The First Stages in the Development of the Small Group: A Psychoanalytic Understanding

Building upon the pioneering work of Saravay, this article describes the first stages in the development of a therapeutic small group. We follow the classic psychoanalytic theory of psychosexual stages as described by Freud with the modifications of Karl Abraham. We feel that this understanding will help us better conceptualize a dynamic understanding of small group process. In order to illustrate the theoretical formulations, examples are given from the process of a therapeutic group run along Group-analytic lines.