The Importance of Ethics in Clinical Practice Part 6
Projection
Projection occurs when the client projects his or her own feelings and/or qualities, either positive or negative, onto someone else. There is a need to question these projections and resolve them in order to allow the client to move forward. If it is happening in the therapy room, it is probably happening elsewhere. The therapist needs to be aware of any possible negative projections which may be getting in the way of communication and leading to misunderstandings before they get too complicated. Projections need to be investigated and discussed in detail. The concept, like transference in my previous post should be covered thoroughly in any legitimate hypno-psychotherapy training.
Unresolved projection and transference are often a reason for the impulse to terminate treatment prematurely.
Personal Therapy
Therapists are required to maintain their ability to perform competently by undergoing personal therapy, if required, and engaging in Continuing Professional Development (CPD), including a commitment to ongoing supervision/peer supervision and other verifiable CPD activities.
As with any personal interaction with other people, it is normal to experience feelings towards the other person. It is only when these feelings are inappropriate that problems arise.
In order to keep both the client and therapist safe, these feelings may need investigating in a deeper way with personal therapy rather than supervision. The therapist’s personal feelings, projections, transferences and counter-transferences can be investigated in order to give insight into the therapist’s personal thoughts and constructs.
