Psychoanalytic field theories and Foulkes’ concept of the matrix: Overlap and intersections – towards an updated theory of the matrix

Abstract

The concept of the field is an interdisciplinary one that has travelled from the natural sciences to the social sciences, and subsequently to group analysis and psychoanalysis. Initially taken up by Foulkes—who later replaced it with his concept of the matrix—the field idea has also been developed independently by psychoanalytic authors of various persuasions. These authors have conceptualized the psychoanalytic setting as a field of mutual influence and development.

Three principal strands of theorization can be identified: the Barangers’ theory, which views the field as shaped by conscious and unconscious phantasies within the analytic couple; the post-Bionian model of Ferro et al., (Ferro and Civitarese, 2015) which conceptualizes the analytic field as a shared space of ‘dreaming’; and, finally, a third, ‘plasmatic’ model associated with various North American object relations theories, which presupposes a deep interpenetration of analyst and analysand from the outset—this mutual entanglement being integral to the unfolding analytic process.

Of the three, this last model aligns most closely with group analysis. The author outlines these models, explores their distinct perspectives, and links them to potential applications within group analysis—specifically by comparing components of a hypothetical Group Analytic Field Model with Foulkes’ theory of the matrix.