When patients fall in love in a group—A challenge to group analysis

Abstract

Nitsun pioneered the positive consideration of desire and intimacy in the group and Moeller discussed the conductor falling in love himself, but apart from those authors, the group-analytic literature rarely discusses the subject of romance in groups. This article explores the positive value of the elaboration of falling in love between group members, both to the 'couple' and to the group as a whole. Furthermore, I argue the group's contribution as a post-Oedipal object to its participants, which can strengthen their experience as subjects worthy of mature love and desire. I describe a vignette in which I granted the 'couple' the opportunity to meet once outside the group, on the condition they later reintroduce material to the group. This decision will be discussed regarding the conductor's role in situations of romantic coupling. In addition to the view of keeping firm boundaries of the group and encouraging open discussion regarding love and desire as part of the development of the erotic self, I analyse the importance of enactments to the emergence of dissociated experiences. In this case I see my enactment as an expression of my 'emotional participation'. In contrast to Grossmark, I claim that enactments cannot always be contained by the conductor and therefore might impact his behaviour as well as the setting.

‘Could it be that, after all is said and done, we are Oedipus and the group of the Sphinx?’: Learning from Foulkes

“…In (Oedipal) overconfidence, he may have underestimated the impact of relevant personal issues diffusing into the group. As Warhaftig (2018) discussed, supervision is obligatory in those emotionally tense situations. Although it cannot erode the potential affective involvement of the therapist in the group member’s interactions and, as such, over the course of the group process, it helped the group therapist to accept his negative affective states in this difficult group situation, ‘when the call is on the conductor to do something about it through the group’ (Foulkes, 2018b: 293).…”

“…However, after this, one of the parties must leave the group. If we assume that the situation is ‘an expression of a generative, positive event where all members of the group can benefit’ (Warhaftig, 2018: 126), then we must claim that, preferably, the entire group—including the enacting participants—should do the working through. The significant interruption in communication, concurrent with Bob’s and Mark’s reluctance to extend his group participation, needed firm exploration of the patient (protagonists) by the group therapist (t7).…”

Expression of different kinds of love and their transformation in the interpretative encounter in the group

“…Love creates challenges for conductors when group members form a romantic relationship outside the group (Doron, 2018). While this did not happen in my group, when members fall in love with each other, we must work through this matrix event (Möller, 2002;Warhaftig Aran, 2018). Therefore, the faulty love resonances had to be made conscious and understood, which was achieved in the interpretative encounter:…”

Facets of love and lovesickness

“…In groups, love relationships and breakups can be explored and worked through. However, even though love has curative power, only few group analysts have written about love, desire, falling in love and romance (Möller, 2002;Nitsun, 2006Nitsun, , 2015Taha et al, 2010;Vosmer, 2010;Warhaftig-Aran, 2018;Doron, 2018). This lack of attention is puzzling.…”