Group Analytic Contexts, Issue 77, September 2017

112 Group-Analytic Society International - Contexts
symptoms and disturbances, resonating from the primal scene. This
achievement comes about through group analytic treatment, where
symptoms can be effectively treated, or even cured. It is a fascinating
journey for the reader – except that some readers may be left behind.
Koukis’ conceptualisations and arguments require a good
attention span and knowledge base, because definitions of complex
concepts are either missing or given much later, and sentences tend to
be rather long. This makes it, at times, difficult to follow his
undoubtedly creative analyses surrounding group analytic phenomena.
Hence, this book may have benefitted from further explanations,
expansion of arguments, and glossary at the end. In its present form,
many pertinent arguments/ideas may be too complicated (or even
obscured) for those readers, who do not share Koukis’ impressive,
intellectual and clinical background (philosophy, Lacanian and other
psychoanalysis, GA, psychology, pedagogy, psychodrama, music).
For those who do, this book may prove to be a gemstone.
Koukis seems to favour resolution of the Oedipus Complex.
In post-modern societies, we find many different family constellations
(e.g. gay marriages, step/adopted adopted). Does neurosis or
psychosis await them? This is not addressed. Hence, whilst Koukis
aims to merge GA and psychoanalysis (and to demonstrate the
effectiveness of group analytic groups), the reader might be forgiven
for questioning that he achieves this. His conceptualisations seem to
remain embedded in an archaic, psychoanalytic paradigm, which
stress the primacy of the Law-of-the-Father, although the structure of
his theoretical model is more akin to Levi-Strauss’s system of
relations, where a point is defined by its relationship to other points,
and whose elements are defined in differential terms with other
elements, and the relationship between elements consists of bundles
of relations that produce oppositional and relative meaning
(“mythemes”). So Koukis clearly attempts to move beyond
psychoanalysis and tries a balancing act between the paternal/maternal
in his conceptualisations. The mother’s importance as pre-oedipal
mother and her functioning as good group object is used to negate
orthodox psychoanalytic primacy.
However, his ideas signify a strong allegiance to the
paternalistic discourse of the 19 th century. The conductor is perceived
as male (father). His authority is given primacy over that of the
mother’s (group) and children’s (group members). Ultimately, mother
and children have less power, because the oedipal trumps the preoedipal.
Paternalism also finds its expression and echoes through
medicalised language (‘psychopathology’, ‘disorders’, ‘patients’) and