One person’s empathy is another’s countertransference. I will not confess my weaknesses, since they will be obvious to the reader in any case.
The short – very short – definition of “countertransference” is one’s reaction and response to the other person. As Freud famously noted, betrayal oozes at every pore. That sometimes applies to psychotherapists too. Breakdowns in empathy occur. Defensiveness happens. Secrets are withheld or revealed.
And if there is empathy, can narcissistic rage be far behind? That too occurs, albeit in an aim-inhibited form. When a person gets angry enough, the person finds that being self-expressed is worth the risk of being vulnerable and exposed.
