Group analysis in the decline of democracy: Surviving in the 21st-century

The impact of the decline of democracy on clinical work in analytic groups is explored. With examples of the erosion of democracy in the 21st-century, such as the growth of populism, fundamentalism, and certain understandings of ‘cancel culture’, it is argued that the decline of democracy poses an increased threat to the therapeutic efficacy of analytic groups. It is argued that, while it is essential to retain the distinctively group analytic stance that it is the group that is the therapeutic agent of change, a refocus and revision is needed of Foulkes’ 20th-century understanding of the role of the group conductor in their relationship to the group norms, steering a careful path between the conductor relying on their own authority alone and allowing norms reflecting the decline to democracy to dominate the culture of analytic groups. The changes locate the conductor firmly and inextricably as a political agent and point to a heightened vigilance to aspects of the erosion of democracy as they inevitably appear in analytic groups. Drawing on aspects of Wittgenstein’s Philosophy of Language, the philosophical underpinnings of Foulkes’ thesis, that it is the group that is the agent of therapeutic change, are highlighted. These help to articulate hope in the context of the powerlessness and despair that can threaten to overwhelm in the current political climate.