Countertransference: The Therapist's Contribution to the Therapeutic Situation. Edited by Lawrence Epstein and Arthur Feiner. New York:  Jason Aronson, 1979,  476 pp.

Few concepts within psychoanalytic theory have grown in importance so dramatically as has that of countertransference. Lawrence Epstein and Arthur Feiner have compiled an eminently readable collection of articles covering the breadth of current thinking and presenting an overview of the shifting role of countertransference in the history of psychoanalytic theory from Freud's early comments on the subject through its present-day use as a therapeutic tool. In the introduction, the editors comment on the change from suppression of the analyst's feelings in a clinical situation to “genuine participation in an on-going process.” They attempt to demonstrate that countertransference is an ally of the therapeutic process rather than a hindrance as it was taken to be earlier. A stated aim is to lessen the polarization between interpersonal and intrapsychic schools. They are particularly interested in the use of countertransference as a key to resistance and in its integration into the formulation of treatment strategies, particularly the use of emotional communications with the patient.

The book is organized into three parts. Part I presents nine authors writing on “The Concept of Countertransference.” Issacharoff poses the question, “What process can give us the feeling that we know something about the patient and about ourselves?” His answer, of course, is countertransference. Issacharoff differs from a position of