ABSTRACT
Isabel Menzies Lyth’s seminal paper on social systems as a defence against anxiety (Menzies, 1959) is so well known and frequently cited that it risks acquiring mythic or legendary status. But what explains its phenomenal influence? In this chapter, I suggest that it is a model example of the psychoanalytic case study, deriving its power from a deep engagement with organizational particularities as a basis for general theorizing. Its continued influence depends upon the way in which it is used to conceptualize new organizational experiences. An example from an institutional observation undertaken as part of an advanced social work training at the Tavistock illustrates this. Institutional observation is one of a range of non-clinical psychoanalytically informed methods of training at the Tavistock, and in the final part of the chapter I discuss new applications of Menzies Lyth’s work that aim to illuminate the irrational forces shaping modern social policy.
