jacobs's extensive and continuing regular exploration and reporting of his study of countertransferential factors in all their varied aspects are generally recognised as a major contemporary contribution to the field, if not, as seems quite likely, the major modern contribution.

Very many have taken part in our analytic progress, but a few, such as Racker and Isakower, have made strikingly great additions to our understanding of countertransference. Jacobs is undoubtedly part of that short list. The missing presentation of the significance of his own work from his overview seems the only serious flaw in an otherwise outstanding survey.