Why Do Patients Get Attached to Their Psychiatrists?

Transference, also known as projection, is the process by which patients project their feelings or motivations onto their therapist. They come to believe that they know the therapist far better than they really could.

Attachment to Therapist

• When an individual forms a trusting relationship with her psychiatrist, she becomes attached to that individual in much the same way she should have been attached to her primary caregivers. This can be useful in a therapeutic situation, because she may begin to trust others as she has never done before in her life.

Why Transference Occurs

• Transference always begins with a client who is unattached or insecurely attached to their primary caregivers. The therapist is perhaps the first person in her life who has cared for her and accepts her unconditionally. The more trust a patient has for the therapist, the more she will share. The more she shares, the closer she feels to the therapist.

Dangers

• Transference can become dangerous. This negative aspect of attachment occurs when a patient cannot distinguish between the present circumstances and past traumatic events. Therefore, the patient begins to associate the therapist with others he has had relationships with. He begins to project all the rage, hatred, fear and other emotions he has experienced with others onto the therapist; and he may even blame the therapist for his issues.