ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews of Heinz Kohut formulation of a several-step process of cure in psychoanalytic treatment, and attempts to apply his method to an understanding of the process of change and development in psychoanalytically-oriented group treatment. Kohut differentiates between two kinds of aggression: a competitive aggression aimed at removing obstacles to goals, and narcissistic rage, which is directed at selfobjects who threaten or who are perceived to threaten the self—resulting in narcissistic injury. The chapter focuses on the individual’s experience of narcissistic rage, after a group of any kind forms and develops a cohesive group identity or groupself; the groupself can be vulnerable to narcissistic injury and rage. It provides a case illustration that would demonstrate the particular utility of using a group modality to help a socially isolated, narcissistically vulnerable individual revitalise himself and expand his relational capacities through group participation.
