What is it about?
Our paper examines the experience of Countertransference in Play Therapy. Therapeutic interactions with children often evoke memories of the therapist's childhood, leading the therapist to take on the role of a caretaker or parent. Considering these factors, it is understandable that child therapists, especially play therapists who closely engage with a child's symbolic and unconscious expressions in the playroom, experience unique manifestations of countertransference.
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Why is it important?
Play therapy (and sandtray) allows children access to the pre-verbal/pre-symbolic. The therapist's attention to the Countertransference (subjectivity) provides valuable insights that cue witnessing and joining in the co-created (intersubjective) space in the playroom. Insights are powerful and profound; integration and healing occur. Our research provides insights into how this experience manifests in the playroom and allows us to shift our perspective from viewing countertransference as an obstacle to a useful and inevitable aspect in the treatment process.
Perspectives
I hope this article enhances the training, supervision, and support provided to play therapists. In the end, what matters is that the profession acknowledges the inevitability of this experience and seizes the opportunities presented.
Dr. Elyssa Smith
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: The experience of countertransference in play therapy: A postintentional phenomenological study., International Journal of Play Therapy, July 2025, American Psychological Association (APA),
DOI: 10.1037/pla0000239.
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