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Under Attack

Devaluation and the Challenge of Tolerating the Transference

Received December 15, 1998; revised March 15, 2000; accepted March 20, 2000. Address correspondence to Dr. Robbins, 1939 Divisadero Street #2, San Francisco, CA 94115.
This article is a a revised and enlarged version of the chapter "Neutrality Under Attack: Devaluation in the Therapeutic Relationship," by Bill Robbins, published in Disorders of the Self: New Therapeutic Horizons—The Masterson Approach, ed. James F. Masterson and Ralph Klein. (New York: Brunner/Mazel, 1995). Material originally published in that chapter is reprinted by permission of the publisher.

Devaluation presents one of the therapist's most difficult challenges: conducting therapy and managing resistance with patients who force the therapist into very aggressive and uncomfortable experiences. When these situations arise, the therapist has a twofold task. He or she must tolerate the transference so as not to engage in a countertransferential enactment. Additionally, from this vulnerable vantage point, he or she must help the patient understand both the meaning of and the consequences of devaluations of the therapist. Two cases are presented that recognize devaluation as an example of projective identification and illustrate the challenge in working with this dynamic.