Since the publication of Self Experiences in Group in 1998-the first book to apply self psychology and intersubjectivity to group work-there have been tremendous advancements in the areas of affect, attachment, infant research, intersubjective regulation, motivational theory, neurobiology, philosophy, somatic understanding, and trauma. Carefully edited by Irene Harwood, Walter Stone, and Malcolm Pines, Self Experiences in Group, Revisited is a completely revised and updated application of self-psychological and intersubjective perspectives to couples, family, and group work, incorporating many of these recent findings and theories of the past decade. Divided into five sections, the contributors take an updated approach to the prenate and neonate in group; couples and the family in group; group theory, technique, and application; working with trauma; and group processes and artistic applications. Throughout, the reader is engaged in affectively understanding what is experienced by individuals in the regulation and dysregulation of self as part of the interpersonal relating, learning, and change that can occur in groups. Contributors: Mary Dluhy, Barbara Feld, Darryl Feldman, Vivian Gold, Irene Harwood, Gloria Batkin Kahn, Joseph Lichtenberg, Louisa Livingston, Marty Livingston, Jane van Loon, Judy McLaughlin-Ryan, Malcolm Pines, John Schlapobersky, Robert Schulte, Rosemary Segalla, Emanuel Shapiro, Walter Stone, Paula Thomson

Since the publication of Self Experiences in Group in 1998-the first book to apply self psychology and intersubjectivity to group work-there have been tremendous advancements in the areas of affect, attachment, infant research, intersubjective regulation, motivational theory, neurobiology, philosophy, somatic understanding, and trauma. Carefully edited by Irene Harwood, Walter Stone, and Malcolm Pines, Self Experiences in Group, Revisited is a completely revised and updated application of self-psychological and intersubjective perspectives to couples, family, and group work, incorporating many of these recent findings and theories of the past decade. Divided into five sections, the contributors take an updated approach to the prenate and neonate in group; couples and the family in group; group theory, technique, and application; working with trauma; and group processes and artistic applications. Throughout, the reader is engaged in affectively understanding what is experienced by individuals in the regulation and dysregulation of self as part of the interpersonal relating, learning, and change that can occur in groups. Contributors: Mary Dluhy, Barbara Feld, Darryl Feldman, Vivian Gold, Irene Harwood, Gloria Batkin Kahn, Joseph Lichtenberg, Louisa Livingston, Marty Livingston, Jane van Loon, Judy McLaughlin-Ryan, Malcolm Pines, John Schlapobersky, Robert Schulte, Rosemary Segalla, Emanuel Shapiro, Walter Stone, Paula Thomson

~~lcolm Pines and Lise Rafaelsen The Seventh International Congress of Group Psychotherapy organized in Copenhagen by the International Association of Group Psychotherapy was one of the largest and most representative congresses on this subject that has yet been held. Probably for the first time we achieved the declared aim of the International Association: that of bringing together representatives of the different approaches to group psychotherapy in the same forum to allow for communication, exchange, and development of our relation ships. Previous congresses have been less representative and it seems to augur well for the future of the Association and of it's congresses that there was this strong force and wish for unification and for exchange within the field of group psychotherapy. The Congress theme, "The Individual and the Group: Boundaries and Interrelations in Theory and Practice" was chosen because it gave an opportunity once again to examine the very basis for group ~sycho therapy as theory and as practice. The basic theme, stated in the opening papers by Professor Marie Jahoda and Professor James Anthony, was replayed daily with new developments and variations according to the theoretical position of each subsequent speaker.

Malcolm Pines and Lise Rafaelsen The Seventh International Congress of Group Psychotherapy organized in Copenhagen by the International Association of Group Psychotherapy was one of the largest and most representative congresses on this subject that has yet been held. Probably for the first time we achieved the declared aim of the International Association: that of bringing together representatives of the different approaches to group psychotherapy in the same forum to allow for communication, exchange, and development of our relation ships. Previous congresses have been less representative and it seems to augur well for the future of the Association and of it's congresses that there was this strong force and wish for unification and for exchange within the field of group psychotherapy. The Congress theme, "The Individual and the Group: Boundaries and Interrelations in Theory and Practice" was chosen because it gave an opportunity once again to examine the very basis for group psycho therapy as theory and as practice. The basic theme, stated in the opening papers by Professor Marie Jahoda and Professor James Anthony, was replayed daily with new developments and variations according to the theoretical position of each subsequent speaker."

The ring of fire "stands for the life cycle of both the universe and each individual being: the circular dance of nature in the eternal process of creation and destruction. At the same time, the light radiated by the ring of flames symbolizes eternal wisdom and transcendental illumination" (J.E. Cirlot from "A Dictionary of Symbols"). The circular form in which the group is seated symbolizes its unity, connectedness, and cohesion as well as its microcosmic relation to the larger world of human evolution, culture, and the life cycle. Foulkes, Bion, and others have identified primitive layers of affect and object relations where universal collective themes and early infantile object relations are re-experienced and repeated in the meeting place for healing called the therapy group. In this context, very profound emotions and energies are released which have deep implications for change and growth, provided the therapist can manage and respond to them effectively. This book brings together a collection of new and original contributions to an understanding of primitive object relations and intensely critical emotional states which present the maximum challenge to the group psychotherap

At last, a book on therapy which is easy to read and jargon-free, yet manages to convey the richness of the group experience.' - Penelope Campling, British Journal of Psychiatry 'It is vitalising reading - and should be on the shelves of any psychotherapy department and of any therapist with an interest in groups.' - Chris Evans, British Journal of Medical Psychology 'The purpose of this short, highly readable and extremely informative book is "to provide the reader with a practical insight into the group-analytic method of group therapy". The book achieves this goal through a format that is interactive with the reader.' - Jerome S. Gans, International Journal of Group Psychotherapy A Workbook of Group-Analytic Interventions is designed to complement the academic and experiential training of therapists. Written by experienced practitioners, it gives trainees a practical insight into the ways in which group analysts may tackle difficult situations, allowing them to understand more fully the nature of intervention right from the beginning of their training. Eight situations drawn from real psychotherapy groups are presented in detail so that readers may exercise their own skills in taking decisions and judging appropriate interventions. Each situation is then analysed in depth by one of the authors, who describe and comment on the thinking behind the interventions suggested by a panel of group analysts. The book gives the trainee a wide and informed appreciation of different situations arising in groups and appropriate ways of handling them. It provides an excellent base from which to start to practise.

In this text, Earl Hopper has made a major contribution to the understanding of the depth and breadth of individuals and how we might help them to know more of their patterns of relatedness with others, inter-personally, socially and culturally. Of particular note is the open honest manner of his consideration of his counter-transference and these can be clearly observed in the abundance of pertinent vignettes. This book draws attention to theory and practice in relation to a side of therapeutic work insufficiently attended to and will reward readers at all stages of professional development. It is written in a clear, accessible style and manages to convey complex ideas in a readily comprehensible manner'. - Psychotherapy and politics international 'The Social Unconscious represents a line of thinking whose time has come. From bullying and youth violence in schools, to bombings in our cities, to anti-semitic or anti-Muslim activities and other race or religious hatred, to anxieties, well founded or otherwise, about immigration - wherever we live, all of us are touched and shaped by these events... This book draws attention to theory and practice in relation to a side of therapeutic work insufficiently attended to and will reward readers at all stages of professional development. It is written in a clear, accessible style and manages to convey complex ideas in a readily comprehensible manner.' - Psychotherapy & Politics International 'Dr Hopper argues for the awareness of, and training in, the processes of what he terms the Social Unconscious, for all mental health professionals. Hopper provides insight into the multiple forces that affect us and how we may reorganize our constraints. Does Hopper simply find what he is looking for, or does he discover something new? I recommend readers take this book of essays seriously and make their own decision.' - Psychologist - Psychoanalyst 'A very timely selection of papers by Earl Hopper on a very timely subject... People need to recognize that we are not merely passive sufferers of our world, rather we constitute it and have the power to shape it to a great extent. Much of what goes on in that world is unconscious in spite of the fact that we make it, therefore the importance of the social unconscious has been in the centre of Earl's interest for a number of years, and he has become one of the best known exponents of it.' - Reflections 'This most timely book - with its ready application across disciplines in a world fragmented by group-induced conflicts and traumas - will, no doubt, stimulate many thoughts, feelings and new possibilities for integration.' - Mark Ettin, Group Psychotherapist and Group Relations Consultant, USA 'The Social Unconscious offers a carefully composed selection of the author's group analytic contributions... the complexities of sociology, group analysis and psychoanalysis are put in mutually enriching perspectives.' - Dieter Nitzgen, Psychoanalyst and Group Analyst, Germany 'This record will be a lasting contribution to the literature. He movingly records with startling honesty the details of his family background and current history with poetic grace, thus applying what he has learned of the social unconscious to his own practice.' - W. Gordon Lawrence, Group Relations and Organizational Consultant, UK 'Earl Hopper's writing contributes a penetrating and unique view of pathology rooted in society as well as in the individual psyche.' - Dennis Brown, Psychoanalyst and Group Analyst, UK The social unconscious and its manifestations in group analysis are the focus of this important new book of Earl Hopper's selected papers. Drawing on sociology, psychoanalysis and group analysis, he argues that groups and their participants are constrained unconsciously by social, cultural and political facts and forces. These hypotheses are illustrated with clinical vignettes concerning anti-Semitism, racism, the politics of class and gender, and the effects of rapid social change. Transference and countertransference processes are examined both vividly and honestly. Theoretically generative and clinically astute, this book will be of value to both analysts and their stud

This book contains a stimulating diversity of chapters that explore the development of Foulkesian ideas - [it is] a fine exposition of group analysis.' - Group Analysis 'This is essential contemporary reading.' - British Journal of Psychiatry In this examination of the legacy of Foulkes, the theoretical foundations of group psychotherapy are applied to a range of groups, including family therapy, institutional dynamics and educational therapy. Contributors to this volume include distinguished group analysts, such as Pines and De Mar , and more junior analysts selected for their original thinking. The complexity of creating a coherent theory of group analysis is underlined by the multiple authorship of a single volume compiled and edited along group principles. Editors Brown and Zinkin also had access to the preliminary notes of a proposed book on group theory, cut short by Foulkes's death, which cover topics as wide-ranging as psychoneurosis, social inheritance and the Oedipus complex.

Integrating cutting-edge relational theory with technique, this volume reveals the deeply personal nature of the intersubjective process of group therapy as it affects the group therapist and other group members. By locating the group therapist's experience in the centre of the action, Richard M. Billow moves away from traditional approaches in group psychotherapy. Instead, he places emphasis on the effect of the therapist's own evolving psychology on what occurs and what does not occur in group psychotherapy. Building on Bion's early theory of group and his later formulations regarding the structure of thought and the role of affect, this work expands on the present understanding of relational theory and technique. Through the use of clinical anecdotes the author is able to ground theory in the realities of clinical experience making this essential reading for group psychoanalysts and psychotherapists, psychiatrists and other mental health professionals, academics and students of psychoanalytic theory.

Microcredit banking is the brainchild of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Muhammad Yunus Professor of Economics at Chittagong University, Bangladesh and Chair of Grameen Bank. From small beginnings, the Microcredit movement has become worldwide. Professor Yunus determined to find a new way to make loans to impoverished peasants who commercial banks would not give credit to as they could not provide the security for the loan. Yunus devised a method to provide microloans to individuals who formed themselves into "small groups" aiming at mutual support. The loan was provided to the group for each to benefit in sequence. The group, based on trust, originally worked together so that the loan was repaid by the first recipient and then given in turn to the other members. The self-esteem of the recipients was raised by the success of the group members in repaying the loan becoming shareholders of the Grameen Bank. From small beginnings, Grameen Bank has grown into a successful organisation with world-wide connections to other microcredit enterprises. This book looks in depth at the psycho-socio-dynamics of poverty, at mobilising constructive forces of groups to empower borrowers to become effective agents. The volume is grounded upon consideration of poverty as a psychological as much as an economic condition, and discusses microcredit as an innovative tool to overcome poverty in that perspective. It will pay special attention to the Grameen model considered through the special relational technology associated with it, which draws upon solidarity-lending groups and community interaction.

Microcredit banking is the brainchild of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Muhammad Yunus Professor of Economics at Chittagong University, Bangladesh and Chair of Grameen Bank. From small beginnings, the Microcredit movement has become worldwide. Professor Yunus determined to find a new way to make loans to impoverished peasants who commercial banks would not give credit to as they could not provide the security for the loan. Yunus devised a method to provide microloans to individuals who formed themselves into "small groups" aiming at mutual support. The loan was provided to the group for each to benefit in sequence. The group, based on trust, originally worked together so that the loan was repaid by the first recipient and then given in turn to the other members. The self-esteem of the recipients was raised by the success of the group members in repaying the loan becoming shareholders of the Grameen Bank. From small beginnings, Grameen Bank has grown into a successful organisation with world-wide connections to other microcredit enterprises. This book looks in depth at the psycho-socio-dynamics of poverty, at mobilising constructive forces of groups to empower borrowers to become effective agents. The volume is grounded upon consideration of poverty as a psychological as much as an economic condition, and discusses microcredit as an innovative tool to overcome poverty in that perspective. It will pay special attention to the Grameen model considered through the special relational technology associated with it, which draws upon solidarity-lending groups and community interaction.

Dreams told in the group are conjoint individual and group creations. They are both influenced by the group atmosphere and may in turn influence it and the individual, promoting change and development. Dreams have a deepening effect on therapeutic work and, due to their unconscious content, they may represent the most authentic exchange between individual and group. This state-of-the-art book provides help for therapists encountering a dream told in their group. It covers the major theoretical perspectives for their understanding, as well as representing different psychological schools and their approaches to the technical issues of group dream therapy. Despite the variety of sources, the clinical approaches described complement each other, and the book details many case studies, including a first dream in the group, an unconscious meeting between women and men, and other polarities within the individual and the group.

S. H. Foulkes was the founder of the group analytic school of group psychotherapy. This volume represents an introduction both to his work, and to the developments based on it. Amongst the subjects covered are the nature of the therapeutic process in the light of recent research in child development, the relationship of group analysis to psychoanalysis and the school of Lacan, and research into the results of group therapy. Included are the first three annual S. H. Foulkes lectures which explore his life, the historical significance of his work, and his advances in psychoanalysis, particularly in the realm of narcissism. Other papers explore the influence of Foulkes's ideas in Europe, showing how the systems of Jung and Freud can be integrated with group analysis. The book includes a clear and illuminating exposition of Foulkes's theories by Malcolm Pines.

Earl Hopper, in his important, profound and well reasoned book introduces a fourth Basic Assumption (Incohesion) to the three Basic assumptions (of Flight/ Fight, Pairing and Dependency) introduced by Bion. Hopper's theory of Incohesion provides us with a new way of thinking about annihilation anxiety, which he discusses in terms of the unconscious fears of annihilation connected to the fears of separation.' - System Centered News 'What we may learn most from reading Hopper's profound thinking presented in this surprisingly readable book is how he makes the bridge from his theory to the treatment of difficult patients. He identifies aggregation and Massification as a characteristic of regressed groups. In groups of the traumatized, however, where survivor guilt, and perhaps more important, survivor shame underlies the suffering, Aggregation and Massification are likely to be chronic.' - Yvonne Agazarian Working within the traditions of Bion, Turquet, Foulkes and Pines, and drawing on concepts and data from psychoanalysis, group analysis and sociology, this volume develops Earl Hopper's theory of the fourth basic assumption in the unconscious life of groups and group-like social systems within a social, cultural and political transgenerational context. He argues that Incohesion: Aggregation/Massification or (ba) I:A/M (an acronym for 'I AM' - an assertion of personal identity when identity is under threat) is based on the fear of annihilation stemming from traumatic experience. With full respect for the constraints of the social unconscious, the personification of aggregation and massification by patients with crustacean, contact-shunning and amoeboid, merger-hungry characteristics, respectively, is illustrated with detailed clinical vignettes involving drug addicts, victims of incest and sexual abuse, and child survivors of the Shoah. Concluding with critical commentaries by senior British and American group analysts and psychoanalysts, this volume is essential reading for both analysts and their students.

Integrating cutting-edge relational theory with technique, this volume reveals the deeply personal nature of the intersubjective process of group therapy as it affects the group therapist and other group members. By locating the group therapist's experience in the centre of the action, Richard M. Billow moves away from traditional approaches in group psychotherapy. Instead, he places emphasis on the effect of the therapist's own evolving psychology on what occurs and what does not occur in group psychotherapy. Building on Bion's early theory of group and his later formulations regarding the structure of thought and the role of affect, this work expands on the present understanding of relational theory and technique. Through the use of clinical anecdotes the author is able to ground theory in the realities of clinical experience making this essential reading for group psychoanalysts and psychotherapists, psychiatrists and other mental health professionals, academics and students of psychoanalytic theory.

Organizing her text into four parts, Schreurs invites the attentive reader to engage the book's insights on the existential and relational levels. Rich with vignettes, this intriguing work may speak to both believers and nonbelievers... The book, rich with bibliography and endnotes, will prove valuable to graduate students in psychology and theology alike.' - Theological Studies 'This clear and engaging book is essential reading for all therapists who feel out of their depth when patients raise spiritual concerns.' - Religion & Theology 'Somewhat more practical in its emphasis on integrating the spiritual dimension in therapeutic practice is Agneta Schreurs' Psychotherapy and Spirituality (Jessica Kingsley). Informed from a Christian theological background and the therapeutic orientation of group analysis this book sets out to study the interface between psychotherapy and spirituality. It focuses on understanding and differentiating the nature of religious/spiritual issues that may arise for people in the present western cultural and historical context of psychotherapy and also considers how these may be approached by the therapist. A number of complex conceptual issues are examined and these are frequently illustrated with vignettes from the therapeutic material. Although restricted in its orientation to the western Christian tradition the book elaborates a wide range of fundamental issues and provides a good starting point for further reading in related fields. - Journal of Critical Psychology, Counselling & Psychotherapy 'Schreurs presents a variety of vignettes, mostly - but not exclusively - about clinical situations, and invites the reader to explore his or her responses. In the process she reveals the differences, similarities and, most intriguingly, the overlaps between the spiritual and the therapeutic: specifically group analytic paradigms. Such a synthesis is long overdue. This is a book that all mental health practitioners should read.' - Mental Health This detailed study of the interface between psychotherapy and spirituality introduces professionally trained psychotherapists and mental health specialists to the subject of spirituality and the influence it may have in a therapeutic context. The majority of psychotherapists receive no formal training in the psychology of religion and many studies report that most psychotherapists either avoid the theme of religion, or handle it with insufficient skill, feeling uncomfortable and ill-equipped to deal with the spiritual concerns of patients. Psychotherapy and Spirituality contributes to the development of professional know-how in the field of spirituality in a straightforward and practical way, avoiding complex doctrinal terminology. Schreurs focuses primarily on the connections between group analysis and mainstream Christianity, while bearing in mind the wider implications of other therapeutic schools and other spiritual traditions. She presents a range of therapeutic situations, analogies and case-studies in which spiritual concerns may arise, and explores them from a spiritual and a psychological perspective, showing where and how they connect and differ. This clear and engaging book is essential reading for all therapists who feel out of their depth when patients raise spiritual concerns.

Using clinical examples, the contributors demonstrate the 'good enough' healing power of carefully constructed and supervised groups conducted by therapists who apply both Kohut's self psychological concepts and those currently evolving from intersubjectivity throughout the world.

Among the topics covered in this volume are: the recent advances in hermeneutics, self psychology and intersubjectivity theory; the universal need for a groupobject; Kohut's thinking on archaic and mature twinship; the applicability of new infant research; the need to examine early childhood multiple cross-cultural selfobject and traumatic experiences within transferences; the utilization of a co-therapy model; and how to create optimal group environments.

Mixing new theoretical developments with clinical research and practice, break new ground and see how these concepts can be applied to work at infant, child or adult level.

Using clinical examples, the contributors demonstrate the 'good enough' healing power of carefully constructed and supervised groups conducted by therapists who apply both Kohut's self psychological concepts and those currently evolving from intersubjectivity throughout the world. Among the topics covered in this volume are: - the recent advances in hermeneutics, self psychology and intersubjectivity theory - the universal need for a group object - Kohut's thinking on archaic and mature twinship - the applicability of new infant research - the need to examine early childhood multiple cross-cultural selfobject and traumatic experiences within transferences - the utilization of a co-therapy model - and how to create optimal group environments. Mixing new theoretical developments with clinical research and practice, Self Experiences in Group breaks new ground and illustrates how these concepts can be applied to work at infant, child or adult level.

For many, Malcolm Pines personifies the institution of group analysis. He was one of the founders of the Group Analytic Society and the Institute of Group Analysis, and in this selection of his papers the depth of his mastery of social science, enriched with his knowledge of literature and philosophy, is clear. The collection includes work on the development of the psychoanalytic movement, its historical context, and the relationship of dynamic psychotherapy to psychoanalysis; and also focuses on mirroring, child development and healing.