Aggression and projective identification in the treatment of victims

The victim must reestablish trust both in order to do the work of exploring the hidden affects associated with the primary trauma and in order to overcome the secondary trauma which is a breakdown in the victim's relationship with his social world. Another result of victimization is that disowned aggressive aspects of the victim's self have been reinstated and the victim may be unable to tolerate them, consequently employing mechanisms such as projection to rid him or herself of these negative identity fragments.