ABSTRACT
The present chapter argues that negative variants of the same processes that enable social agency and growth can constrict constructive engagement in life's transitions and adversities. A perspective based on the idea of transition highlights the interconnectedness of factors internal and external to the individual and suggests that awareness of the situation of the person in transition should be regarded as a core therapeutic skill. Even what might appear to be relatively straightforward role transitions in the course of a work career can be seen as requiring successful reconciliation within several important areas of psychological need or motive. Ashforth's framework is based on four overlapping needs or motives: identity, meaning, control and belonging. In groups based in therapeutic communities, the negotiation of relationships, exploration of differences and development of an autonomous identity take place in a 'transitional space'; interdependence emerges through intersubjectivity.
