The Analyst's Courage and Vulnerability in the Countertransference.

Courage requires us to persist and persevere despite fear. We make choices everyday-some are courageous, and some are not courageous at all. This dimension of psychoanalytic work is significant, yet relatively neglected in the psychoanalytic literature. Maintaining a courageous stance as an analyst can be challenging and threatening. Often, the therapist faces deeply rooted fears about abandonment, envy, competition, anger, or other forms of intense emotional arousal. This requires us to confront ourselves but also, at times, confront our patient's behaviors. It is crucial to think and act independently, and deal with their disapproval and opposition, despite the risks challenging patients present. Ultimately, we need to manage our vulnerable feelings while remaining authentic, rather than hiding behind an overly clinical stance. The author presents two patients who required and inspired the courage to face her own anxieties, ultimately contributing to the treatments' progress.

Vitalizing the group--and me.

Emotional liveliness in a psychotherapy group can take various forms. Maintaining this liveliness can be a challenging task in a group, particularly when both the patients and the therapist face deeply rooted inhibitions, including fears about competition, being judged, and being destructive. The author of this paper, a candidate and group member in a postdoctoral group psychotherapy training program, recounts some of her experiences as the leader of a newly formed and developing group, particularly as they relate to her efforts to become and remain a "libidinal" (i.e., life or vital force) leader, despite the impact of the group members' and her own anxieties. Clinical anecdotes and insights about the author's own growth, both personally and professionally, as they relate to establishing and maintaining vitality are presented.