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When I first heard Dr. Spotnitz mention the term anaclitic counter-transference in a paper he presented many years ago, I felt curious but annoyed. The term sounded like another unneeded addition to the language of psychobabble—like “reaggressivized energy of the countercathexes” [Hartmann, (1950), p. 134] or “the dedifferentiating influx of unneutralized narcissistic libido” (Kohut, 1971, p. 152). I was so confused that I forgot my anxiety about asking questions in front of a large audience. Dr. Spotnitz's answer to my question further confounded me and convinced me that he was not quite sure of his conceptual ground. Since I was aware of my occasional tendency toward skepticism and resistance to his ideas, I decided to wait and see. I came to feel that the term was not important and therefore did not include it in “The Transference-Countertransference Matrix” (Marshall and Marshall, 1988). As I heard more and more about it, the idea began to seem to have some merit—but was not new. As I have been working on this paper, I'm getting the feeling that I've known all about this very significant discovery for a long time.
What I asked Dr. Spotnitz was whether the anaclitic countertransference was similar to concepts of other clinicians. He modestly replied that he was not sure, that he did not have time for that determination, and would leave the problem to me. I did have the impression that he had some ideas about some foreshadowings or parallels but refrained from saying more. I accepted his challenge. In the spirit of Spotnitz (1985), Bernstein (1986) and Grey (1978) I should like to discuss the similarities and differences between the anaclitic countertransference and related concepts of other theorists. I am not especially interested in the question of who influenced whom or whether