Counteridentification, comprehensive counter-transference, and therapeuticaction: Toward resolving the intrapsychic-interactional dichotomy

Two dichotomous trends in thinking about countertransference and therapeuti c action can be delineated historically as well as in clinical practice: th e intrapsychic and the interactional. The author proposes a new usage of th e concepts of counteridentification and comprehensive countertransference t o help transform these dichotomizing tendencies into more useful, integrati ve therapeutic action across the broad spectrum of psychoanalytic treatment for patients from the neurotic to the most severely disturbed.