Countertransference in Psychotherapy: Is It an Impediment or Beneficial?

There is a common understanding that countertransference is an impediment in psychotherapy. This article explores the beneficial aspects of countertransference and the significance on attending to countertransference in psychotherapy supervision. A distinction is made between Reactive Countertransference which is not therapeutic and a Responsive Countertransference which is therapeutic. Two psychotherapy examples are provided that describe the author’s therapeutic use of countertransference.