ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the joining and leaving of participants in a group analytic group during the course of their therapy, and on the challenges that these processes present to the group and the group analyst. Slow-open groups are not time limited and allow individuals to join and leave the group during the process according to their needs. Arrivals and departures are terms that can be understood in the context of the Foulkesian concept of "traffic". The interruptions to the regular analytic rhythm caused by joining and leaving means the group has to move from the elaboration of the material the participants are preoccupied with to coping with separation and discontinuity of relations. Participation in a slow-open group could provide a secure and continuous space for the participants' growth and development, especially if the conductor is aware of the connections between group processes and social contexts and allows a process of mutual growth.
