A key element of Sigmund Freud's work that is the basis of social casework is the idea of?

• A. Transference.
• B. Denial.
• C. Sublimation.
• D. Regression.

Answer: (A)

Transference is the unconscious redirection of feelings from important people in a client’s life onto the social worker. In social casework, this dynamic is central because clients often react to the helper as if they were someone from their past—loving, resisting, or fearing the helper in ways that reveal unresolved relationships and needs. Recognizing and working through these transferred feelings allows the worker to interpret the client’s reactions, build a therapeutic alliance, and guide interventions that address underlying patterns. While other Freud-inspired defenses like denial, sublimation, or regression appear in practice, transference directly explains how the client’s past relationships shape the present helping relationship, which is why it’s the best answer.