Transference has not been a big part of my therapy and I have made a lot of progress, so I don't think it need figure prominently. I think sometimes things come up in therapy and the therapist, depending on his orientation, may choose to interpret it in terms of transference or in another way. For example, I was having unreasonable trouble getting along with a financial advisor. Several times I reacted to his actions and words out of proportion to what he was saying. I could see this and it was frustrating, but I could not stop my feelings. Something was going on. My T probed a bit, trying to explore the transference angle--he asked if this guy reminded me of someone from my past, or the events made me feel the same way as particular events from my past (my answer was that I could not identify such a person or events). But his main focus was on ego states, as he does ego state therapy quite a bit. We explored whether the reactions to this man were coming from a different ego state, and if so, who that state was, what were his/her needs, etc. So I think it all depends on the therapist as to whether they will interpret what is going on for you as transference or something else--depending on the type of therapy they employ. I think it is very interesting how the type of therapy influences how a therapist works with a specific problem. What is transference to one therapist can be something very different to another. What is most important is the outcome of the therapist's efforts rather than the exact interpretation he makes, i.e. there are many ways to skin a cat.