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Encounter Groups was first published in 1977
Copyright © Colin James Hamer 2005
Author's Preface:
I have said before that within every human heart there is a natural and instinctive tendency to love all things I+N G-d, and to find in Her, Him, It or Them an ever new source of pleasure and delight.
Today I re-affirm my own childlike confidence in that intimately personal truth not just because that is the Faith I have inherited in trust both from my Nature-loving, Yoga-practising Father and from my Church-going, family-centred Mother, and not even because I now understand how deep are its roots in the philosophical and theological Tradition of humankind. It has become for me simply an undeniable fact of my own direct, personal experience.
I believe the supportive arguments Voice In The Darkness presented in its favour remain academically sound and, what is much more important, personally helpful to many who hunger after justice. They are part of the background to all I have since written, but I do not revise or even re-examine them in any great detail.
In 1978 I was still attempting to subordinate chaos to order, instinct to reason, personal enjoyment to the common good, pleasure to a sense of duty, artistic symbolism to scientific fact, but today many of those boundaries have vanished from my life.
I no longer mistake studies of, and arguments about verbal descriptions of how we imagine we can, may, should or actually do perceive reality for anything other than just that. I accept that language and speech are always in a bit of a muddle. Experience can still be crystal clear, and I thank G-d for that.
I was once told that Dr Jack Dominian has referred to the account in Ecstasy & Vendetta (1973) of my student-days friendship with Carlos Alberto de Castro Ferreira as one of the best available case-studies of homosexual tendencies. If any of my remarks then have since helped others honestly and with integrity also to move on to other, more mature forms of personal relationship, I am glad.
The only photo I now have of Carlos who, by the way, also knew Sister Lucy, one of the visionaries of Fatima, is of him praying in the Chapel of the Star in Bethlehem, which he visited after his priestly ordination and when already a specialist in Sacred Scripture.
Although in some sense far less academic, my own involvement in what I here call Symbolism and the rites of writing has been, I think, at least as extensive and, like weaving for my father, there is a sense in which everything I am and do is a gesture, a symbol, a sacred sign and even, perhaps, a magical spell, an incantation. According to my computer, you have already (if you are a Christmas day 1989 reader) met 450 of the 500,000 words here presented. I hope you enjoy making them all work for you!
The Rainbow Cymbal, Vol. I, p.6.
Orthodox and esoteric philosophies, traditional and revolutionary theologies, established and alternative psychologies can all be expressions of concern with a deeply serious quest into the nature of women and men, and of the world we share. They can, of course, also serve as escapist defences against self-involvement in contemporary social process.
The point of view I personally adopt is that to be authentic includes knowing what one is doing when one is knowing, and also what one knows when one is doing it. This means sharing our real doubts and fears, as well as our trust and hope.
Only a liberated social imagination can open up the values we anticipate in whatever future we hope for. Personal meetings are enriched when we learn to lay aside the mystifications of any one-sided commitment, special status or expertise, and come together to share our different experiences of life.
To attempt this is to realise that art, not politics is the communication of society, and the main task of any education worthy of that name.
Language is among the most highly developed tools of our free creative imagination, and such stories as the Buddhist Wheel of Birth and Death, the Karmic Cycle, the Old Testament Covenant between G-d and Man, the Christian Economy of Salvation, and Astrology are powerful helps for us to use, if we so wish, when exploring the transpersonal levels of human nature.
Like the game of Snakes and Ladders, then, or the Ancient Egyptian game of Passing Through The Netherworld, philosophy can show us a way through the crack in the cosmic egg. In psychological terms, this means growing beyond behaviourism, psychoanalysis and humanistic psychology to Self-actualisation in a shared experience of incessant changes, the range and scope of which is divinely infinite.
Some believe that this going beyond or transcending our present condition or situation is what growth and development are mainly about.
The interplay of various personalities in group-dynamic sessions can greatly facilitate insight into those elements in interpersonal functioning which produce cooperative healthy relationships or else seemingly mystifying, irrational and obstructive behaviour. Direct experience in such groups highlights in particular the tensions between attention to the performance of the group task and satisfaction of the basic assumptions of its members about dependency, fight-flight and pairing.
Whitaker and Lieberman have found that in general:
© The Neith Network Library 20051. Successive individual behaviours are linked associatively and all refer to some common underlying concern about the here-and-now situation.
2. That sequence of diverse events which occurs in a group can be conceptualised as a common, covert confict (the group focal conflict), and this consists of some impulse or wish (the disturbing motive) which is being opposed by some fear associated with it (the reactive motive). Both aspects of this group focal conflict always refer to the current setting.
3. When confronted with a group focal conflict, the members of the group will direct their efforts towards establishing some solution that reduces anxiety by alleviating the reactive fears while at the same time satisfying the disturbing impulse to the maximum degree possibe.
4. Successful solutions have two properties. First, they are shared; in other words, the behaviour of all members is consistent with or bound by the solution. Secondly, successful solutions reduce reactive fears - it will be found that individuals experience greater anxiety prior to the establishment of a successful solution, but less anxiety after that solution is established.
5. Solutions are of two main kinds; they may be either restrictive or enabling in character. Restrictive solutions operate at the expense of not properly satisfying or expressing the disturbing motive, and are directed primarily to alleviating fear. Enabling solutions, on the other hand, are certainly directed towards alleviating fear, but, at the same time, they allow for some satisfaction or expression of the disturbing motive.
6. Thus, the group focal conflict is that unit of group life which encompasses the period of time during which one single disturbing and reactive motive dominates the group situation. Such a unit is, of course, terminated by any successful solution.
7. During a focal-conflict unit, then, the group is always actually seeking to make its way towards a shared, but hidden goal, viz., to alleviate anxiety by establishing some successful solution to the prevailing group focal conflict.
8. At any given moment, the group situation can be described in terms of an equilibrium in which the disturbing and reactive motives and the solution exist in dynamic relation. All movement within the group consists of successive shifts in this equilibrium.
9. Movement of the group as a whole therefore occurs as a function of individual differences in the position which each member takes with reference to the immediate relation existing between the disturbing motive, the reactive motive, and the solution to the conflict.
10. The immediate equilibrium constitutes a stimulus situation which elicits overt behaviour from some particular member of the group. This behaviour, of course, then has an impact in its turn on the balance of forces within the group focal conflict, so changing the nature of the equilibrium. As a result, the group situation now constitutes a different stimulus for the next action to be taken by someone or other of its individual members.
11. A whole series of focal conflicts linked by similar disturbing motives constitutes what is called a group theme.
12. Within any single theme, movement occurs towards and then instead away from any direct expression of the disturbing and reactive motives. This movement is always determined by the character of the successive solutions to conflicts. Movement towards direct exploration will result from the establishment of successful solutions which emphasise gratification of the disturbing motive, but movement away from direct exploration will result instead from the establishment of successful solutions which alleviate reactive fears while still permitting partial, indirect expression of the disturbing motive.
13. The equilibrium of group forces at the close of any session influences quite heavily the events of the session immediately following. Thus, if the equilibrium at the close of one session is marked by emphasis on the disturbing motive, the members are during the interval likely to have mobilised their defences against the disturbing impulse, but if, instead, the equilibrium at the close of one session is marked by emphasis on the reactive motive, the members are during the interval likely to have mobilised defences against their fears. In the first case, the beginning of the next session will be marked by the establishment of more restrictive solutions and/or greater emphasis on reactive fears; in the second, the next session will be marked by a reduced anxiety level and the establishment of solutions which cope successfully with reactive fears.
14. Movement from one group theme to another occurs when an enabling solution is established which permits a new disturbing motive to be expressed, or else when a restrictive solution is established which prohibits satisfaction or expression of the prevailing disturbing motive.
15. The successful solutions to successive group focal conflicts, taken collectively, constitute the culture of that particular group; such elements define the character of its ongoing life, the relationships between its various members, and the boundaries established for the expression of affect, for group interaction, and for any acceptable group programme of action.
16. Shifts in group solutions can only occur when there is a modification of that particular group focal conflict with which the current solution was originally associated. This modification typically consists in the reduction of reactive fears, a reduction which renders the original solution less necessary to the group as a device for binding anxiety, and so allows that solution to be modified or dissolved.
17. Changes in the group culture will not result from a direct challenge to the group solution, nor from a reduction in the intensity of the disturbing motive. Whether or not a solution can be modified is also quite independent of whether that solution is satisfying or unsatisfying, realistic or unrealistic, life-enhancing or otherwise.
18. The development of any group from start to finish is marked by the recurrence of basic themes under progressively expanding cultural conditions.
19. The initial focal conflict of any particular group is a product of three factors: the members' expectations about the group, the structure of the group, and the composition of the group.
20. The development of the group begins with a formative phase in which the various themes emerge and are dealt with for the first time. This opening phase is marked by the rapid establishment of a group culture which is dominated by restrictive solutions. Restrictive solutions involving disguising, finding a spokesman for, or rationalising the disturbing or reactive motives are associated with a broad range of group focal conflicts. Restrictive solutions involving turn-taking are associated with disturbing motives which involve either anger at the group leader for failing to provide adequate direction or else competitive feelings between different group members. Restrictive solutions involving implicit assumptions of similarity among the members are associated with reactive motives involving fears of being criticised or ridiculted by one's peers, or of risking losing one's own self-esteem, or else they are associated with disturbing motives involving angry, competitive feelings towards one another, or else the wish to have a special relationship with the group leader. Restrictive solutions that involve displacing or projecting are associated with disturbing motives that involve hostile or sexual feelings.
21. The close of this first formative phase is characterised by a shared sense of commitment to the group and by subjective feelings of relief associated with the achievement of successful solutions to the initial group focal conflicts.
22. The further development of the group will include an extended established phase during which themes recur and are dealt with repeatedly. This phase is marked by the continual modification of the group culture. During the established phase the group culture includes both restrictive and enabling solutions, but mainly the latter. Important enabling solutions are those which involve confidence that the leader can be counted on to forestall gravely harmful or overwhelming affect in the group, and also implicit assumptions of basic likeness. These solutions can be utilised in association with a range of different focal conflicts. Restrictive solutions, however, such as displacment, intellectualisation, and flight towards irrelevant topics, will continue to be utilised from time to time, functioning as escape hatches for the members. Such solutions can also be utilised in association with a range of different focal conflicts.
23. At the time when she or he enters the group, an individual is characterised by a personal repertory of habitual solutions which cope with personal focal conflicts. Certain of these habitual solutions will be maladaptive in character. The individual will be ambivalent about certain of these habitual maladaptive solutions; she or he regards them as essential to her or his existence, yet at the same time also wishes to get rid of them.
24. Successive group focal conflicts constitute a very real threat to each individual to the extent that they expose her or him to crucial personal conflicts.
25. When the individual experiences threats from a group focal conflict, she or he attempts to relieve her or his anxiety by rendering the group environment viable. She or he seeks a change in the current situation, so that she or he will cease to experience anxiety. Her or his initial efforts will consist of attempts to institute relevant habitual personal solutions. Such attempts are likely to be either unsuccessful or else successful only temporarily, since habitual solutions can only be established when they are compatible with or support some currently operative group solution. If she or he is unable to render the group viable by instituting an appropriate habitual personal solution, the individual will either try to insulate her- or himself from those aspects of the group focal conflict that she or he finds threatening, or else seek to influence the group solution in the direction of conditions which, even if not exactly rewarding, at least alleviate the degree of threat imposed by the current group focal conflict.
26. The individual experiences maximum threat and is, therefore, most intensely motivated to render the situation viable when the prevailing group solution does not relieve the anxiety which the individual experiences through her or his participation in the current group focal conflict, or when the group solution is one that makes it impossible for some habitual personal solution to operate.
27. Each member plays her or his part in influencing the interpersonal milieu. She or he is more influential at some points than at others. Her or his success in influencing the group focal conflict or the group solution is greatest during the period prior to the establishment of a successful solution. Attempts to block solutions are likely to be more successful than are attempts to establish alternative solutions.
28. Each member experiences and conceptualises the group situation in a highly personal way. Feelings of anxiety and satisfaction vary, depending on the manner in which the shifting balance of forces within the group affects the individual's own concerns. Attitudes towards other members shift, depending on whether they facilitate or block conditions regarded by the individual as personally viable. The group is conceptualised in terms which help the member cope with anxieties and threats generated by the current group situation.
29. In order for a habitual maladaptive solution to change, the individual must experience in the setting of the group personal focal conflicts which are relevant to core nuclear conflicts — she or he must fail to cope successfully with the anxiety generated by these experiences by consistently using her or his past maladaptive solutions; in consequence, she or he must experience, not disaster, but that new learning which enables her or him to understand that these previously established habitual solutions are not at all necessary to her or his continuing existence.
30. The individual is most likely to experience the full range of relevant personal conflicts if the group culture is one that is dominated by enabling rather than by restrictive solutions.
31. The group culture provides the group member with a special form of safety which guarantees that certain damaging or disastrous results will not occur when she or he relinquishes the personal habitual solutions that until now have been regarded as essential to her or his existence. Under these special conditions of safety, she or he may take steps to test the necessity for maintaining her or his old maladaptive solutions.
32. Information about her- or himself, essential for the formation of personal insight, may become available to the group member through being exposed to information which is not directed to her or him, but which is relevant to the group focal conflict in which she or he shares, through being the target of interpretation and feedback by other members of the group, examining her or his own position in regard to the current group focal conflict, and observing the positions which others take with regard to the group focal conflict and the consequences of these positions.
33. The utility of such information to the individual's development of personal insight will depend on the group conditions at the time when the information is offered. Under certain group solutions, information made available to a member is likely to be sterile, irrelevant or incorrect. Such solutions include turn-taking and interpretations of deviant behaviour. Under certain other group solutions, information made available to any member fulfills primarily the function of an attack, and will lead her or him to defend her- or himself after hearing or assimilating the information offered. Such solutions include scape-goating and displacing feelings to one member. However, under enabling group solutions, information made available to the member is likely to be both relevant and useful.
34. Failure to benefit from membership of the group occurs when a particular individual consistently succeeds in maintaining her or his maladaptive solutions in the group, thus remaining comfortable but affectively untouched by the whole situation; it also occurs when a member resorts to physical or psychological flight, thus insulating her- or himself from the affective forces operating in the group; and it occurs when she or he reacts to threat with the breakdown of previously established solutions, substituting for them merely inadequate and disorganised behaviour.
35. The benefits of group membership are limited for the consistently silent person. She or he can experience affect associated with crucial personal conflicts in the group, can observe the consequences of others' yielding maladaptive solutions similar to her or his own, and can achieve insight through being exposed to relevant group information. However, direct interpretations and feedback are less available to her or him, and are less likely to be either accurate or usable. She or he cannot directly experience the actual testing of the reality of her or his fears, or the necessity or otherwise for maintaining habitual maladaptive solutions.
36. The facilitator or leader of the group views the group from a unique position. Though not usually participating in the generation or expression of the group focal conflict, she or he experiences the affect involved in it. Thus, she or he is in emotional touch with, yet stands outside the conflict, and can observe its character and course.
37. The leader's power to influence the group derives from the unique position from which she or he views the group focal conflict, a position which permits her or him to intervene on the basis of information unavailable to the other members; it also derives from the frequency with which the members impute to their leader the powers of gratification, threat and magical solutions to problems. Accordingly, the group leader becomes an object of impulses involved in the group focal conflict, and also a source of solutions. On such occasions, then, she or he is in a position of special influence within the group.
38. Groups that are heterogeneous with respect to degree of vulnerability are likely to develop solutions which generate excessive non-constructive anxiety for the more vulnerable members, or else solutions which are unnecessarily restrictive from the point of view of the others. Groups that are homogeneous with reference to positions of specific conflicts are likely to translate individual viability goals into an unyielding, predominantly restrictive group culture.Researching the traditions I+N Tradition and Tradition in all traditions
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Updated 10:32 25/1/2005