In this article 1 I will discuss the question of violence in (large) groups and the relationship between the mass and the individual selves. This will be done through the concept of the 'soldier's matrix' 2 . I refer to a matrix dominating a whole society, which participates in organized aggression and suffers its emotional consequences. Everybody in the matrix becomes a soldier, and the identity or the 'Habitus' (Elias, 1989) of the society is influenced by soldiership. This applies not only to Iraq and Afghanistan, and to the dark days in Germany, but also to two, three or more decades after the Second World War, and for most other societies in war. The advantage as well as the disadvantage of using the term soldier's matrix in Germany is the fact that for the new generation, the attitude towards the army has undergone a great change. For many people, soldiers represent almost a taboo or a kind of sickness. Finally I would like to contribute to the understanding of pathological relationships, with particular reference to relation disorders, which are connected to violence.
Thinking in interpersonal terms rather than intra-psychic processes may not be easy. A further move in this direction seems cardinal in the development of conductors of group therapy. Handling questions of the optimal therapeutic environment for patients encounters great difficulties because of the lamentable scarcity of indications for group therapy. The unsatisfactory situation of indications is also true for individual psychotherapy. This article focuses on some of the most common problems encountered while supervising group therapy, related to the therapist's difficulty in handling the relations patterns and their influence.The primary purpose of supervision is to throw light on the therapeutic relationship; its secondary purpose is to enhance the supervisee skills as a therapist. (Behr and Hearst, 2005: 238) Without a more sophisticated relations perspective, a therapist cannot facilitate the full potential of the group. Foulkes (1975) thought that the outstanding areas to which interpretations usually refer are the ongoing interactive group processes and the conflict that the individual repeats in the group situation (1975: 124). The therapist who is not aware of the group as a Group Analysis.
This article is an attempt to develop a coherent, unified, and consistent conceptualization of dreaming and dreamtelling in the clinical setting. Dreams told in a therapeutic setting are challenging events: fantastically rich in content, but often overwhelming in their implications for peoples' relationships. When told in therapy groups, dreams provide additional challenges for all participants. Learning to work with dreams not only enhances understanding of unconscious intrapsychic and group processes, but may also have a strong impact on the therapeutic culture and working relationships in the group. After differentiating dreaming from dreamtelling, I briefly describe three uses of dreams in groups-the classical "informative" and more familiar "formative" uses, and a new perspective that focuses on the "transformative" aspects of a dream told. According to this perspective, a dream told has an interesting past, an important present, and a worthwhile future because of its interpersonal, intersubjective influence on the dreamer-audience relationship.
Different therapeutic modalities have differential value in curing disorders. Group therapy and individual therapy may be complementary rather than alternative approaches; thus in therapeutic reality-both may be a 'must' in order for one to develop and get healthy. The unique advantages of small and median groups in the optimal treatment of personal and interpersonal patterns should be used in order to revise our therapy indication system.
During my 45 year journey in the different approaches to psychotherapy, an interest in small, median and later in large groups have influenced me professionally. Many in the Israel IGA had a similar professional history until we finally felt group analysis as our home. I also learned from experiences of rejection and glory. A Trauma-Glory continuum, connected to rejection and inclusion, will be discussed. Glory, which is considered a basic social motivation, could have a special space in group analysis. The concept of the Soldier's Matrix will be discussed, with a distinctive group-analytic approach to the large group and 'the Sandwich model'. This group analytic application, could be taken as a possible 'anti-dote' to difficult social configurations as are found in 'soldiers' matrices'.
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