Uncovering the seeds of psychic life: An examination of the transference phenomenon as viewed by Sigmund Freud, C. G. Jung, and other psychodynamic perspectives

This study is a critical essay and comparative analysis of the transference phenomenon from a variety of theoretical perspectives, but mainly from the views of Sigmund Freud and C. G. Jung. A comprehensive review and critical analysis of Freud's and Jung's psychological concepts is offered with respect to the transference phenomenon. The central concepts that are discussed in this critical and comparative analysis are as follows: projective identification, libido, Oedipus complex, archetypes of the collective unconscious, the teleological aspect or self-regulating nature of the psyche, narcissism, the unconscious evaluation of the patient's here-and-now interaction with the analyst, the psychoanalytic view of the empirical self, and the Jungian perspective of the Self.;Other psychoanalytic and Jungian approaches are reviewed, discussed, and analyzed, with respect to the transference in order to expand upon the conceptual foundation to which Freud and Jung have contributed. To this extent, a comparative analysis of the development and manifestation of the transference phenomenon as viewed by other theoretical perspectives is offered.;The transference phenomenon can be used to help the patient to become conscious of the projections that interfere with his/her relationship to the analyst. Understanding the meaning of the transference can assist the patient consciously to recognize the author of a new creation, one's own sense of Self.