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Group analysts seldom write about the risk of harming their patients. Yet it is now widely recognized that all psychotherapies come with a small risk of harm and this risk has remained since it was first identified in the 1970s. In the wider group psychotherapy literature, risk of harm has been linked to the poor management of conflict and scapegoating, the misuse of interpretation, narcissistic leadership and unsuitability or lack of preparation of patients. Group analytic writers have examined each of these areas to varying degrees but not from the perspective of harm to the patient. This article highlights this 'blind spot' within the profession and signals the need for action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The scapegoating of 'angry black women' achieves the paradoxical feat of ascribing power while simultaneously taking it away. This article aims to highlight how women of colour may be scapegoated as a result of intersecting, deep-rooted, and malignant forces operating within the (un)conscious, with a particular focus on racism. A lack of relevant literature is identified so to better understand the causation and effects of this phenomenon, group analytic concepts are cross-pollinated with black feminist, white feminist, and black political theory. It is suggested that conductors could do more to manage destructive forces in groups and so three anti-racist approaches are proposed. Concluding thoughts note that if our groups are permeated by the social, the same may be said of our theoretical framework. It is hoped that by consulting other specialist disciplines and integrating their knowledge into group analytic training and professional practice, our aims of being more inclusive, accessible, and diverse become ever-more attainable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the metaphor of the scapegoat by offering a case study taken from the history of France at the turn of the 20th-century. The case is presented of a French army officer, Captain Alfred Dreyfus, whose wrongful conviction for treason created an international sensation and tore French society apart.The author outlines the general features of the scapegoating dynamic and applies them to the Dreyfus case. He sets out the flow of events from Dreyfus’s first trial through to the official declaration of his innocence a century after his conviction, illustrating the tenacity of the scapegoating dynamic when an entire nation is caught up in the process. The view is put forward that it was the dramatic intervention by the novelist Emile Zola in the Dreyfus case which arrested the scapegoating process. The author asks what the implications of this might be for group analysis.At the centre of the Dreyfus case was the fact of his Jewishness. The author depicts anti-Semitism as a deeply rooted set of assumptions based on myths about the Jews. He touches on the origins of these myths in early monotheistic theology and in the political ideology of the Far Left and the Far Right. An explanation is offered for the persistence of these myths in our culture, which may extend to our understanding of myths surrounding other peoples and societies. The author concludes with some reflections on the recurring nature of the scapegoat phenomenon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For many months during the summer and fall of 1998, the USA was deluged by information about the sexual exploits of President Clinton, Monica Lewinsky, and their legal battles with Ken Starr. Voyeurism was stimulated not only in the USA but around the world. Inevitably, the combination of use and abuse of power combined with sexuality crossed into the treatment room. A clinical example will illustrate the impact of these events on the members of a long-term group. The members assume emotional positions similar to the main political participants, and in the process reexamine their fears of exposure, sexual guilt and fundamental self-doubts. The discussion will offer ideas about the meaning of this replay of previously worked themes in light of transference and countertransference considerations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aggressive and disruptive behaviour by children is a perennial problem for carers and the child care services. The problem runs deep since it touches on wider questions about human destructiveness. S. H. Foulkes held an optimistic view about the natural capacity of a therapy group to contain and transform destructive impulses. Acute practical problems arise, however, when a children's group gets caught up with anxiety and aggression. Adults under stress will tend to resort to `good/bad' splitting and the scapegoating of individuals can occur. A group is described where these difficulties were developing. When co therapists supported each other sufficiently the group weathered the storm of an individual's unmet emotional need. Work on the disruption of the group enabled all to reach a better stage of integration of their destructive impulses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]