counterwill

{{Short description|Psychoanalytic concept}}

Counterwill is a psychological term that means instinctive resistance to any sense of coercion.

The term was first used by Austrian psychoanalyst Otto Rank and has been popularized by developmental psychologist Gordon Neufeld.{{Cite web | title = Hold On to Your Kids | author = Gordon Neufield | work = Random House LLC.| accessdate = 2013-07-02 | url = http://www.randomhouse.com/book/120863/hold-on-to-your-kids-by-gordon-neufeld-and-gabor-mate-md}} In Neufeld's model, counterwill is a functional attribute of human behavior in that it protects personal boundaries and enables individuation. It has also been described as "will in reaction to the will of others".{{cite journal|last1=Amundson|first1=Jon|title=Will in the Psychology of Otto Rank: A Transpersonal Perspective|journal=Journal of Transpersonal Psychology|date=1981|volume=13|issue=2|page=113|url=http://www.atpweb.org/jtparchive/trps-13-81-02-113.pdf|accessdate=2 September 2015}}