Reply to Responses to “Thinking About Our Work: Freud, Newton, and Einstein—Strange Bedfellows Indeed”
2016; Volume: 40; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1353/grp.2016.a844509
ISSN1573-3386
Autores Tópico(s)Psychotherapy Techniques and Applications
ResumoReply to Responses to “Thinking About Our Work: Freud, Newton, and Einstein— Strange Bedfellows Indeed” Robert S. Pepper1 issn 0362-4021 © 2016 Eastern Group Psychotherapy Society group, Vol. 40, No. 3, Fall 2016 275 1 Director of Training, Long Island Institute of Mental Health, Rego Park, New York. Correspondence should be addressed to Robert S. Pepper, PhD, CGP, 110-50 71st Road, #1e, Forest Hills, NY 11375. E-mail: DrRobertSPepper@aol.com. Many years ago, as a neophyte group therapist, a supervisor half-jokingly defined group resistance as anything that a member, or the group, does that the therapist doesn’t like (Pepper, 2014). That being said, I was delighted to read the responses to my comment about resistance in group psychotherapy. All were creative, thoughtful, intelligent, and even playful. There was a synergistic dynamic that wove the responses together. For example, I enjoyed Bennett Roth’s humorous stream-of-consciousness riff comparing my take on Freud with Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. It put a clever new twist on the concept from quantum physics of “down the rabbit hole.” This seemed to dovetail nicely with Sherry Breslau’s and Jeffrey Roth’s insights into the parallel between the concept from quantum physics of infinite possibilities and group process. I was impressed that Shelley Korshak, Sherry Breslau, and Jeffrey Roth all recognized the importance of Heisenberg’s theory of indeterminacy in measuring the effectiveness of group dynamics. I have personally experienced that phenomenon in my own groups. On more than one occasion, at the start of a meeting, I have entered the group room a minute or two after the interaction had begun only to witness the group discussion stop short upon my arrival. At those times, I’ve asked, “Am I a wet blanket?” Clearly the leader’s presence has a profound impact on the course and direction of the group, for better or worse. Korshak’s understanding that Einstein’s theory of relativity applies to group therapy was nothing short of brilliant. If all perception is based on the position of the observer, then as group leaders, we know that each member’s view of reality contributes to the group’s emotional culture. 276 pepper Walter Stone’s cogent response reminded me of the prime dictum of any healing profession: Above all else, do no harm. In group therapy, this may take many forms. For Stone, understanding of and empathy for a member’s, and, indeed, the group’s, resistance to change, even if it’s for the best, are paramount and omnipresent goals of the group leader. In juxtaposition, I loved Donna Moss’s personal account of how, when all was said and done, a member’s inertia and resistance were overcome by a powerful outside force—the Nike swoosh: “Just do it!” As a young man, a driving force propelling me into a career as a group leader was my own experience as a member of a men’s therapy group. I became intrigued by the inconsistences of my own behavior and that of the other members. To this day, the push–pull nature of relationships still fascinates me. No matter how we define resistance, it seems to me that part of our role as group leader is to help the group and its members understand the nature of the attract–repel dynamic of their interactions and to resolve the unconscious repetition of this dynamic in their lives. It has been said that those who are successful in group are successful in life. It is most gratifying to play a part in that process. REFERENCE Pepper, R. S. (2014). Emotional incest in group psychotherapy: A conspiracy of silence. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield. ...
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