W2 Personal Triggers

Post#2 by Rolando Garcia Arias (Personal Triggers)

Triggers to Countertransference in an Individual

Psychotherapy and counseling are specialty areas where one is most likely to apply countertransference. Therapists use countertransference as a skill to help clients in managing their situations. Therapists enter countertransference majorly during their subconscious moments, and they only realize it later. Research indicates that individuals have some triggers that lead them to a state of countertransference. I have realized that as a therapist, I am prone to countertransference (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Experience demonstrates that I have several personal triggers, which results in countertransference. Therefore, this discussion is dedicated to how I realize my personal triggers to countertransference and manage them when they occur.

Counseling should always make a counselor a person in a therapeutic exercise with a client, which can go further to develop into a professional relationship (Corey, 2016). Engaging in this relationship is what, in most cases, leads to the disclosure of similar experiences by a counselor to the client. As a therapist, my major trigger to countertransference occurs when a client is overly open about their experiences and struggles, which tends to relate to some of my personal experiences, thus end up sharing stories with my clients about how we have similar lives or how we have been similarly impacted in life. Shea (2017) argues that this situation can easily be used to help the client resolve their issues which is the whole idea of therapy. However, if not well managed, countertransference can be negative as the client will be the listener. To identify what triggers countertransference in an individual, a counselor can employ various methods such as recording the events that lead to disclosure and even talking to fellow experienced counselors (Shea, 2017). Since countertransference is not entirely negative, one is to learn how to employ it positively and control the events in which it is most relevant to be open with a client.

In conclusion, therapists need to identify what triggers their countertransference because what clients need is something that can connect them to the therapist, an indication that the therapist has personalized their problems. In this way, when the therapist creates countertransference between them and the client, they become relaxed and open to their personal stories that they could not otherwise speak. When a client gets overly comfortable with the therapist, the process results in a mutual relationship and attachment, making the client confide in the therapist, opening their lives. Thus, the therapists get enough information about what might be troubling their client. A well-experienced therapist will use countertransference to make the therapy process a success. A therapist must learn how to control countertransference and its usage on a client to make the therapy process easier and successful.

References

American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM-5®). American Psychiatric Pub.

Corey, G. (2016). Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy, Enhanced. Cengage Learning.

Shea, S. C. (2017). The mental status: how to perform and document it effectively. Psychiatric interviewing: the art of understanding. 3rd ed. New York, NY: Elsevier, 662-81.