Maxine Gower - Boulder Psychotherapy Services |
Psychotherapy in person or by phone, call (303) 875-5046
AGGRESSIONOne of the defining features of human beings is that they can be aggressive towards themselves and others. Aggression has a role to play in protecting and sustaining us. It is always a part of conflict, which is something we all experience. Because it is such an integral part of the human experience, it needs to be integrated into our emotional vocabulary. Given this fact, how might one embrace this aspect of one's humanness and bring creativity and imagination to the situation? When one learns how to use aggression in the service of life the whole subject becomes interesting because rather than fearing aggression we may come to see it as an ally. In the Modern Psychoanalytic tradition, aggression is seen as a life force and as such it deserves much understanding and attention. Have you noticed how much energy there is when one is angry or reactive in some way? Ever wondered where all that energy is coming from and what intelligence might belie it? What if one was able to harness that energy and use it in the service of life and life giving causes rather than for destructive or death oriented purposes? What if we were actually able to enjoy our aggression and accept it as an intrinsic and inseparable part of ourselves? What might it look like to enjoy one's sadistic or murderous or vengeful feelings, without ever harming oneself or others? Developing skills in working with anger and other forms of aggression such as hate, revenge, murderous impulses etc, is possible and can be learned in a therapeutic relationship. Please see my article entitled "Revenge: Interplay of creative and aggressive forces" in the Winter 2005 edition of the CCMPS Newsletter at the www.ccmps.net website for an elaboration of this perspective. |
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Maxine Gower Psychotherapy | psychotherapist@maxinegower.com | 2885 Aurora Avenue, Suite 8 | Boulder, CO, 80303 USA | 303-875-5046 |
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