ABSTRACT
In the last chapter I said that it was possible for the worker to consciously co-operate with the organic processes of growth and development in the group in order to liberate and utilize its creative energy and resources. A statement like this immediately raises questions about what precisely it is that the group worker co-operates with and how he goes about it. The answer is quite simple when one remembers that movement and change occur as a
consequence of the energy generated by the tension between the love and will polarities which are always present in the group. However, in the volatile, rowdy, and often apparently chaotic atmosphere of many
groups, the beginning group worker can find that he lacks the expertise and confidence which would help him understand and feel competent to deal with what is happening. With this thought in mind, I have written this chapter to help you recognize what these love and will energies actually look like in the group and how they influence behaviour. I have also included specific instructions on how to use these energies to enhance the process of the group. Before moving to this, let me mention three basic principles that will recur.
What I mean by this is that group experience is an organic and unfolding process in which behaviour is neither random nor illogical, but can be discerned as comprehensible themes and patterns of experience and need. The group is not in its essential nature a chaotic, static, or inert phenomenon. Groups are energetically dynamic and tend to develop in an increasingly inclusive and more organized manner.
