Confronting Countertransference

Confronting Countertransference

From Guerrilla Social Work Podcast by Guerrilla Social Work Podcast

August 18, 2025 · 1h 7m · Episode 96

About this episode

The episode explores countertransference in therapy and how clinicians can manage their emotional reactions to clients exhibiting Dark Triad traits.

Tonight, we’re diving into every clinician’s guilty secret: countertransference—that cocktail of disgust, anger, or eye-rolls that show up when your client’s Dark Triad vibes (psychopathy, narcissism, Machiavellian scheming) hit a little too close to home. Instead of pretending we’re made of stone, we’ll show you how to spot those reactions, keep them from wrecking your credibility, and flip the moment into a process-driven confrontation that actually sticks. It’s therapy judo: using your own emotional reactions as leverage instead of letting them choke you out.

Topics covered

  • countertransference
  • emotional reactions
  • therapy techniques
  • psychology
  • client relationships

Keywords

  • countertransference
  • Dark Triad
  • psychopathy
  • narcissism
  • Machiavellianism
  • therapy judo
  • emotional reactions

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Dark Triad

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