When Patients' Problems Mirror Yours

Managing Countertransference with Patients Sharing Your Own Troubles (Vol. 1, Issue 46)

Just a few weeks ago, a middle-aged man describing his reasons for seeking psychotherapy elicited an episode of acute identity confusion in me. His self-description so closely resembled mine that my sense of where I ended and he began blurred. He had just exploded in anger when his wife directed him while driving; I had a similar experience with my wife…