Identification of the Self as an Aggressor: Intergenerational Vicissitudes of Victim/Victimizer Self Representations

Abstract: Drawing on work with traumatized patients as well as survivors of war and genocide, this paper traces the vicissitudes of a psychic representation that the author terms identification of the self as an aggressor. This identification arises out of catastrophic traumatic events, traumatic events of everyday life, those instinctual drives that ensnare us as animals, and our capacity for symbolization and self-reflective thinking that marks us as human. It creates the potential for enactment not only of the roles of victim and prey but also of victimizer and predator, setting the stage for potential war crimes in every nation. Movement toward integration of these roles and identities is proposed as a means to prevent enactment.