Trauma and the origin of aggression
Issue of the actuality of trauma is related
to another important problem: where does the aggression of the patients come
from. What Freud considered the repression of sexual and aggressive drives
would cause neurotic symptoms. The aggression is considered as a drive and
therefore inside of the patient. However, if we acknowledge the actuality of
trauma, we need to consider the origin of the aggression somewhat differently.
One of the papers that deal with the origin
of aggression was the “Confusion of Tanges” paper in 1936. He discussed the
issue of the “identification and introjection of the aggressor”. However, what
he discussed was not exactly the way the victim turns to be another aggressor.
He rather descrived the process of the victim identifies with the aggressor’s wishes
and desires in a masochistic way. He states that the most destructive is the victim’s
Introjection of the guilt feelings of the adult (p162) and the resultant masochism
of the victim (Frankel, 2002). Ferenczi stressed rather the way that the victim
hurt him/herself instead of aggressing others.
Frankl explains as follows. While
discussing the identification with the aggressor, Ferenczi mainly talks about
concordant identification based on Heinrich Racker’s classification of the two
types of identification process (Racker, 1968). However, there should be
another type of identification: compementaly identification where the victim
identifies with his aggressive nature and becomes the one. Okano also discussed
this process in his argument of his discussion of “shadowy personality”. It is
of interest to mention the notion of the same name proposed by Anna Freud
(1936). This notions describes more closely to the way this complementary
identification with the aggressor.
Frankel, J. (2002). Exploring
Ferenczi's concept of identification with the aggressor: Its role in trauma,
everyday life, and the therapeutic relationship. Psychoanalytic Dialogues,
12(1), 101–139.
Howell, E (2014) Ferenczi’s Concept of Identification with The Aggressor:
Understanding Dissociative Structure with Interacting Victim and Abuser
Self-States. The American Journal of Psychoanalysis 74(1):48-59.
Okano (2019) The origin of
so-called “shadowy personalities” in patients with dissociative identity
disorder. European Journal of Trauma & Dissociation. 3(2): 95-102.
Freud, A (1994)
[1936]. Das Ich und die
Abwehrmechanismen (6th, reprint ed.). Frankfurt: Fischer
Taschenbuch Verlag.
Racker,H (1968) Transference and
countertransuference. New York: International Universityies Press.
Let us look at the way modern analysts conceive
the issue of aggression in DID. Dissociative personalities with aggressive nature
have been described generally as “the internal persecutor” or “persecutory
personality” by various authorities (Kluft, Putnam, Ross, Howell, van der Hart
etc). Putnam states that some persecutor personalities can be recognized as introjects
of the original abuser (1989, p.108)。Van der Hart et al（2006）states
that it is at least one type of EPs (emotional part of personalities) that has
some protective role, and recommends clinicians that they pay respect to them（2006, p.312）Howell
(2011) also stresses defensive purposes when one of these “persecutory
personalities” are formed and states: “Having persecutory and abuser identity
states is like having an internal Al Qaeda or Taliban that punishes you for the
slightest infraction of bizarre and arcane rules. It involves being emotionally
attached to inner ands perhaps outer persecutors, even though you were tortured
by them”(2011, p.211).
Howell further states that the “system
depends for its safety, on the inhibition of expression or the exclusion from
consciousness of powerful overwhelming affects, such as terror and rage.”(Howell,
2016, p.211). These descriptions indicate that DID’s aggression is generally
understood by experts as a result of internalizing what was initially external
and expresses it in a self-destructive and masochistic way. This is a process
where the actual trauma is transformed into the aggression and in that sense,
internal and external processes are involved.
Putnam, F (1989) Diagnosis and treatment of Multiple
Personality Disorder. The Guilford Press.
