The Group And The Unconscious Rle Group Therapy

Originally published in 1984, this is the first published account in English of the development of group psychotherapy in France. Under the leadership of Professor Didier Anzieu, psychoanalysts actively and ingeniously brought psychoanalytical insights to bear upon group process. These methods were widely applied in training groups for mental health professionals, as well as in many other organizations. Anzieu and his colleagues made many advances in understanding the psychology of large-group situations, and these advances contributed to the growing interest in the field. The main aim of the book is to examine the unconscious life of the human group. Professor Anzieu describes the processes of fantasy and imagination that are common to social organizations, training groups and psychotherapeutic groups, and extends the psychoanalytical theory about dreams to the group. He gives an account of the various kinds of group fantasies, such as the group illusion, the group as a mouth, breaking apart fantasies, the group-machine, and the self-destructive group. The book is illustrated by ten clinical case studies, which are vividly described by Professor Anzieu. The interaction of the imaginary processes and the social ideas of the group are also studied, and the theoretical discussion in general reflects the interest of French psychoanalysts in the earliest structures of the mind and of the psychotic level of the personality as it becomes manifest in the group process.

Originally published in 1984, this was the first published account in English of the original and highly interesting development of group psychotherapy in France at the time. Under the leadership of Professor Didier Anzieu, psychoanalysts have actively and ingeniously brought psychoanalytical insights to bear upon group process. These methods have been widely applied in training groups for mental health professionals, as well as in many other organizations. Anzieu and his colleagues have made many advances in understanding the psychology of large-group situations, and these advances will contribute to the growing interest in the field. The main aim of the book is to examine the unconscious life of the human group. Professor Anzieu describes the processes of fantasy and imagination that are common to social organizations, training groups and psychotherapeutic groups, and extends the psychoanalytical theory about dreams to the group. He gives an account of the various kinds of group fantasies, such as the group illusion, the group as a mouth, breaking apart fantasies, the group-machine, and the self-destructive group. The book is illustrated by ten clinical case studies, which are vividly described by Professor Anzieu. The interaction of the imaginary processes and the social ideas of the group are also studied, and the theoretical discussion in general reflects the interest of French psychoanalysts in the earliest structures of the mind and of the psychotic level of the personality as it becomes manifest in the group process.

Originally published in 1984, this is the first published account in English of the development of group psychotherapy in France. Under the leadership of Professor Didier Anzieu, psychoanalysts actively and ingeniously brought psychoanalytical insights to bear upon group process. These methods were widely applied in training groups for mental health professionals, as well as in many other organizations. Anzieu and his colleagues made many advances in understanding the psychology of large-group situations, and these advances contributed to the growing interest in the field. The main aim of the book is to examine the unconscious life of the human group. Professor Anzieu describes the processes of fantasy and imagination that are common to social organizations, training groups and psychotherapeutic groups, and extends the psychoanalytical theory about dreams to the group. He gives an account of the various kinds of group fantasies, such as the group illusion, the group as a mouth, breaking apart fantasies, the group-machine, and the self-destructive group. The book is illustrated by ten clinical case studies, which are vividly described by Professor Anzieu. The interaction of the imaginary processes and the social ideas of the group are also studied, and the theoretical discussion in general reflects the interest of French psychoanalysts in the earliest structures of the mind and of the psychotic level of the personality as it becomes manifest in the group process.

This book, originally published in 1972, aimed to provide a theoretical framework for group therapists to guide them through the mass of variables which beset them. Its scope therefore is extremely broad, for it also touches on philosophy, psychology, sociology, communication and general systems theory. In the last chapter certain conclusions are drawn concerning the relationship between group and psycho-dynamics. The book will be of interest to those who have already had some experience of small, medium or large groups, and who want to think about their work in more general terms: it was not at the time widely realised how radically different and how potentially powerful are the implications of group procedures, not only for therapy but in such fields as education, industry and politics. Freud recognised this when he pointed out the dilemma of having to procure for the group precisely those features which were characteristic of the individual, and which are extinguished in him by the formation of the group. Whilst the problem for the individual is the intrusion of unconscious factors, for the group it is the group’s equivalent of consciousness, namely communication and organization, which is in a quandary. The group model differs crucially from the psychological, but they may relate in the sense that, as Freud indicated, neurosis represents a recapitulation within the individual of mankind’s group history. The unconscious mind, then, is a group phenomenon. In other words, group theory turns psychoanalysis upside down and begins at the point where Freud left off, relating neurosis to its social sources. In the light of the group approach, therefore, neurosis and certain of the psychoses can be viewed as localized deposits of unresolved group experiences within the individual, whether they be past, current or an expectation of the future; a feature which makes traumatic neuroses more understandable since they cannot be explained in terms of infantile neurosis. The author suggested the possibility of a new development in group techniques, namely that of large group therapy freed of community ties or training considerations, in which attitudes and ideologies make themselves evident, not as cloudy idealistic non sequiturs but as crucial and clearly definable climates which either impede or promote communication and the flow of information.

Originally published in 1976, this book discusses the formation and beginning of psychotherapy groups and examines the treatment of a number of social problems through group therapy. Inevitably a product of the time in which it was written, this book nonetheless makes a valuable contribution to the history of group psychotherapy and will still be of interest to group psychotherapists, psychoanalysts, psychiatrists, social scientists, social workers and group managers today.

First published in English in 1982 and based on more than five years of experience with therapy groups in the author’s own practice, this book aims to introduce the reader to psychoanalytic group therapy. Assuming little previous knowledge, it presents the subject in a progressive and illustrative way, and gives a central place to case material that was otherwise rarely published. Theory remains in the background and serves only to direct light on to problems which arise in practice, such as working through the early mother child relationship and the Oedipus complex in the group situation, the theory of the group process, and the various forms of transference, including the group conductor’s counter-transference. The book’s special value consists in its practical non-dogmatic orientation, in its integration of a variety of conceptions about groups, in its vividly illustrative case presentations, and in the open discussion of the problem of counter-transference. Written in non-technical language, it gives a lively picture of how ‘the business of psychoanalytic group therapy’ is managed, and will be of value to group analysts in practice and in training, as well as those interested in a more general way in psychoanalytic group therapy and what it is all about.

This book, originally published in 1972, aimed to provide a theoretical framework for group therapists to guide them through the mass of variables which beset them. Its scope therefore is extremely broad, for it also touches on philosophy, psychology, sociology, communication and general systems theory. In the last chapter certain conclusions are drawn concerning the relationship between group and psycho-dynamics. The book will be of interest to those who have already had some experience of small, medium or large groups, and who want to think about their work in more general terms: it was not at the time widely realised how radically different and how potentially powerful are the implications of group procedures, not only for therapy but in such fields as education, industry and politics. Freud recognised this when he pointed out the dilemma of having to procure for the group precisely those features which were characteristic of the individual, and which are extinguished in him by the formation of the group. Whilst the problem for the individual is the intrusion of unconscious factors, for the group it is the group’s equivalent of consciousness, namely communication and organization, which is in a quandary. The group model differs crucially from the psychological, but they may relate in the sense that, as Freud indicated, neurosis represents a recapitulation within the individual of mankind’s group history. The unconscious mind, then, is a group phenomenon. In other words, group theory turns psychoanalysis upside down and begins at the point where Freud left off, relating neurosis to its social sources. In the light of the group approach, therefore, neurosis and certain of the psychoses can be viewed as localized deposits of unresolved group experiences within the individual, whether they be past, current or an expectation of the future; a feature which makes traumatic neuroses more understandable since they cannot be explained in terms of infantile neurosis. The author suggested the possibility of a new development in group techniques, namely that of large group therapy freed of community ties or training considerations, in which attitudes and ideologies make themselves evident, not as cloudy idealistic non sequiturs but as crucial and clearly definable climates which either impede or promote communication and the flow of information.

Originally published in 1981, the inadequacies of the ‘medical model’ for the understanding and psychological treatment of neuroses were widely recognized. A number of alternative approaches had arisen in response, but most of the models were theoretical, and little experimental support was documented. One of the most pressing needs at the time was for a system of classification which could predict the behaviour of different types of neurotic patient under different treatments, and thus provide a framework for the selection of patients for small group psychotherapy and for behaviour therapy. The authors of this title develop such a framework, involving the matching of patient, therapist and treatment according to certain adjustment strategies such as ‘direction of interest’, ‘conservatism’, ‘convergent-divergent thinking’, ‘openness to inner experience’ and ‘control’. The ‘personal style’ of an individual is defined by these strategies, and by the patient’s expectations from treatment. The authors collected a considerable amount of original research material over many years, and their evidence demonstrates the fundamental importance of ‘personal style’ in treatment allocation and response. The new approach which they propose will be of interest not only to academic psychologists but to those in the mental health professions actively engaged in psychotherapy and behaviour therapy.