ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION The philosophy underlying all group therapy is that man is a social being. Humans live in family and social groups and children cannot survive infancy without firstly a prime carer, usually mother, but also a further supportive network for the mother whether it is nuclear family, extended family or state. The development of object-relations theory in psychoanalysis, which we looked at earlier in Chapter 4, has suggested ways that early internalised family relationships can distort experience of current adult relationships. We also pass through a series of institutions from nurseries, schools, colleges, workplaces, all of which will have their small group dynamics and institutional dynamics affecting our lives. Therefore a basic knowledge of group theory is essential for all therapeutic work both to aid our understanding of our own and clients’ experiences in the past and to help us understand our experiences of being art therapists and clients within the institution in which we are working.
