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Acknowledging the potential antitherapeutic effects of unrecognized countertransference is essential to every psychoanalyst. After reviewing briefly various definitions of countertransference, we will focus on one particular area, the so-called “dumb spot.” We will define this area, provide case illustrations of dumb spots, and delineate the “dumb spot” as a commonly encountered form of blind spot.
Freud's realization of the importance of understanding transference led him to explore his own experiences and feelings in the psychoanalytic situation. His understanding that his own reaction might be due to unresolved neurotic problems came during his treatment of the “Rat Man” in (1909). A year later (1910), he first used the word countertransference.
When Kernberg (1965) reviewed the modern usage of the term, he discussed two approaches which he called “classical” and “totalistic,” respectively. The classical approach is the one stated by Freud, that the countertransference is the result of the unresolved problems of the analyst. Other exponents of this view are A. Reich (1951), Glover (1955), Fliess , and Gitelson (1952). Balint and Balint (1939) would be included in this group. They introduced another dimension