title: Transference-focused psychotherapy with former child soldiers: meeting the murderous self.
abstract: This article describes the application of transference-focused psychotherapy (TFP) to the treatment of former child soldiers suffering from dissociative identity disorder. It focuses on the problems with aggression faced in psychotherapy. TFP provides a psychodynamic, object relations model to understand the aggression arising in psychotherapy, focusing on the transference and countertransference in the here and now of the therapeutic relationship. Aggression is considered an essential and vital inner dynamic aimed at autonomy, distancing, and the prevention of injury and dependency. In extremely traumatized patients there may be aggressive and oppressive inner parts that want total control-identifying with childhood aggressors-thus avoiding vulnerability. According to TFP it is vital that this aggression is addressed as belonging to the patients themselves in order to reach some form of integration, balance, and health. This is illustrated in a case description.
authors: Department of Psychiatry, VU University Medical Center/GGZinGeest, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. draijerdelouw@hetnet.nl
authors: Nel
authors: N
authors: Draijer
authors: Pauline
authors: P
authors: Van Zon
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology; D000786:Anger; D002648:Child; D003379:Countertransference; D003674:Defense Mechanisms; D003858:Dependency, Psychological; D004213:Dissociative Disorders / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy*; D004532:Ego; D005239:Fear; D005260:Female; D006708:Homicide / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008297:Male; D008889:Military Personnel / Q000523:psychology*; D009426:Netherlands; D026684:Personal Autonomy; D010554:Personality Disorders / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D011575:Psychoanalytic Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D012929:Psychological Distance; D012036:Refugees / Q000523:psychology*; D012807:Sierra Leone / Q000208:ethnology; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy*; D014167:Transference, Psychology; D014754:Violence / Q000523:psychology; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000517:prevention & control