Towards a Psychoanalytic Concept of Community (II): Relevant Psychoanalytic Principles

Abstract

In the first of three papers the current philosophical, sociological and ecological approaches to "community" were considered from a psychoanalytic perspective. This second paper aims to arrive at a set of principles that will underpin a psychoanalytic concept of communities. Those principles include: psychoanalytic understandings of groups; the unconscious of the collective; the subjectivity and inter-subjectivity of individuals and collectives; the symbolic function of an abstract concept; and the processes involved in making sense, such as mentalization and symbolization. The emerging psychoanalytic framework conceptualizes communities in terms of their collective psychological tasks, such as the maintenance of shared identification and boundaries, their responses to trauma and the work of mourning, rather than by their geographical or sociological characteristics. This new approach to the concept of community also highlights the utility of distinguishing the nature of groups by their respective, collective psychological tasks.

Towards a psychoanalytic concept of community (III): A proposal

“…In our second paper we proposed that from a psychoanalytic perspective, communities were characterized more by their psychological tasks, than by their social or geographical features (Koh & Twemlow, ). In essence, the proposed concept centers on how communities undertake their psychological tasks.…”

“…In so doing, we highlighted how applied psychoanalysis could usefully add another dimension to an understanding of communities. In the second paper, we considered relevant, key psychoanalytic principles, such as the unconscious of the collective, group dynamics, and the symbolic function of the concept of community (Koh & Twemlow, ). We ended that paper with the question: “What are the characteristics of a well‐functioning community when considered from a psychoanalytic perspective?” We will return to this important question in the fourth paper of the series (Koh & Twemlow, ).…”

A systematic review of psychodynamic theories in community psychology: Discovering the unconscious in community work

“…Some concepts developed by community psychology, such as social connectedness and sense of community, have pointed to the nature of the individual's relationship to others that are mostly objectively experienced rather than subjectively sensed (Koh & Twemlow, 2016). As well, ideologies of self-determination and agency have stressed the relevance of concrete praxis and social activism referring to the notion of empowerment, rather than the dialectic between personal and political meanings, as well as between unconscious and conscious levels (Long, 2002).…”

“…As well, ideologies of self-determination and agency have stressed the relevance of concrete praxis and social activism referring to the notion of empowerment, rather than the dialectic between personal and political meanings, as well as between unconscious and conscious levels (Long, 2002). In this regard, recent works have outlined that the predominant discourse on the topic of "community" has been from sociopolitical rather than psychoanalytic perspectives (Koh & Twemlow, 2016). Consistently, a practice of community psychoanalysis has been proposed as an emerging paradigm (Bermudez, 2019), and the need for integrating psychodynamic insights into community settings and interventions is increasingly claimed (Swartz, Gibson, & Gelman, 2002).…”

Towards a psychoanalytic concept of community (IV): The well‐functioning community

“…This paper is the fourth in a series to develop a psychoanalytic concept of community (Koh & Twemlow, , ). In the third paper of the series, we proposed a concept that centered on the unconscious psychological tasks involved, firstly, in creating a community and ensuring its continuity, and secondly, in achieving its aim or reason for existence.…”