Countertransference, attachment, and the working alliance:: The therapist's contributions

This study examined the relationship among therapist attachment styles, countertransference behaviors, and working alliance. Fifty therapists in training and their supervisors participated in the study. Therapists completed a self-rated measure of attachment style and a measure of working alliance with 1 of their clients Supervisors completed measures of working alliance and countertransference behaviors about their supervisee's relationship with the same client. Results indicate that therapist attachment style did not correlate with either countertransference behaviors or working alliance. However, negative countertransference was associated with poorer working alliances, and positive countertransference was related to a weak bond within the working alliance. Additional analyses indicate that disagreement among supervisors and therapists about the bond component was predictive of countertransference behaviors.