ABSTRACT
I begin with the assumption that the ownership of difficult affects (throughout development as well as therapy) leads to greater intimacy, creativity, and growth. One of the most challenging affects to recognise, own, and express is anger. And the case I have chosen to illustrate my point turns out, on the face of it, to be a consulting room failure! Nonetheless, there is more to this story than first meets the eye. Its outcome only redoubles my determination to tell you what I mean when I talk about the two-way track that anger may take, the potential dangers in anger disavowed, and the potential vitality that comes with ownership of anger, including the creative possibilities and risks involved in moving anger forward toward more intimate relating. But let me begin at an earlier beginning.
