Specific skills and knowledge are essential for a social worker working with children. Understanding transference and countertransference is crucial to a healthy therapeutic relationship. Both transfe

Discussion 2: Transference and Countertransference

Specific skills and knowledge are essential for a social worker working with children. Understanding transference and countertransference is crucial to a healthy therapeutic relationship. Both transference and countertransference can be evident in any client–therapist relationship, but are especially important in working with children because of a common instinct among adults to protect and nurture the young. The projection or relocation of one’s feelings about one person onto another, otherwise known as transference, is a common response by children (Gil, 1991). Countertransference, a practitioner’s own emotional response to a child, is also common.

For this Discussion, review the Malawista (2004) article.


Provide a Discussion Post containing the following content, topics, and headings:

  • Your explanation why transference and countertransference are so common when working with children.

  • Then, identify some strategies you might use to address both transference and countertransference in your work with children.

Support your posts with specific references to the Learning Resources. Be sure to provide full APA citations for your references.

Learning Resources

Note: To access this week’s required library resources, please click on the link to the Course Readings List, found in the Course Materials section of your Syllabus.

Required Readings


Chiesa, C. (2012). Scripts in the sand: Sandplay in transactional analysis psychotherapy with children. Transactional Analysis Journal, 42(4), 285–293.



Malawista, K. L. (2004). Rescue fantasies in child therapy: countertransference/transference enactments. Child & Adolescent Social Work Journal, 21(4), 373–386. 



Plummer, S.-B., Makris, S., & Brocksen, S. M. (Eds.). (2014b). Social work case studies: Concentration year. Baltimore, MD: Laureate International Universities Publishing. [Vital Source e-reader].

 

  • Working with Children and Adolescents: The Case of Claudia (pp. 15–17)

 

Note: Depending on your concentration, you may not receive a case study book until a later term. Therefore, if you did not receive a copy of Social Work Case Studies: Concentration Year in your previous course, use the linked PDF provided here. If you did receive the book referenced above, you may find the cases there or use the PDF.



Ruffolo, M. C., & Allen-Meares, P. (2013). Intervention with children. In M. J. Holosko, C. N. Dulmus, & K. M. Sowers (Eds.), Social work practice with individuals and families: Evidence-informed assessments and interventions (pp. 41–69). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.



Taylor, E. R. (2009). Sandtray and solution-focused therapy. International Journal of Play Therapy, 18(1), 56–68.



Christogiorgos, S., & Giannakopoulos, G. (2015). Parental presence and countertransference phenomena in psychoanalytic psychotherapy of children and adolescents. Psychoanalytic Social Work, 22(1), 1-11.


Optional Resources

Gil, E. (1991). The healing power of play: Working with abused children. New York, NY: Guilford Press:


Chapter 2, “The Child Therapies: Application in Work With Abused Children (pp. 26–36) (PDF)


Chapter 3, “The Treatment of Abused Children” (pp. 37–82) (PDF)


van der Kolk, B. A. (2003). The neurobiology of childhood trauma and abuse. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics, 12, 293–317. Retrieved from http://www.traumacenter.org/products/pdf_files/neurobiology_childhood_trauma_abuse.pdf


van der Kolk, B. A. (2005a). Child abuse & victimization. Psychiatric Annals, 35(5),374–378. Retrieved from http://www.traumacenter.org/products/pdf_files/neurobiology_childhood_trauma_abuse.pdf



van der Kolk, B. A. (2005b). Developmental trauma disorder. Psychiatric Annals, 35(5), 401–408.