The Group and the Shadow: Explorations and Echoes of Relatedness in a Small Study Group Setting

An account of the experience of work with four small study groups at the Scottish Institute of Human Relations in Edinburgh is presented using a method of group analysis recording previously reported by Bennis and Shepard (1956). The aim of the groups was to provide the members with an opportunity to study overt and covert processes involved in developing group membership. The consultant's framework refers to Bridger (1980) and is related to the work of Bion (1961), Foulkes (1964), and Anzieu (1984). The paper argues that there are three distinct phases in group life in a narrative structure. These are discussed within a wide range of theoretical constructs, from developmental studies of infants (Stern, 1985), quantum physics (Bohm, 1980), anthropology (Leach, 1983), mythology (Levi Strauss, 1986), and analytical psychology (Jung, 1964). It is concluded that the individual search in groups for personal and social meaning helps to make manifest certain universal and recurring themes.