Matriculation is referred to in the sense of entry to further education and plays with the subjunctive, 'What if Foulkes had conceptualized the matrices as being structure of mind?'This article constructs a group-analytic psychical structure of the individual mind made up of the Personal, Dynamic and Social Matrices. Resonance between the matrices is then recognized as a source of psychic energy with sufficient power to lift the repression barrier causing painful affects and memories to come into consciousness. This article develops Foulkes' concept of resonance.
The author poses a position statement that Foulkes underplayed the importance of emotions as an organizing principle in the mental life of groups, and indeed, paid very little attention to emotions in his published works. Evidence from the field of neuroscience is drawn upon to identify seven emotional neuro-chemical systems in the sub-cortical region of the brain. The fundamental emotions are: rage, fear, seeking, panic/grief, lust, care and play. The article makes a distinction between emotions, as being physiological responses triggered by neurochemical release caused by perception of both external and internal realities, whereas feelings are a higher order level of functioning at cognitive levels that can articulate cause, meaning and symbolism of the more visceral emotional experiences. The article puts forward the idea that emotions are the biological substrate of the Foundation Matrix, linking all of humanity and the mammalian world. In turn, groups and individuals have valences to particular emotional responses and this will be demonstrated with examples from the Personal, Social and Dynamic Matrices. An elaboration of the concept of dialogue, within the wider sphere of communication, is put forward, which the author argues is the group analytic expression of love (care). Love is mutative and facilitates the plasticity of the brain/mind relationship encouraging new neuronal connections to be made, linking sub-cortical brain regions with the neo-cortex thinking cap.
This article recognizes that sports coaching uses predominantly cognitive-based psychological techniques to bring about success. On the whole a psychoanalytic application to sporting success is minimal. Athletic success at the highest level requires suffering beyond the ordinary limits we would expect individuals to endure. In my experience psychoanalysis de-contextualises suffering in sport so that it is seen as a form of self-harm. This position limits the scope of psychoanalytic understanding to support professional athletes in maximising their athletic potential. This article is especially interested in how group analytic theory can be applied to create a winning identity. The theatre of operation in which this identity formation will be tested is the Tour de France (bicycle race).
A Brief History of the Tour de FranceThe Tour de France cycle race came into being in 1903 with an original purpose to sell newspapers. The race captured popular imagination and newspaper sales increased as the French kept up to date with each epic stage. At that time an individual stage might be 250 miles long with assistance to the riders strictly prohibited. Stages would be group analysis Group Analysis.
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