Conflict in the Search for an `Individual Self' as Opposed to a Traditional `Group Self': A Consequence of Undertaking Group-Analytic Training

Abstract

In a traditional society collective social interactions become internalized as inner structure. NTey then militate against individual subjective normns, if these endeavour to express and extend their creative energy outside the bounds of the collective group norms. In a social culture in which group norms supersede the normns of individuals so much that the individual is obliged to identify with his or her groups of affiliation totally and in an undifferentiated way, inner conflicts develop within the individuals between their `group self' — the traditional norms and their `individual self' — those norms and values which form their own personal perceptions and understanding of their environment. If the individual embarks on an alien innovation such as training in methods and practices of group analysis, the inner conflicts intensify between a search for the individual self and the group self.