The nurse develops a countertransference reaction. This is evidenced by:
A. The client feels angry towards the nurse who resembles his mother.
B. Focusing on the feelings of the client.
C. Confronting the client about discrepancies in verbal or non-verbal behavior.
D. Revealing personal information to the client.
Correct Answer: D. Revealing personal information to the client.
Countertransference is an emotional reaction of the nurse on the client based on her unconscious needs and conflicts. Countertransference, which occurs when a therapist transfers emotions to a person in therapy, is often a reaction to transference, a phenomenon in which the person in treatment redirects feelings for others onto the therapist. Signs of countertransference in therapy can include a variety of behaviors, including excessive self-disclosure on the part of the therapist or an inappropriate interest in irrelevant details from the life of the person in treatment. A therapist who acts on their feelings toward the person being treated or that person’s situation or engages in behavior not appropriate to the treatment process may not be effectively managing countertransference.
Option A: This is a transference reaction where a client has an emotional reaction towards the nurse based on her past. Transference describes a situation where the feelings, desires, and expectations of one person are redirected and applied to another person. Most commonly, transference refers to a therapeutic setting, where a person in therapy may apply certain feelings or emotions toward the therapist.
Option B: Focusing, an approach to therapeutic treatment in which the therapist works to help the individual in treatment gain awareness into their bodily felt sense, is meant to help people seeking treatment learn to direct their attention toward things they experience that are difficult to describe in a concrete way.
Option C: Nurses should only apply this technique after they have established trust. It can be vital to the care of patients to disagree with them, present them with reality, or challenge their assumptions. Confrontation, when used correctly, can help patients break destructive routines or understand the state of their situation.