Selfobject countertransferences are described as those in which analysts experience patients as part of themselves. This differentiates such countertransferences from "object-instinctual countertransferences" in which the analyst feels various forms of love and hate for the patient. Selfobject countertransferences share many features of the earliest mother-child relationship when the mother experiences her child as still being "a part of herself." This early relationship is examined in some detail. Throughout this paper a selfobject is defined as part of the self or as serving the self. Some typical selfobject countertransferences are described. In an idealizing selfobject countertransference the analyst feels "aggrandized" by having gifted or successful patients. An alter-ego countertransference is said to occur when the analyst assumes that the patient thinks the way the analyst does. In a mirror countertransference the analyst needs to have the patient improve and thereby verify that the analyst is competent. This last paradigm is given detailed exploration since it is a