Aggression in Psychodynamic Psychotherapy and Supervision: Becoming a More Effective Therapist.

Access to one's healthy aggression is critical for both patient and therapist. On the patient's end, the ability to access and modulate aggression is fundamental to the establishment of healthy self-esteem and the capacity to sustain relationships and pursue life goals. On the therapist's end, access to aggression allows for the setting of a secure therapeutic frame and the subsequent conduct of the deep work of therapy.

The courage of the group therapist.

This report strives to legitimize for the field of psychodynamic group therapy the reflection on and study of courage. The authors surveyed group therapy leaders, asking them to describe courageous moments in their own group practice, and then explored the common themes arising in these examples, including openly confronting their mistakes, facing their own and group members' anger, and dealing with unexpected moments in group sessions. Attending to courageous leader moments-and the feelings of hope and pride that they engender-help to neutralize the negative emotions that group leaders are constantly invited to contain.

Buried treasure: money, ethics, and countertransference in group therapy.

Exploring money in the context of group therapy highlights the powerful way that groups can magnify the most intimate and charged aspects of our patients as well as ourselves.A thorough self-examination that includes an ethical framework for decision-making about money matters can safeguard against problems resulting from therapists' and patients' unconscious relationship to money. This paper addresses the setting and raising of fees, pre-group evaluations, third-party payers, handling of payments and statements, as well as combined treatment.

Parting gifts: termination rituals in group therapy.

A patient's termination from group therapy is a powerful experience for the departing patient, the therapist, and all group members. Unless the feelings evoked are channeled into constructive expression, they may undermine this potentially valuable phase of both the departing patient's group treatment and the life of the group as a whole. A termination ritual, styled by a particular patient according to his or her own need, therapy goals, and personality may help the patient achieve a more clearly defined sense of self.