ABSTRACT
Despite the fact that there is no exact parallel between individuals and institutions, psychoanalysis has contributed one way to approach thinking about what goes on in institutions. This approach does not claim to provide a comprehensive explanation or even a complete description. But looking at an institution through the spectrum of psychoanalytical concepts is a potentially creative activity which may help in understanding and dealing with certain issues. The psychoanalytical approach to consultation is not easy to describe. It involves understanding ideas developed in the context of individual therapy, as well as looking at institutions in terms of unconscious emotional processes. This may seem like a combination of the implausible with the even more implausible or it may become an illuminating juxtaposition.
