UNDER THE VOLCANO - VARIETIES OF ANGER AND THEIR TRANSFORMATION

This paper seeks to illustrate the ambiguity of the affect of 'anger' which masks a number of subtly different emotions observable in clinic al work. The author differentiates between anger, rage and hatred in t erms of the dialectical relationship between ego and self and pays par ticular attention to why it is that for some patients, experiences of anger may be harnessed creatively into development, whereas for others , they remain self destructive. Using illustrations from work with two patients in analysis, the author describes how a persistent grievance originating in the earliest stages of life is linked with hatred and can lead to a defensive self structure. It is suggested that the clues to the presence of a grievance and to its potential transformation ar e likely to be observable first in the analyst's countertransference i n the form of an all-embracing emotional strait jacket. Analysts' capa city to tolerate their own hatred is crucial to the transformation of a patient's grievance.