The relationship between the counselor's level of development and Countertransference Management Ability :Mediating Effects of Mentalization and Emotional awareness Clarity

Objectives The purpose of this study was to verify the sequential mediating effect of mentalization and emotional awareness clarity in the relationship between the counselor's developmental level and Countertransference Management Ability. Methods For this study, we conducted an online survey using the counselor's developmental level (KCLQ), mentalization (Ments), emotional awareness clarity (TMMS), and Countertransference Management Ability (CFI) scales. To analyze the data, IBM SPSS 27.0 and SPSS PROCESS Macro were used. Results As a result of this study, first, the counselor's developmental level, mentalization, emotional recognition clarity, and countertransference management ability all showed significant positive correlation. Second, mentalization and emotional clarity each mediated the relationship between counselors' developmental level and countertransference management ability. Third, mentalization and emotional clarity sequentially mediated the relationship between counselors' developmental level and countertransference management ability. Conclusions Based on the results of this study, the significance and implications of this study were proposed, and the limitations of the study and the necessity of follow-up studies were discussed.