Permission to Narrate also uses applied group analytic theory to consider the cultural role and rhetoric of monsters, and what these representations tell us about the position in which human beings conceive themselves. Also explored, using applied group theory, are the meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous and Quakers, both serving as remarkable examples of different, alternative group formations. A chapter on revolutions, in England, France, and elsewhere, demonstrates the role of rhetorical re-definitions of society and an aesthetics of revolt.
A semi-autobiographical chapter discusses different interpretations of Freud, over the years, while the final chapter argues that group analysis faces serious 'discipline anxiety' after its first sixty years or so. How it responds to such anxiety can be decisive in terms of our viability and continuing relevance as a discipline and practice.
This book will be of interest to clinicians and academics, across disciplines including history, social psychology and cultural studies.
