transference

Noun

transference (countable and uncountable, plural transferences)

1. The act of conveying from one place to another; the act of transferring or the fact of being transferred.

   Synonyms:

   transferal

2. The process by which emotions and desires, originally associated with one person, such as a parent, are unconsciously shifted to another.
   • Furthermore, although probably few analysts still believe that transference occurs only in the context of the psychoanalytic situation, many hold that this phenomenon pertains only to object relationships. I submit, however, that the characteristic features of transference can be observed in other...1974, Thomas S. Szasz, chapter 15, in The Myth of Mental Illness, →ISBN, page 253
   • Those who argue for laws against sex between therapists and clients say that consent is not a simple matter for the person who goes to another for help. They point in particular to the dynamic of "transference," during which a client may re-enact a parental relationship with the therapist.1990 August 31, Laura Briggs, “Should Sex Between Therapists/Clients Be Legal”, in Gay Community News, volume 18, number 7, page 3