Countertransference and Regression

Charting the evolution of Dr. Boyer's thinking about treatment of the seriously disordered patient since the publication fifteen years ago of The Regressed Patient, his landmark work on the subject, Counter-transference And Regression has historical as well as clinical importance along the theoretical trajectory from Klein and Bion to Ogden. The analyst often fantasizes reciprocally, Boyer maintains, during the patient's reverie toward recovery of early psychological traumata. By tracking his fantasy experiences, he can make metaphorical inferences that -- when communicated as interpretations at the right time -- enable the patient to mature, together with the patient's introjection of the analyst's supportive optimism.