Group Analytic Contexts, Issue 77, September 2017

Newsletter – Autumn 2017 113
reliance on DSM-IV - the psychiatric bible of ‘dis-ease’. Hence,
despite drawing on musical and other metaphors, Koukis’ writing does
not escape the Zeitgeist of paternalistic and psychiatric supremacy.
His writing falls prey to existing ideologies and power relations, the
very thing his book aims to leave behind.
Koukis’ attempt to make the unconscious conscious and
reveal its latent structures through analyses of the social unconscious,
is certainly valuable. But a Lacanian writer cannot exclude himself
from the writing subject who undertakes the investigation and from
the results of the analyses. Koukis does exactly this. Thus, his attempt
to overcome the psychoanalytic (and by association
medical/psychiatric) dominance in group analysis, may not be as
fruitful as he wishes it to be.
In his epilogue, he highlights that GA has not developed a
solid theoretical foundation. I am surprised that no reference to
Weegmann (2014) “The World within the Group”, is made.
Weegmann attempted to develop a theory for GA. Considering that
both authors are musicians, psychologists, group analysts,
psychodynamic therapists who draw on Lacan, social theory and
philosophy, and aim to develop GA beyond the circle of therapy and
offer unique insight into the group analytic world, this omission is
puzzling. What does it signify? Be this as it may, ‘On Group Analysis
and Beyond’ makes a valuable contribution to group analytic theory
and practice. It contains many fascinating elements, but these need to
be viewed through critical lenses. An unchanging (group
analytic/psychoanalytic) society represents the decrescendo inability
to listen, hear and understand its signifier as deciphering crescendo
rhythm and presence that precedes the signification of both object and
emotion. Hopefully, someone will listen and make it her task to move
Group Analysis beyond the supremacy of psychoanalysis and the
paternal.
Reviewed by Susanne Vosmer