Social Unconscious in Persons, Groups, and Societies

Earl Hopper, PhD, is a psychoanalyst, group analyst, certified group therapist, and organisational consultant in private practice in London. A Distinguished Fellow of the American Group Psychotherapy Association, an Honorary Member of the Group Analytic Society International, and an Honorary Member of the Institute of Group Analysis, he is a supervisor and training analyst for many psychotherapy organizations in England. He is alos a former President of the International Association for Group Psychotherapy and Group Processes (IAGP), and a former Chairman of the Association of Independent Psychoanalysts of the British Psychoanalytical Society. Haim Weinberg is a Californian and Israeli licensed psychologist and group analyst. He is Past-president of the Northern California Group Psychotherapy Society and the Israeli Association of Group Psychotherapy. He is the director of an international doctorate program in psychology with an emphasis on group psychotherapy at the Professional School of Psychology, Sacramento, California, where he serves as the academic Vice President.

• Introduction -- Myths -- Born with a knife in their hearts: transmission, trauma, identity, and the social unconscious -- Further thoughts about the foundation matrix, the social unconscious, and the collective unconscious: the myth of the Tower of Babel -- Aspects of the social unconscious reflected in traditional folktales: the case of the Druze community in Israel -- Foundation Matrices -- The German social unconscious: second generation perpetrator symptoms in organisations and groups -- Psychoanalytic view of the totalitarian mentality: the case of the Czech experience -- Contemporary manifestations of the social unconscious in Japan: post trauma massification and difficulties in identity formation after the Second World War -- The Irish social unconscious in relation to disability -- Reflections upon Brazilian social unconscious

'The much-needed group-analytic viewpoint and the concept of the social unconscious unifies and brings relational clarity to a collection of thoughtful essays on trauma and its transgenerational transmission. All societies, groups, and individuals are vulnerable and affected - I find myself thinking about this volume as I go about my work, and in attempting to understand myself.'- Richard M. Billow, PhD, Director of Postgraduate Group Program, Derner Institute, Adelphi University; Book Review Editor of the International Journal of Group Psychotherapy'Reflecting and encouraging a deep discussion of many aspects of societies of which their members are unconscious and pre-conscious, the foundation matrices of Japan, Brazil, Germany, Czech Republic, Britain and Ireland, as well as the Druze people, are herein investigated for their commonalities and their unique properties. This fascinating group-analytic study will enrich the minds of colleagues and students alike.'- Robi Friedman, PhD, President of the International Group Analytic Society'Indispensable reading for those interested in the social unconscious, this volume fills out the concept with specific and compelling examples of societal myths and foundation matrices from a variety of cultures, nations and peoples. A treasure trove of illuminations of the virtually unlimited potentials of the study of these topics.'- Robert Grossmark, PhD, New York University Postdoctoral Program in Psychoanalysis'This volume puts flesh on the bones of the field theory of the social unconscious, building up a picture of the way in which the hidden aspects of these processes at the societal 'level' and the unconscious aspects of these processes at the individual 'level' converge within the group-analytic matrix. We are enabled to compare and contrast several group analytical approaches to the study of such issues, and to consider many diverse questions about them.'- R.D. Hinshelwood, Professor in the Centre for Psychoanalytic Studies, University of Essex'In their second volume on the social unconscious, the authors provide further valuable insights into the denial, forgetting and distortion of vital messages from the past and the present, strengthening our capacity to challenge the silence of oppression and trauma. All mental health professionals will gain knowledge and insight into these powerful processes.'- Morris Nitsun, PhD, Consultant Psychologist in Group Psychotherapy in the National Health Service (UK) and Group Analyst, Fitzrovia Group Analytic Practice'Sensing that the social unconscious as a concept has become en vogue and that we must consider various applications of it, the editors have facilitated a rich and diverse sample of studies of the foundation matrices of several societies and peoples. This book will undoubtedly be useful in the next steps of theory building.'- Dieter Nitzgen, MA, Former Head of the Psychotherapy Department Rehab Clinic Birkenbuck. Editor of Group Analysis