Narcissistic Isolation and Change in the Median Group

Abstract

According to Patrick de Mare the median group places the cultural object at its centre as the object of therapy, so that culture and social myths (social unconscious) can be understood in a situation that approaches that of the community. The objective is not so much to socialize the individual as to humanize the sociocultural context. The primary mutual hatred engendered by the larger setting is gradually transformed, through dialogue, into impersonal fellowship (koinonia). This article reports the author's own experience with a median group, which dealt with difficulty in speaking and fear of losing identity, leading to narcissistic isolation. In the koinonic atmosphere of social interaction dialogue became possible and personal identities were affirmed.