Complexity theory is a scientific paradigm concerned with the ways in which order and disorder (unpredictability, turbulence, chaos) combine to produce emergent higher levels of organization in living systems. The group-as-a-whole is an instance where interactions among individuals, often at 'the edge of chaos', lead to group-quagroup dynamics. The paradigms underlying group psychology and complexity theory are considered. Group theory developed along the lines of Enlightenment science, with its emphasis on order and linear causation, while complexity theory reflects the newer sciences of quantum physics and chaos theory, which are based on uncertainty and disorder, respectively. Some basic concepts of complexity theory are discussed, and recent literature on complexity theory and group psychotherapy is reviewed, to provide a background for exploring the potential implications of complexity theory for three dominant theoretical frameworks for dynamic group psychotherapy: Bion's basic assumptions, Foulkes' group analysis, and Agazarian's systems-centered therapy. These will be taken up in Part II, to be published in a subsequent edition of Group Analysis.

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The ways in which group members experience and interact with one another has been explored in philosophy from Greek antiquity to the present. In modern European philosophy, beginning with the Enlightenment, the problem of 'the Other' has been taken up by empirical, idealist, phenomenological and existential philosophers. Based on such philosophical discourse, this article presents a fourfold schema of 'modalities' through which people acquire knowledge of one another in groups. The four modalities are as follows: (1) 'Mind', the use of reason, cognition and sense data to form a model of the other person's mental processes; (2) 'Body', the intuitive, empathic, embodied perception of others; (3) 'Gaze', the establishment of power and authority by scrutiny of each other's presentation of self; and (4) 'Face', the ethical imperative presented by the Other. The ideas of (1) Descartes, Locke and Kant; (2) Merleau-Ponty; (3) Sartre and Foucault; and (4) Levinas are discussed to elucidate each modality. The relationships between the modalities, group analytic theory and neuroscience are explored to build bridges between philosophy, group theory and practice, and the neuroscience of the social brain.

Recently discovered mirror neurons in the motor cortex of the brain register the actions and intentions of both the organism and others in the environment. As such, they may play a significant role in social behavior and groups. This paper considers the potential implications of mirror neurons and related neural networks for group therapists, proposing that mirror neurons and mirror systems provide "hard-wired" support for the group therapist's belief in the centrality of relationships in the treatment process and exploring their value in accounting for group-as-a-whole phenomena. Mirror neurons further confirm the holistic, social nature of perception, action, and intention as distinct from a stimulus-response behaviorism. The implications of mirror neurons and mirroring processes for the group therapist role, interventions, and training are also discussed.

Throughout the development of object relations theory and self psychology, the importance of attachments, availability, absences, limitations, and endings have been factors that have informed theory and practice. This article examines the multiple meanings and impacts of terminations in group psychotherapy at the intrapsychic, interpersonal, and group-as-a-whole levels, from the perspective of contemporary object relations theory and self psychology. Emphasis is placed on the initiation of a mourning process, with the dynamics of guilt, shame, and aggression toward objects who are separate or inaccessible, and the experience of a shortcoming or absence, associated with a loss of self-object oneness, soothing, and idealization from the narcissistic sector of the personality. Therapeutic opportunities afforded by terminations and the importance of resolving countertransference reactions are highlighted.