On Attacking and Being Attacked in Group Psychotherapy

Abstract

ABSTRACTVerbal attacks are unavoidable within long-term psychotherapy groups. This article examines the inherent therapeutic value of potentially destructive exchanges. Group leader attempts to objectively define and regulate “attacks” are critiqued. A case example illustrates how leader interventions using induced feelings can enhance the therapeutic process and subsequent relational repair. Leader difficulties in identifying with the relational positions involved (attacker, victim, bystander) are explored, and a framework is offered for illuminating unconscious, dissociated, or unformulated emotional communications. It is argued that leader resistances may inadvertently promote and maintain group members’ damaging tendency to direct aggression toward rather than away from the self. Instead of being avoided or controlled, verbal attacking can be considered meaningful developmental progress and leveraged clinically to promote emotional maturation within the group.