You do not currently have permission to view the full text for this document. Please sign in to an account with an active subscription or contact support.
This paper intends to discuss cruelty in adolescents. Adolescents individuation process may be problematic leading to depression which involves strong feelings of aggression and guilt. In this process adolescents may return to their body as an object of vengeance not only to punish themselves but also their parents. This creates an area of cruelty. Examples provided in this paper show that some adolescents use their cruelty during the therapy sessions against the therapist who needs to survive and transform the beta elements to alpha elements through alpha processes. Therapy sessions and the therapist may be used as transitional objects and areas by the adolescents in order to survive adolescent breakdowns.