The Social Unconscious as a Condition and Factor of Social Conjunction

Institutional racism is a social unconscious process. It is the collective operation of shared unconscious assumptions and values that exist in groupings and cultures such as group analytic institutions where individuals may consciously believe they are not racist. In such cultures this conscious belief is protected by unconscious processes of denial, avoidance and negation. Attempts to address the issue within group analysis reveal some of its problematic dynamics.

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The white mirror: Face to face with racism in group analysis part 1—mainly theory

Group Analysis ◽

10.1177/0533316421992315 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 053331642199231

Author(s):

Anne Aiyegbusi

Keyword(s):

Black People ◽

Group Analysis ◽

Ethnically Diverse ◽

Individual Group ◽

Face To Face ◽

The Social ◽

Social Unconscious ◽

The Subject ◽

Trauma Response

Group analysis privileges the social and political, aiming to address individual distress and ‘disturbance’ within a representation of the context it developed and persists in. Reproducing the presence and impact of racism in groups comes easily while creating conditions for reparation can be complicated. This is despite considerable contributions to the subject of racism by group analysts. By focusing on an unconscious, defensive manoeuvre I have observed in groups when black people describe racism in their lives, I hope to build upon the existing body of work. I will discuss the manoeuvre which I call the white mirror. I aim to theoretically elucidate the white mirror. I will argue that it can be understood as a vestigial trauma response with roots as far back as the invention of ‘race’. Through racialized sedimentation in the social unconscious, it has been generationally transmitted into the present day. It emerges in an exacerbated way within the amplified space of analytic groups when there is ethnically-diverse membership. I argue it is inevitable and even essential that racism emerges in groups as a manifestation of members’ racialized social unconscious including that of the conductor(s). This potentially offers opportunities for individual, group and societal reparation and healing. However, when narratives of racism are instead pushed to one side, regarded as a peripheral issue of concern only to minority black or other members of colour, I ask whether systems of segregation, ghettoization or colonization are replicated in analytic groups. This is the first of two articles about the white mirror. The second article which is also published in this issue highlights practice implications.

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So What is this Social Unconscious Anyway?

Group Analysis ◽

10.1177/0533316407076114 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 40 (3) ◽

pp. 307-322 ◽

Cited By ~ 33

Author(s):

Haim Weinberg

Keyword(s):

Building Blocks ◽

Practical Applications ◽

Working Definition ◽

The Social ◽

Social Unconscious ◽

Complex Term

Although the concept of the Social Unconscious has increased in importance in the group analytic literature recently, there are still many misconceptions and misunderstandings about it and its practical applications. While some papers define the term, there are no papers explaining the basics of the social unconscious and what it includes. The purpose of this article is to address the misconceptions, describe the basic building blocks of the social unconscious, and develop a working definition for this complex term.

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Theoretical and Conceptual Notes Concerning Transference and Countertransference Processes in Groups and by Groups, and the Social Unconscious: Part I

Group Analysis ◽

10.1177/0533316406071453 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 39 (4) ◽

pp. 549-559 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Earl Hopper

Keyword(s):

Transference And Countertransference ◽

The Social ◽

Social Unconscious

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Kristevan Femininity and Negative Theology in Christopher Marlowe’s Tamburlaine, I and II

Early Modern Culture Online ◽

10.15845/emco.v3i0.1489 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 3 ◽

Author(s):

Tina Takapoui

Keyword(s):

Julia Kristeva ◽

Negative Theology ◽

The Social ◽

Social Unconscious

Christopher Marlowe’s characters, brought along from far-off corners of history to the centre stage, are rid of the illusive integrity of Selfhood. His plays are also famous for their reluctance to favour domestic and female atmosphere. Despite such views, Marlowe’s drama enjoys a specific aura of femininity which is pressed by contemporary French feminist theoreticians, namely Julia Kristeva who finds the term essentially irrelevant to genders, but a spatial and temporal concept. In the present study, such supposition of the absence of femininity in Marlovian drama is questioned, doubted, and eventually rejected. The outlandish characters are also found in the heart of the very society Marlowe was living, only in a theatrical disguise, drawn back into spotlight from the level of the social unconscious.

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Open wounds: visible physical disability and its meaning for the group and society

Group Analysis ◽

10.1177/0533316418767193 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 51 (4) ◽

pp. 487-499 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Sue Mitchell

Keyword(s):

Physical Disability ◽

Social Models ◽

The Unconscious ◽

Self Disclosure ◽

Group I ◽

The Social ◽

Social Unconscious ◽

Social Treatment ◽

Handless Maiden

This article presents an exploration of the unconscious social treatment of physical disability and its transformational potential. In particular, I focus on the apparent difficulty talking about underlying emotion stimulated by disability. The social models address discrimination but obscure underlying emotion. The problem of physical disability appears to be located within an individual. I argue that this is done by mechanisms of projection and splitting and refer to the social unconscious and I suggest the problem is located within the group. I explore the process of shame and use myth of the Handless Maiden. I highlight the conductor’s role in facilitating communication and discuss self-disclosure. Personal examples and a group vignette are presented to illustrate ideas.

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