ABSTRACT
In this final chapter I am shifting the focus away from the individual figures who are the principal subjects in the foreground of the counselling picture: the counsellor and the client. Instead I am turning attention to the background: the context or collective within which counselling occurs. This context will have its own ‘collective shadow’ (Jung 1970:572) or ‘cultural shadow’ as it is sometimes known.1 As with the shadow of individuals this collective shadow is unconscious, although a few members may be aware of aspects of what it contains. As collective shadow develops in parallel with the collective ‘ego’ or identity it will have its roots within the history of that collective, a history that may be long forgotten. The potency of the collective shadow will correspond to the strength of the collective ego or ‘group ego’ (Foulkes and Anthony 1984). This in turn is related to the degree to which individuals define themselves in terms of membership of the particular collective.
