The Pygmalion concept in group analysis: the conductor’s anti-group and the search for the group as a container

Abstract

The conductor’s identity as a group member, allied with the potential for the unconscious co-creation of anti-group forces is the centre-stage for the debate I herewith present. This is inextricable from, and central to, the complex inter-subjective group matrix. The conductor’s counter-transference as an inter-subjective group experience, lends powerful insights into feelings of hate in the group, and its resultant anti-group dynamics. How hate may be understood as a shared, co-created experience is examined. The conductor’s potential for narcissistic over-identification with the group and possible lack of containment, is explored, including the potential for anti-group contributions. The myth of Pygmalion illustrates the frustration encountered when the container fails to meet one’s needs. Suggestions are offered regarding the importance for conductors to work through potential contributions of anti-group forces and their own hate of the group.1

Complexity explained: The dialectical position between theory and practice. Theoretical group analytic concepts and clinical examples

“…I regarded this material as an authoritarian challenge via a direct attack on the therapeutic process to avoid the work task through Bion’s (1961) basic assumption of fight-flight as well as an early development of an anti-group (Nitsun, 1996). There was fear of rapid disintegration expressed through the members’ destructive and suicidal images linked to the individual’s overwhelming anxiety when one encounters the group (Bion, 1961; Papanastassiou, 2019).…”

“…The boundary between theory and practice is, therefore, highly permeable and the contemporary group conductor is constantly faced with the dialectical challenge of holding the tension between divergent theories and integrating them into practice. This is a particular challenge for the trainee group analyst who discovers the complexity of the group process very early on (Papanastassiou, 2019). Stacey introduced the complexity theory in group analytic thinking which I attempt to explain below:…”