When a client projects unconscious feelings toward the therapist that he or she originally had toward a significant other, it is called

When a client projects unconscious feelings toward the therapist that he or she originally had toward a significant other, it is called

• A. Countertransference
• B. Projection
• C. Repression
• D. Transference

Answer: (D)

Transference is when the client unconsciously redirects feelings and attitudes from important people in their past—often a significant other—onto the therapist. The therapist becomes a stand-in for those figures, so the client acts toward the therapist in ways that reflect unresolved relationships. This phenomenon is useful in therapy because it can reveal deeply ingrained patterns and unresolved conflicts from the client’s history, giving the therapist a window into how the client relates to others. This differs from projection, where someone attributes their own unacceptable feelings to others rather than directing those feelings toward the therapist based on past relationships. Repression involves pushing distressing thoughts out of awareness, not directing emotions toward the therapist. Countertransference refers to the therapist’s own emotional reactions to the client, not the client’s transfer of feelings.

Transference is when the client unconsciously redirects feelings and attitudes from important people in their past—often a significant other—onto the therapist. The therapist becomes a stand-in for those figures, so the client acts toward the therapist in ways that reflect unresolved relationships. This phenomenon is useful in therapy because it can reveal deeply ingrained patterns and unresolved conflicts from the client’s history, giving the therapist a window into how the client relates to others.

This differs from projection, where someone attributes their own unacceptable feelings to others rather than directing those feelings toward the therapist based on past relationships. Repression involves pushing distressing thoughts out of awareness, not directing emotions toward the therapist. Countertransference refers to the therapist’s own emotional reactions to the client, not the client’s transfer of feelings.