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Chapter 16 - An Introduction to the Dynamics of Anger, Aggression, and Violence

from Beyond 1:1 Therapy: Working Psychodynamically with Clinicians, Teams, and Organisations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 August 2023

Adam Polnay ,
Rhiannon Pugh ,
Victoria Barker ,
David Bell ,
Allan Beveridge ,
Adam Burley ,
Allyson Lumsden ,
C. Susan Mizen  and
Lauren Wilson
Foreword by
Nancy McWilliams
Adam Polnay
Affiliation:
The State Hospital, Carstairs and Royal Edinburgh Hospital, Edinburgh
Victoria Barker
Affiliation:
East London NHS Foundation Trust, London
David Bell
Affiliation:
British Psychoanalytic Society
Allan Beveridge
Affiliation:
Royal College of Psychiatrists, London
Adam Burley
Affiliation:
Rivers Centre, Edinburgh
Allyson Lumsden
Affiliation:
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde
C. Susan Mizen
Affiliation:
Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust, Exeter
Lauren Wilson
Affiliation:
Royal Edinburgh Hospital, Edinburgh
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Summary

This chapter starts by considering anger and the various routes to this feeling. We discuss how anger can be a desperate call to be attended to and a powerful invitation to neglect. We then discuss aggression and violence, including the potential role of shame and humiliation. At times, violence may accompany a process of an individual projecting unwanted, intolerable, or overwhelming feelings into another person. At other times, violence may be understood more in the context of fighting a perceived danger. We take inclusive approach to contemporary theory, noting that more than one approach may be useful when trying to understand a person’s actions. We touch on wider societal responses to violence, acknowledging that this is a potentially divisive area associated with strong feelings. The dynamics of anger, aggression, and violence are not necessarily straightforward to make sense of, and it is easy for any of us to inadvertently become drawn into responses that may make a situation worse. Conversely, with an awareness of key dynamics and time to reflect on these, professionals and teams can find an understanding of angry, aggressive, or violent encounters, which is a prerequisite for safe practice, working matters through, and resisting harms.

Keywords

angeraggressionviolencepsychodynamics of violenceself-preservative violencesado-masochistic violencestaff countertransferencere-enactmentreflective practice
Type
Chapter
Information
Cambridge Guide to Psychodynamic Psychotherapy , pp. 244 - 257
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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