ABSTRACT
The first Northfield experiment conducted by Majors John Rickman and Wilfred Bion lasted six weeks. The crucial issue that was discussed by Rickman, Bion, Foulkes, and Main was the link between the deepest "vertical", intrapersonal axis with the transpersonal "horizontal" of the social and cultural context. It happens that much of the author's earlier experiences and experiments were conducted under military conditions, with the introduction of group psychotherapy into the psychiatric services of the British Army. Referring to the first Northfield experiment, Bion wrote in "The Leaderless Group project", The flight from neurotic disorder had to be stopped; as in a regiment, morale has to be raised to a point where the real enemy could be faced. Bion's attitude towards the large meeting was more radical than the subsequent handling of Foulkes in the Second Northfield experiment. The author was fortunate in having witnessed both the first Northfield experiment of Rickman and Bion, and also in having co-operated with Foulkes in the second experiment.
