This article describes a trainee group analyst's experience of challenging his group's determination to form subgroups in cafes after sessions. A variety of approaches were tried and the article outlines a number of phases in the groups over a two-year period, leading to the conductor's realization of the need to extend his own boundaries and work with the concept of the `extended matrix', with a resultant deepening in the work. The issues are placed in theoretical context, with reference to Foulkes, Winnicott and Kohut.
