Countertransference management and therapy outcome: an initial evaluation.

The relationship between therapist countertransference management ability and therapy outcome was examined. Participants were 32 therapist-trainees and their clinical supervisors. Supervisors completed the Countertransference Factors Inventory (CFI) with regard to their supervisees. The CFI assesses five therapist characteristics thought to comprise countertransference management: Self-Insight, Self-Integration, Anxiety Management, Empathy, and Conceptualizing Skills. Both trainees and their supervisors rated the degree of improvement for each client seen in therapy. Results indicated that the CFI total score and the subscales of Anxiety Management and Conceptualizing Skills were positively related to both trainee and supervisor ratings of outcome; Self-Integration was related to trainee, but not supervisor, outcome ratings. Copyright 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.