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SUMMARY OF ANALYSIS
Chapter Eight – A Consulting Break - Page 266
Thinking of a process over the whole of the session, it seems that the group actually
works effectively. The conclusion of the break, and the outcome of the second half of
the session have both been highlighted as possible markers of this. At the same time,
this work is not to any explicit conclusion. However, the jangling experienced between
Judi and Bill may somehow reflect important and less visible aspect of the dynamics of
the session.
In the work of the clinical session, the student presenter has clearly taken strides in
progress in her work with her client. She reports that she has faced her shame at herself
as represented by her work and by this client, to the extent that she is now confident in
her planning to present the work for a professional membership process. The group
develops steadily in its capacity to think usefully about the material that the presenter
brings. The staff manage somehow to contain some turbulent dynamics between them,
but it is as if this is managed intuitively and with difficulty, as evidenced by the markers
of hostility. It is not until the research level that the experience as a whole begins to
make sense, but obviously reflections from this level were not available at the time of
the session.
INTERPRETATION
With hindsight, it seems clear to me that the staff and the group are operating at
considerable bi-logical depth in this Session, at many of Matte-Blanco’s Strata (1975, p.
1). By this, I mean that the interaction in this session is particularly complex and
layered. These layers can be read as representing a range of mixes of asymmetrical
(conscious) and symmetrical (unconscious) logics, from a mix that is principally
conscious (Stratum 1) to one that is principally unconscious (Stratum 5).