On Freud's Observations On Transference-Love

by Ethel Spector Person (Editor), Peter Fonagy (Editor), Aiban Hagelin (Editor)

This is the third volume in the series Contemporary Turning Points and Critical Issues, published for the International Psychoanalytical Association. Each volume presents a classic essay by Freud with commentaries by prominent psychoanalytic teachers and analysts from different theoretical backgrounds and geographical locations." Observations on Transference-Love " may have been inspired, say the contributors, by the unfortunate emotional involvements of two of Freud's colleagues with female patients. In his paper, Freud speaks of the inevitability of "transference-love" in every well-conducted analysis, its important therapeutic functions, and its potential hazards. Transference love is discussed in the larger context of transference in general. The essays illuminate a persistent problem in all modalities of unfortunate, often tragic, enactments of erotic transference and countertransference. This volume also includes the original essay by Freud.

202 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Ethel Person, a Columbia University psychiatrist, did pioneering research on sexuality, visiting sex shops and drag dance clubs to help herself understand what motivates transsexuals and transvestites, and conducting broad-based clinical studies on the role of sexual fantasy in people’s lives.

Dr. Person wrote frequently on love and sexuality for general-interest publications and was the author of four books, the best known of which is By Force of Fantasy: How We Make Our Lives (1995), in which she argued that people shaped their lives by trying consciously or unconsciously to live out their fantasies.