Transference Drives Psychotherapy
False Assumption: Clients unconsciously project past figures' feelings onto therapists, a core mechanism resolvable for cure in psychodynamic therapy.
Written by FARAgent on February 09, 2026
Freud's transference cornerstone endured in psychodynamic therapies, positing clients recast therapists as parents or exes, interpretations unlocking healing; it seemed profound, fitting psychoanalytic lore.
Empirical void emerged: scant evidence links interpretations to outcomes, no consensus on existence; like attachment, it presumes fixed relational templates over fresh perceptions.
Mounting questions erode it, with critics arguing resemblances prompt ordinary processing, not re-enactments curing woes; the irony bites as Freudian ghosts haunt therapies ignoring evidence for panaceas.
People Involved
- In the world of modern psychotherapy, Josh Zlatkus emerged as a persistent critic of the transference assumption. As a therapist and co-author of key critiques, he likened himself to a cassandra, warning that what therapists saw as unconscious projections were often just ordinary perceptions, not rigid scripts from the past. [1] His views gained traction slowly, amid a field still wedded to Freudian echoes.
▶ Supporting Quotes (1)
“Yet in my experience, clients usually experience me as a distinct person with whom they form a genuinely new relationship.”— Psychology’s Greatest Misses (Part 1/3)
The Foundation
The idea of transference took root in psychoanalytic theory, where experts claimed clients unconsciously redirected feelings from past figures onto their therapists. This seemed credible in narrative terms, offering a tidy explanation for therapeutic dynamics, but empirical support remained scarce from the start. [1] Growing evidence now suggests this core mechanism lacks strong links to actual treatment outcomes, increasingly seen as a flawed pillar of psychodynamic therapy, though the debate continues.
▶ Supporting Quotes (1)
“Despite its well-established importance in psychoanalytic theory, there is a scarcity of empirical evidence on the relationship between a therapist’s transference interpretation (TI) and therapeutic outcome.”— Psychology’s Greatest Misses (Part 1/3)
How It Spread
From its Freudian origins in the early twentieth century, the transference concept spread through academic circles and training programs. It became a cornerstone in psychodynamic psychotherapies that descended directly from Freud's work, embedded in textbooks and clinical practices. [1] Even as doubts mounted in recent decades, institutional inertia kept it alive, with therapists invoking it routinely in sessions across clinics worldwide.
▶ Supporting Quotes (1)
“The notion of transference—that clients unconsciously redirect feelings and expectations from important figures in their past onto their therapist—remains a cornerstone of many psychotherapies”— Psychology’s Greatest Misses (Part 1/3)
Sources
- [1]