How to Coach Yourself and Others Techniques For Coaching | Page 541

complex, elegant, aged-to-perfection transference interpretation
delivered at exactly the right time with exactly the right words,
and the patient's world will never be the same.
When would a clinician use transference interpretation?
Several factors must be considered in the timing of a
transference interpretation:
a. If things are going well, you may wish to postpone the
interpretation. We generally wait to interpret the transference
when it has become a resistance--e.g., the patient cannot open up
because he imagines the therapist will be critical.
b. Transference interpretation is a high-risk, high-gain
intervention so the therapist must first pave the way for it by
empathizing with and validating the patient's perspective so
there is a strong therapeutic alliance before the interpretation.
c. The therapist must assess that the patient is in a reflective
state of mind where a transference interpretation could be heard
and reflected upon.
What does it look like?
A transference interpretation links three sides of a triangle. One
side is the patient's transference to the therapist; a second side is
the patient's experiences with current relationships outside of
therapy; the third side is the patient's past relationships with
parents and others. So it might sound something like this:
"When you express your fear that I will criticize you if you
speak openly here, it sounds so much like your fear of
speaking forthrightly to your husband that you brought up
last week and your anticipation of criticism from your Dad
that you brought up a few minutes ago. I'm wondering if you
have retreated from your intimate relationships with men for
fear that we will all put you down for having your own views
on things."
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