The treatment of anger, nevertheless, remains a relatively neglected topic in clinical research, especially with seriously disturbed patients. Vietnam combat veterans with PTSD most certainly fall in that latter category. These patients are not only treatment resistant, they are additionally problematic because of their readiness to become angry during therapy and towards the therapist. As an energizer of aggressive behavior, anger may have value in the context of combat, although strong arousal can impair the processing of complex information. However, outside of combat, episodes of anger and aggression are problematic for military organizations, and, in civilian life, a disposition to react quickly and intensely with anger and aggression is inappropriate.
Angry people are often fiercely resistant to anger treatment.
Because anger can mobilize one's psychological resources, energizing behaviors that take corrective action, we need our capacity for anger as a survival mechanism. In an increasingly bureaucratized world that diminishes the significance of the individual, anger is a psychological fortification for a sense of worth. Anger provides for personal resilience. It is a guardian of self-esteem, it potentiates the ability to redress grievances, and it can boost determination to overcome obstacles to happiness and aspirations. Anger, thus, is a Janus-faced character in psychosocial images.