ABSTRACT
The concept of the 'matrix' epitomises the principle of interconnectedness. S. H. Foulkes describes it as 'the hypothetical web of communication and relationship'. D. Nitzgen describes Foulkes's development of the concept of the matrix; a matrix that is not only personal and interpersonal but also transpersonal. D. Nitzgen notes 'Foulkes's persistent efforts to integrate Freudian drive theory into an overall theory of communication'. The communicational process of moving from isolated symptom to shared problem to shareable meaning and shared understanding, Foulkes refers to as translation; 'the equivalent of the making conscious of the repressed unconscious in psychoanalysis'. For Foulkes, the concept of resonance 'threw new light on the question: how is it possible that the group context produces a shared life from a modality usually conceded only to the "inner" mental life'. Foulkes focuses on the nurturing, empathic aspects of mirroring.
