How do you handle transference and counter transference in the therapeutic relationship?

Transference is when a client subconsciously associates the present relationship with a past one. Countertransference is when the provider has this same association. It's important to address transference in session, while countertransference should be discussed with a supervisor or mentor.
 
Transcript: "All right, how do you handle transference and countertransference in the therapeutic relationship? So let's start off by defining these. So transference is sort of the subconscious association of a person in the present with a relationship in the past. What does that mean? That a client comes into session, they have their therapeutic relationship with their therapist or provider, and subconsciously there is a lot of similarities, whether it's in behaviors or emotions that come up for that client that are reminiscent of an experience that they've had in the past. What is countertransference? You can kind of think of it as the opposite. It's the exact same process, but instead the provider or the therapist having this subconscious sort of association of a person in the past with their patient. This comes up all the time. You can't get away from it. And so it's important to address, particularly transference. So when it's addressed in session, the patient can become aware of it and take the skills and the awareness of it outside of the session. Because typically if it comes up in session, it's not the first time it's come up and addressing it can be really helpful when it comes to awareness and recognition. As far as countertransference, also very common, you can't get away from it, but it's really not helpful to discuss in session. Typically a therapist will have a supervisor or somebody that, a mentor that they address these things with, recognize them within themselves and are able to manage them in session with the patient. So I hope that's helpful."