A study on child counselors’ perception of countertransference using Q methodology

Objectives This study applied Q methodology to type the subjectivity of child counselors' countertransference ex-periences and identify the characteristics of each type in order to identify the subjective perceptions and charac-teristics of each type according to the countertransference experiences of child counselors. Methods To this end, a total of 143 statements were derived through literature research and in-depth interviews for a total of 26 days from March 20 to April 15, 2023, and a total of 25 child counselors were selected as the P sample and Q classification was conducted. . The collected data were analyzed using the PC-QUANL Program. Results As a result of the study, the types of child counselors' countertransference experiences were classified into a total of four types, with type 1 being the 'countertransference self-reflection type' who believed that they experienced inner maturity and growth as a human being, and type 2 being the 'countertransference type' as an expert. ‘Countertransference management ability type’, who thinks they have experienced the need for the ability to manage themselves, Type 3 is the ‘Countertransference Active Acceptance Type’, who thinks they have experi-enced acknowledging and accepting countertransference rather than denying it, and Type 4 is self-managed. The 'reverse transfer professionalism improvement type' was found to have experienced improvement in expertise by encountering problems. Conclusions Through the results of this study, we focused on the perception of child counselors' counter-transference experiences, classified and confirmed the structure of child counselors' subjective perception of countertransference, and provided information on accessibility and ways for child counselors to manage and pre-vent countertransference. We hope it will be used as relevant basic data.