Varieties of transference patterns in psychotherapy

Abstract

This investigation explored the nature of transference of interpersonal patterns in patients' psychotherapy narratives. The relation between interpersonal patterns with significant others in a patient's life and the pattern with the therapist early in treatment was examined. Cluster analysis was used to categorize similar relationships for each of 35 patients. Many patients revealed multiple interpersonal themes in their relationship narratives. Furthermore, these interpersonal themes correlated significantly with the interpersonal pattern extracted from narratives told about the therapist for many of the patients who discussed the therapeutic relationship during therapy. However, the interpersonal pattern evident in the relationship with the therapist was not necessarily the most pervasive pattern exhibited in the narratives about significant others.