Negative transference

Negative transference is when someone (usually a patient) has negative feelings towards another person (usually the therapist) because they remind them of someone else from their past who they had a negative experience with. It's like when you meet someone new and they remind you of someone who was mean to you before, so you automatically don't like them even though they haven't done anything wrong.

For example, if a patient had a bad relationship with their father, they may transfer those negative feelings onto their therapist if the therapist reminds them of their father in some way. This can make it difficult for the therapist to build a relationship with the patient and can impact the progress of therapy.

It's important for the therapist to recognize when negative transference is occurring and address it with the patient, so they can work through their negative feelings and improve the therapeutic relationship.