Could Some One Please Explain The Concept Of Transference.

Question: Could some one please explain the concept of transference. Is there anything which can be done to prevent this from happening?

Answer: It's something like this.... A person or therapist I may be interacting with suddenly appears to have particular qualities or characteristics of people whom I knew/know from my past. These people in the past have generally been significant to me in some way, shape or form, to the extent that they have actually contributed in shaping me into who I am today! So what happens is that all this "stuff" which has been locked in my subconscious mind suddenly gets released by virtue of associating the person in my current experience to traits belonging to a significant person in my past, or vice versa. Thus what I am doing is transferring aspects of my experience of a person from my past onto the person whom I am relating with in the present.

This is a very common process in all of us, and I like to look at it like this. Rather than put up barriers (which is not healthy), just becoming aware of the process of transference taking place in any given moment in your relationships with others will be of great benefit to you. The mere fact of becoming aware that you are "transferring" should provide you with a sense of relief! Become aware, smile and let it be and you can move on to continue your experience with ease! Alternatively, if this is something which you need to really flesh out, then seek out a therapist. In my view, we cannot prevent transference from happening. It happens! There is a lot written on this topic and you will be able to access information easily from any Psychology/Psychiatry handbook or even the web.

Answer provided by Brian Whiter