Envy in the group-therapy process

The origins and vicissitudes of envy are discussed from the viewpoints of Boris and the Kleinians. Their ideas, coupled with a relational perspective of the therapeutic process, enrich our understanding and inform our work concerning the emergence, processing, and working through of envy in the therapy group. A variable in the negative therapeutic reaction, envy can be destructive to the therapy process. It is proposed that envy, accompanied by shame and guilt, is likely to enter the group via enactments. They are fueled by projective identification, which, if ignored, impede the continuation of the group process. Four clinical vignettes illustrate how envy enters the group and how the group functions as a container and transformational object as it processes the projective identifications and works through the enactments.