In this book, the therapeutic concepts of transference and countertransference, which were originally developed by Freud, are placed within the context of the daily practice of social care workers and supervisors, in their contact with their clients. The term transference refers to the way in which old feelings are 'transferred' unconsciously by the client onto the care worker or supervisor. Countertransference describes the opposite: the unconscious transference of feelings from the care worker or supervisor onto the client. In transference and countertransference alike, we project our expectations about how we are seen onto the other person. We interpret for ourselves how we think the other sees us and feels about us. In doing this we run the risk of 'getting it wrong' and herein lies a potential source of miscommunication: in fact 'getting it wrong' can have a fundamental impact on the supervisory or coaching process and on the very quality of the interaction.The first section of
