The Coexistence of Primitive Rage in Therapy: A Four-Year-Old Girl, Her Parents, and the Therapist

This article will address the development and expression of rage between a four-year old girl and her parents as well as its manifestation in a therapy session. Intrapsychic and interpersonal causes of rage will be postulated for the child and the parents. The mutual experience of rage, which is shared and contributed to by the child and the parents, will be examined. Attention will also be given to the transferential aspects of the patient's rage and the countertransferential aspects of the therapist's rage reactions. Finally, strategies for neutralizing rage will be discussed.