The Gender of the Analyst—In Relation to Transference and Countertransference Manifestations in Prelatency Children

I have tried to illustrate through selected case material that there is a range of circumstances in which the gender of the analyst becomes important in a young child's evolving relationship with the analyst. Significant among these are nontransference configurations, such as the defensive use of the analyst as a figure for displacement of conflicts from primary objects, or in the use of the analyst in achieving a new previously untraversed developmental step. I have also briefly discussed instances in which the gender of the child appears to have some influence on the developing countertransference, especially in relation to preoedipal manifestations in young girls and women. With regard to evolving transference manifestations, I have indicated that the use of gender is representative of particular qualities of the analyst which are given meaning by the patient and subsequently utilized in the transference. I have also tried to demonstrate that the ways in which the gender of the analyst becomes important in transference or transference-related areas reflect particular conflicts and developmental phases with which the child is involved. Finally, I have indicated that the gender of the analyst can provide possible foci for resistance to transference development, serve to exaggerate a transference resistance, and work for the enhancement or attenuation of particular aspects of transference manifestations.