ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a brief history of group relations work including its links to psychoanalysis and its development within the Tavistock Institute and Clinic. It surveys the organizational and social applications of the group relations training (GRT) conference model, outlines the spectrum of organizational consultation work that emerged alongside it, and examines the relationship between these respective arenas. The central tenet of the Tavistock Model is contained in the conjunction often used to characterize it: systems psychodynamics. The psychodynamic designation refers to the psychoanalytic perspectives on individual, group, and social processes, which derive largely from the work of Klein and Bion. The primary task of GRT conferences is to provide members with opportunities to study the nature of leadership and authority and the interpersonal, group, and intergroup problems encountered in their exercise. In addition to its primary educational function, the GRT conference model has also been used as the basis for a wide range of organizational interventions.
