Self-report instruments for assessing transference in psychoanalytical research: a neglected or avoided concept? - A systematic review

Transference is defined as the possibility for the patient to relive, during the psychotherapy process, unconscious impulses and fantasies awakened in the relationship with a person from the patient’s earlier life and it plays an essential role in psychoanalytic treatments. This systematic review aimed to identify and describe the main instruments found in the literature used to assess and measure transference in psychoanalytic psychotherapy, especially with self-reported measures (PROSPERO CRD42024596027). Searches were conducted across the central databases (PubMed/Medline, PsycInfo, Scopus, Scielo, Cochrane, Web of Science, BVS, and Embase) using descriptors such as “Transference,” “Psychotherapy,” “scale,” and “instruments,” along with related terms. No language or publication date restrictions were applied. A total of 1,812 articles were identified, 31 met the inclusion criteria and 12 different instruments were identified: none of the studies were published in Latin America, Oceania and Africa, and only two instruments considered the patients’ perspective. Regarding the two self-report instruments, although one had a more robust statistical analysis regarding the quality of the proposed instrument, neither achieved high levels of psychometric quality across the evaluated criteria. Future research should develop scientifically rigorous tools to better demonstrate the transferential process in psychotherapy.