ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book deals with the primitive forms of the Oedipus complex, the combined parental figure, the role of projective identification and primitive psychotic forms of the Oedipus complex, and explores an enriched understanding of violence and murder. It argues that all homicides occur within the context of a group, be it the family, the gang, the community, or society. The book describes how the process of group psychotherapy provides an intense arena in which the forensic patient can be observed, as well as one in which psychodynamic change may occur. It proposes that unconscious rage and murderousness can be stirred up in pregnancy, with its concrete as well as symbolic invocation of the woman’s own attachment to another. The book also deals with a patient in a regional secure hospital who has paranoid schizophrenia and who killed some victims.
