PsychologyJuly 13, 2026

transference

/trænsˈfɜːrəns/

Definition

The psychological phenomenon where a patient redirects feelings, expectations, or desires originally rooted in past significant relationships onto their therapist.

Etymology

The word derives from the Latin 'transferre,' meaning 'to carry across' or 'to transfer.' It entered English in the 17th century and was adopted by psychoanalytic theory to describe the shifting of emotional attachments from one person to another.

In the news

In this article, the author explains that transference occurs when patients project old interpersonal expectations onto their therapist, creating a 'prediction error' that can ultimately help them update their internal models.

Modern Neuroscience Is Starting to Look Surprisingly Similar to Freud’s Theory of the Mind

Read the full article ↗

The Debrief

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