Final answer:
Among the rules of a counseling situation, personalization is the one that could lead to countertransference. Setting boundaries, empathy, and objectivity are all practices that help to avoid it as they maintain professional distance and neutral guidance.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question is asking to identify which of the rules of a counseling situation could potentially lead to countertransference except for one. Countertransference occurs when a therapist, or counselor, starts to transfer their own feelings onto the client, affecting the therapeutic relationship. Among the options provided, setting boundaries, empathy, and objectivity, personalization is the factor that could lead to countertransference. Setting boundaries is crucial to maintain a professional distance; empathy is necessary to understand the client's feelings without becoming overly involved; and objectivity is the practice of removing personal feelings to ensure clear, neutral guidance. Personalization, on the other hand, refers to the counselor bringing their own personal feelings or experiences into the counseling situation, which could muddy the professional relationship and lead to countertransference. Personalization is, therefore, the exception to the rule.