ABSTRACT
Discussion of the angry patient, however, entails an understanding of the clinician's perspective on the genesis of anger affects in the therapeutic process. The psychology of the self, with its emphasis on the universal need for self-objects, has brought into sharper focus the affective responses to narcissistic injury. This chapter focuses on the relevance of alter-ego and twinship transferences in understanding experiences of frustration and anger as they emerge in group psychotherapy. It presents a clinical vignette to illustrate some of the selfobject transferences emerging in the relationships among the group members and with the therapist. When working with narcissistically vulnerable and angry patients in group psychotherapy one must take into account the entire treatment context. Interaction takes place among the identified patient, the other members, the therapist, and the image of the group-as-a-whole. In members' counter-reactions to the difficult person, group-destructive forces frequently are stimulated.
