On Freud’s Observations On Transference-Love

This is the third volume in the series Contemporary Freud: Turning Points and Critical Issues, published for the International Psychoanalytical Association. Each volume presents a classic essay by Freud with commentaries by prominent psychoanalytic teachers and analysts from different theoretical backgrounds and geographical locations. Observations on Transference-Love may have been inspired, say the contributors, by the unfortunate emotional involvements of two of Freud’s colleagues with female patients. In his paper, Freud speaks of the inevitability of transference-love in every well-conducted analysis, its important therapeutic functions, and its potential hazards. Transference love is discussed in the larger context of transference in general. The essays illuminate a persistent problem in all modalities of psychotherapy: unfortunate, often tragic, enactments of erotic transference and countertransference. This volume also includes the original essay by Freud.