Countertransference in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy with Children and Adolescents

Dimitris Anastasopoulos M.D. is an Adult and Child Psychiatrist working in Athens. He trained in adolescent psychiatry and psychotherapy at the Tavistock Clinic, London, and is a training psychotherapist for adult and adolescent psychotherapists in Greece. He is a member of the Executive Committee of the Hellenic Association of Child and Adolescent Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy (HACAPP). He is vice-chairman of the EFPP. Anne-Marie Sandler was born in Geneva where she studied psychology and worked with Jean Piaget. She came to England in 1950 and trained in child analysis with Anna Freud. She went on to train further at the Institute of Psychoanalysis where she became a Training and Supervising analyst for both children and adults, and a Distinguished Fellow. She is a former director of the Anna Freud Centre, former President of the Institute of Psychoanalysis and of the European Federation of Psychoanalysis and former Vice-President of the International Psychoanalytical Association. John Tsiantis is Professor of Child Psychotherapy, President of European Union of Medical Specialists Section of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, previously Chief Editor of the EFPP Monographs book series, and President of the Hellenic Institute of Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy.

'The European Federation for Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy in the Public Health Service (EFPP) was founded in 1991 with a number of linked objectives. At their heart was and is a determination that knowledge and treatment skills stemming from psychoanalysis should become much more widely available and applicable to the general public with mental health problems who come for help from the "caring" professions.'In its short history, the EFPP has already made a considerable impact. Many of its member countries have been considerably assisted by the training standards for practitioners to psychoanalytic psychotherapy that the EFPP aspires to. The EFPP is organized into three sections: for individual adult psychoanalytic therapy, for child and adolescent psychoanalytic psychotherapy, for group psychoanalytic psychotherapy. Recognition of these three vital focuses of applied psychoanalysis through structural representations in the EFPP has created a unique spirit of cooperation between the sections.'So we start our monograph series with this compilation of contributions from authors from several different European countries on a theme that lies at the heart of child and adolescent psychoanalytic psychotherapy of children and adolescents.'- Brian Martindale, Chairman EFPP'The chapters in this monograph constitute a wide ranging investigation into the phenomena of countertransference as it appears in the psychoanalytic psychotherapy of children and adolescents. The authors tackle the subject by bringing both their knowledge of various theoretical perspectives and their clinical experience and by demonstrating the crucial importance of countertransference in a wide range of clinical conditions and treatment settings.'This monograph is an addition to the previously modest literature available on countertransference in the psychoanalytic psychotherapy and psychoanalysis of children and adolescents. We hope it will prove useful to clinicians in the field and for the training and supervision of students in child and adolescent analysis and psychoanalytic psychotherapy.'- John Tsiantis, Editor-in-Chief

• Foreword to the Series , Introduction , Countertransference issues in psychoanalytic psychotherapy with children and adolescents: a brief review , Thoughts on countertransference and observation , Reflections on transference, countertransference, session frequency, and the psychoanalytic process , Some problems in transference and countertransference in child and adolescent analysis , The transference mirage and the pitfalls of countertransference (with special emphasis on adolescence) , The influence of the presence of parents on the countertransference of the child psychotherapist , Different uses of the countertransference with neurotic, borderline, and psychotic patients , Bisexual aspects of the countertransference in the therapy of psychotic children , Transference and countertransference issues in the in-patient psychotherapy of traumatized children and adolescents