Countering Countertransference: A Forensic Trainee's Dilemma
S. P. Sattar, D. A. Pinals and T. Gutheil,
Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law
30(1): 65-69, 2002.
Forensic psychiatry involves an adaptation to a role that is very different from the
psychiatrist's previous clinical experiences. To render an unbiased forensic opinion, psychiatrists have
to rise above their countertransference feelings. This takes years of practice and experience. The
following is an account of a forensic trainee who faced several countertransference problems as he
evaluated a patient charged with attempted murder. The case report is interspersed with a review of
the relevant literature.