The Negative Therapeutic Reaction (NTR): A Review and Synthesis for Practitioners

This article explores some of the major theories concerning the negative therapeutic reaction (NTR), presenting the convergences and divergences found among the various theoretical perspectives on this most important clinical phenomenon. The article also summarizes Robert C. Lane's NTR typology. He discusses ten categories of response tendencies he has observed clinically over decades of psychoanalytic practice. This article, moreover seeks to synthesize the views of various classical and contemporary theories, treatment approaches, and thoughts on future research into NTR dynamics.