An archetypal image can manifest in human psychology consciously or unconsciously, or, as is so often the case, some mixture of the two. Problems are always a consequence of the unconscious manifestation of an archetype. That is what counter-transference isan unconscious manifestation of the coniunctio, the most profound and highly charged archetype in the whole pantheon. The coniunctio is the symbolic expression of the goal of the opus and that is why Jung titled his book The Mystery of the Coniunctio:
ANALYSIS IS A RISKY ENTERPRISE
The whole transference / counter-transference phenomenon, with its powerful inductive aspect, illustrates the fact that analysis is a risky enterprise and involves a very sizable occupational hazard. It is not an innocuous procedure, especially if the depths are touched or constellated. As long as one scoots along the surface and has no connection to the depths, as long as they're not constellated, then usually one can skip around pretty safely. But when they've been opened within the analyst's personality, or within that of the patient, then the whole induction phenomenon can take on quite serious proportions
ML p.317COUNTER-TRANSFERENCE HITS ONE
WHERE ONE IS WEAKEST
I want to talk about some of the aspects of the counter-transference since it can show up in many different ways and often eludes our observation; it slips in unconsciously and then neither patient nor therapist knows what's going on. It is a kind of infallible truth that the counter-transference will hit one wherever one is weakest, in one's personal complexes and vulnerabilities. Let me mention just a few of the modes in which the counter-transference coniunctio can appear
ML p.317CONSTELLATION OF THE
PARENTCHILD PATTERN
A common one is the constellation of the parent-child pattern. It happens almost regularly that when one seeks some sort of therapeutic help, the child role is activated on the part of the patient, and the parent role tends to be projected onto the therapist. Now the counter-transference danger is that the therapist will identify with the projected role of parent. There is a certain gratification to be gained by being the parent to a childthe gratification of being needed, of being the mature one, the knowledgeable one in comparison to the immature, helpless one. If the therapist identifies to some extent with that role, then he or she lives out the need to be attached to a dependent child. Any efforts the child might make to become independent are apt to be subtly, and of course quite unconsciously, sabotaged
ML p.317THE CRONOS ARCHETYPE
IS ACTIVATED
That is not as uncommon as it seems. We think we're above such things, but we aren't, not at all. And many is the time that the new-born efforts to achieve autonomy and independence on the part of the patient are belittled or disparaged, one way or another, by the analyst's critical or negative interpretation. Another way to say the same thing is that the Cronus archetype is activated. Cronus was the Greek god who devoured his own children (fig. 027.1) . In order to keep the child a child, and relatively impotent, the child is devoured or consumed, incorporated into the psychology of the therapist, and not permitted to have his or her own separate psychology
ML p.318ML Pg 318 (d) FigNo027.1
YOUNG THERAPIST'S NEED
TO CURE THE PATIENT
A similar situation can occur if the patient is particularly talented psychologically. The counter-transference can take the form of a projection of the divine child onto the patient and then, in a subtle way, the therapist expects to be redeemed by the psychological work of the patient. That is not as far-fetched as it sounds. It is not at all uncommon to have a need to cure the patient, especially with young therapists, because they're not too sure of their therapeutic capacity. They're insecure and therefore, in order to preserve their own self-esteem, they need to have the patient do well. The patient's doing well redeems them and proves their own worth as therapists
ML p.319WOUNDED PATIENT
AND HEALER
Another variant is the pattern of the wounded patient on the one hand, and the healer on the other. If one is identified with the role of healer, one then has a need to have somebody wounded to work on. No healer has anything to do unless he or she has a wounded one to take care of. This constellation can have the subtle effect of keeping the patient a patient in order for the healer to retain the function of healing
ML p.319THE POWER COUNTER-TRANSFERENCE
One more pattern is the power counter-transference. (You notice that what we're dealing with here are the opposites, the constellation of the oppositeswhich is what the coniunctio consists of.) In this pattern, the opposites at work are domination as opposed to submission. Although it is probably much more frequent that the therapist falls into the role of being the dominant one and the patient the submissive one, that is not universally the case. I see a certain number of cases where the reverse takes place, where the therapist fancies a therapeutic function is being performed by being submissive. But it turns out, when a crisis comes up, that actually the power counter-transference has been constellated and the therapist has been caught in an unconscious pattern of submission to the patient. That is the less common version, but it does come up
ML p.319THE INFLATION COUNTER-TRANSFERENCE
Then (and these are all variations of the same theme), there is what I would call the inflation counter-transference. In this pattern the analyst is the recipient of a projection of the savior or Self archetype, and that is such a flattering attitude with which to be treated that one subtly succumbs to it. As I said last week, it is especially dangerous because, if one accepts the projection of savior, sooner or later it will turn into its opposite. One is then saddled with a devil projection. That is very hard to get out from under if one has previously accepted the savior projection, so it is much better to catch this early
ML p.319THE EROTIC COUNTER-TRANSFERENCE
Now comes the big one: the erotic counter-transference. There are different degrees of this of course, but when it is activated in a major way it means that the two people concernedanalyst and patienthave been gripped by the coniunctio archetype in a particularly powerful way, so that the conviction emerges on each side (though we're talking particularly about the analyst and the counter-transference) that “If I can just unite, concretely, physically, personally and humanly with this other person I'll be fulfilled and made whole; the conjunction will be established.” That is the conviction, with all the highly charged libido that accompanies it. If this state of affairs develops in a full-blown form it is a crisis personally, professionally and legally
ML p.319INDIVIDUATION GRIPS ANALYST
IN AN UNCONSCIOUS WAY
As far as its personal meaning is concerned, it means that the individuation process has gripped the analyst in an unconscious way and manifested itself in projection onto the patient. What that calls for immediately is more personal analysis for the analyst
ML p.320THE LEGAL OR COLLECTIVE MEANING
Then of course there is a legal meaning. That is the collective meaning, the meaning that society applies to the situation. Health care givers and clergy often face the basic problem of being the targets of transferences, and therefore of being caught, by the inductive effect, in their own corresponding counter-transferences. It becomes a legal issue because it is collectively recognized that taking erotic advantage of the patient or client is grounds for malpractice. That collective determination is absolutely valid; such exploitation does take unfair advantage of the professional situation.Certainly there should be no physical intimacy. In addition, I think one should not accept or request any sizable gift or favor or service because the danger of taking advantage of the transference projection is so very great. You must always remember that you are carrying an unconscious value for the patient, and very often that is the supreme value, the Self
ML p.320