Editor's Introduction

The phenomenology of aggression has been a topic of fundamental importance to psychoanalysis ever since Freud proposed his dual drive theory in the early 1900's. The emphasis on the drives in classical theory has led each school of psychoanalytic thought, from British object relations to Lacanian, to give careful consideration to aggression and its role in intrapsychic life. Kohut and the self psychologists have proposed a theory of aggression emphasizing the distinction between healthy or constructive aggression and destructive or pathological aggression. This theory is elucidated by Miliora, the author of this issue's lead paper, “The Self Psychology of Aggression and Its Treatment,” who then proceeds to discuss her work with an adult patient whose childhood efforts to express healthy aggression were not responded to with empathic attunement. The author then develops a compelling clinical argument that her patient's chronic disappointments in this particular selfobject realm (mirroring) gave rise to episodes of narcissistic rage and humiliation; ultimately, the patient was led to disavow and dissociate the destructive and pathological aggression that evolved, and gradually developed a range of symptoms including revenge fantasies, overeating, drug abuse, and inhibition in major areas of his life such as work and education, Miliora provides details of her