An unpublished letter of S.H. Foulkes to Wilfred D. Abse. A unique summary of Foulkes’ late group analytic thinking

Roth, Wolfgang Martin

doi:10.1177/05333164231163025

Group Analysis

2023

DOI: 10.1177/05333164231163025

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An unpublished letter of S.H. Foulkes to Wilfred D. Abse. A unique summary of Foulkes’ late group analytic thinking

Wolfgang Martin Roth¹

Abstract: In this unpublished 18 page letter to his friend Wilfred D. Abse, the late Foulkes offers new autobiographical information about his intense relationship to theatre in his early years. He makes a final attempt to clarify the contribution of Trigant Burrow to the history of group analysis in comparison to his own. In the letter he indicates a kind of estrangement from the London group analytic scenery. He conceives this letter as a summary of his late group analytic conceptualizations.

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“…. Taking this into consideration, it is quite obvious that the group analytic project was not only one born out of science but also out of art-a perspective that with the exception of Wilfred Abse (1974) and Wolfgang Martin Roth (2014aRoth ( , 2014bRoth ( , 2023 has not been acknowledged as it should have. Due to this, the usual comparison between the musical conductor and the 'group conductor' (Foulkes, 1984: 54-55) needs to be supplemented in favour of a broader view.…”

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Foulkes’ letter to Wilfred Abse. A comment

Nitzgen¹

2023

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The correspondence between S.H. Wilfred Abse (1915-2005), a Welsh psychiatrist, group analyst and an old colleague of Foulkes in Northfield where they worked together for three months in 1944 (Harrison and Clarke, 1992: 700) is a fascinating read. Initiated by Abse who asked Foulkes for a comment on a forthcoming presentation of his, it is not only a hallmark of professional exchange and a deeply felt friendship, but also a remarkable account of the last period of Foulkes' professional career as a group analyst. As such, it not only offers valuable insights into the origins of group analysis but also provides an overview of its theoretical and clinical advances at the beginning of the 1970s. Moreover, it allows a fleeting glimpse of the group analytic community in London at the time.It is well known that in the 1960s, Foulkes published a collection of papers on the history of group analysis since its inception and later on (Foulkes, 1964). Regarding its origins he wrote: 'In the mid-twenties, I came across one or two papers by Trigant Burrow which must have made a deep impression on me as they put the idea of group analysis as a form of treatment into my mind' (Foulkes, 1984: 13) 1 . However, apart from Burrow, Foulkes emphasized that at the time, there were other influences in the air' (Foulkes, 1984: 13) which had an impact on his thinking, namely a number of plays from the contemporary theatre; for instance Six Characters in Search of an Author by Pirandello, and Maxim Gorki's play on The Lower Depths (Nacht-Asyl) (Foulkes, 1984: 13)' which he remarked was 'a play without a hero, a leaderless group on the stage driven by strong anonymous forces (ibid)'. It was this play that made him wonder 'about the pathogenic and therapeutic power of the theatre and of everyday life'

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Foulkes’ letter to Wilfred Abse. A comment

Nitzgen¹

2023

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Working on the future of group analysis – breaking the certainty

Satarić

2024

Group Analysis

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The idea of a social nature of humans clarifies that the phenomena, usually called intrapsychic, such as mind, freedom and ethics are shared property of the group. How does this idea manifest in the group situation? I present some of my reflections and experiences from practice related to this issue. We can see how the desire for sharing and addressing others creates a new, deeper understanding of relations in the group. I describe how a fellow member unpredictably can become the Other. The I-Thou relations, developed in the group, are ethical in their essence, and it is in these ethical relations that trust is created. Such processes never give the feeling of complete understanding and equality. Something is always missing and this is what drives the group to go beyond.

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An unpublished letter of S.H. Foulkes to Wilfred D. Abse. A unique summary of Foulkes’ late group analytic thinking

Cited by 2 publications

References 17 publications

Foulkes’ letter to Wilfred Abse. A comment

Foulkes’ letter to Wilfred Abse. A comment

Working on the future of group analysis – breaking the certainty

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