© Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature 2018 329
P. McCarthy Veach et al., Facilitating the Genetic Counseling Process,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-74799-6_12
Chapter 12
Genetic Counseling Dynamics:
Transference, Countertransference,
Distress, Burnout, and Compassion
Fatigue
Learning Objectives- Define patient transference.
- Identify ways to respond to transference.
- Define genetic counselor countertransference.
- Identify strategies for managing countertransference.
- Define distress, burnout, and compassion fatigue.
- Distinguish compassion fatigue from distress and burnout.
- Identify distress, burnout, and compassion fatigue-coping strategies.
To be an effective genetic counselor, you must be aware of issues that impact your
relationship with patients. This chapter discusses several critical issues that affect
genetic counseling relationships: (1) transference and countertransference, (2)
counselor distress and burnout, and (3) compassion fatigue. Transference and coun-
tertransference are primarily (but not always) unconscious dynamics, and they
emerge within the relationship itself, while distress, compassion fatigue, and burn-
out are conditions that develop in the counselor and spill over into genetic counsel-
ing relationships. You will see that strategies for addressing these issues share
several similarities, in particular, self-awareness and self-reflection.
12.1 Transference and Countertransference
The primary focus of this section is countertransference, a phenomenon in which
your own needs and experiences can affect your clinical work. Sometimes counter-
transference occurs in response to patient transference. Therefore, we begin by
briefly discussing patient transference.