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Freud's theory of transference played out in pop culture

Vyoma Vijai

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Transference is a psychodynamic theory first described by Sigmund Freud. It involves the unconscious redirection of feelings from one person to another. A theory used in psychotherapy primarily, involves the transference of feelings, which could be positive, negative or even sexual from the patient towards their therapist. A positive transference from the patient to the therapist involves the transference of healthy relationships in the patient’s past towards their therapist. This form of transference has a positive outcome on the relationship between the patient and the therapist. A negative transference is helpful for the therapist as it helps the therapist gain an insight towards the underlying reasons for the negative transference and can help the therapist get to the root of the issue. The last form of transference is sexualized transference; this kind of transference involves the client developing romantic and sexual feelings towards their therapist.

The last type of transference is seemingly the most common out of the three as depicted in pop culture. Multiple movies and TV shows have a plot line of the protagonist developing feelings for their therapist. Although the underlying reasons for developing feelings are most of the times not mentioned in the shows/movies, the reasons for developing these feelings are quite evident if you take a look at the protagonist’s back story.  Here I will be discussing the patient-therapist plot lines from two pop culture references – Suits and Dear Zindagi.

‘Suits’ is a fictional law show set out in New York City. The show follows the lives of protagonists Mike Ross and Harvey Specter as they work as lawyers in a law firm. Harvey Specter is a partner in the law firm and holds a reputable position within the law community in the country. He is the center of analysis for the theory of transference on this show. In the beginning of Season 5 Harvey begins visiting his therapist Paula Agard after Donna quits her job as his secretary to work for another man. Harvey began having panic attacks after Donna left him. Harvey’s childhood memories of how his mother cheated on his father repeatedly and told Harvey to keep it a secret was brought to light. He felt a sense of abandonment when his mother cheated on his father with another man. This sense of abandonment was triggered once again when Donna left him. So when Harvey began visiting a female therapist who listened and understood his problems, it became natural for him to form some sort of attraction towards her. As Freud would suggest, Harvey’s underlying childhood issues of abandonment triggered a romantic transference towards his therapist because of a sense of comfort she provided him with.

‘Dear Zindagi’ is a Bollywood movie where Kaira (Alia Bhatt) is the protagonist of the movie. Kaira works as a cinematographer and lives in Mumbai. There is a downtrend in Kiara’s life when she hears the news of her ex-boyfriend getting engaged, although she was the one that broke up with him. She was also being evicted from her flat in Bombay since the building society wished to rent the apartments to married couples only. This required her to move back in with her family in Goa with whom she has some deep-rooted childhood issues. Along with this she was having a tough time looking for new projects to work on.  All of these situations together caused her to have sleepless nights that resulted in insomnia. This results in Kaira having to visit a therapist Jug (Shah Rukh Khan). After a few sessions with him it is revealed that Kaira’s parents abandoned her when she was younger because they had to move abroad for work. She was then forced to live with her grandparents against her will. This sense of abandonment caused her to have commitment issues, which were seen throughout the movie with her romantic relationships with men. Eventually she begins to develop feelings for her therapist. Her issues acted as a catalyst in her developing a romantic transference towards a man who listened to her and provided her with comfort, which in this case is Jug.

In both these plot lines the concept of Freud’s transference plays out. In pop culture this psychodynamic theory is over dramatized and is a common plot line for every patient-therapist interaction even though it might not be a very common occurrence for patients to develop any form of transference-positive, negative or romantic towards their therapists.



References

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/in-therapy/201206/clients-guide-transference

https://www.verywellmind.com/transference-2671660

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/when-kids-call-the-shots/201611/when-therapists-and-patients-fall-in-love

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