
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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