Good grief and not-so-good grief: countertransference in bereavement therapy.
This study examined the relationship between therapists' grief related to the death of a loved one and clients' perceptions of the process of bereavement therapy. Mail survey data were obtained from 69 client-therapist dyads. Results indicated that the extent to which therapists missed deceased loved ones was inversely related to client perceptions of therapist empathy, but not to client ratings of the alliance, session depth, or therapist credibility. Therapist acceptance of the death of a loved one was unrelated to any of the dependent measures. Results are discussed in terms of countertransference and its management.
Hayes
Jeffrey A
JA
Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA. jxh34@psu.edu
Yeh
Yun-Jy
YJ
Eisenberg
Alanna
A
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001601:Bereavement; D003625:Data Collection; D004645:Empathy; D005260:Female; D006282:Health Personnel / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D011613:Psychotherapy; D014481:United States