transferential

Definition

Relating to or involving the unconscious redirection of feelings and desires from one's past relationships onto a person in the present, especially onto a therapist.

Etymology

Derived from the Latin 'transferre,' meaning to carry over or bring across. It entered psychological terminology to describe how internal emotional patterns are 'carried over' to new individuals.

In the news

The article lists transferential enactments as a foundational psychoanalytic concept that many people find difficult to accept. It highlights these patterns in relationships with therapists, spouses, and others as essential to the complex nature of the mind.

Psychoanalysis Works—And It Doesn’t Owe You a Brain Scan

Psychology Today

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