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The Internet and the Large Group
Abstract
This article argues that from a Group-analytic perspective, the communication dynamics of the Internet are similar to those of any large group. Personal experiences are recounted, showing how the Internet can enable a large group of 450 members to function effectively. Drawing on Kreeger's seminal work on the large group, comparison is made between the `Internet forum' and the extended matrix, questioning Foulkes's scepticism as to the possibility of ever realizing a healthy, functioning large group. The writer looks towards the increasing use and applications of the Internet as one of the most important contemporary issues in group analysis.
... 33,34 Even when large, online groups can function effectively. 47 What most distinguishes self-help groups from groups led by clinicians, however, is the degree of mutuality of support and problemsolving. 48 Online career development groups have been shown to be more effective if moderated than unmoderated, but these groups were small (10-12 members). ...
Online mental health groups can be classified as autonomous self-help groups or support groups led by mental health professionals. An online self-help group hosted by a mental health pro- fessional, in which the mental health professional focuses on maintaining the supportive mi- lieu and the members of the group focus on providing the support for each other, is hypothe- sized to combine the best of both worlds. Psycho-Babble, a group of this type hosted by the author (http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/) serves as an example. Between January and August 2000, 1,516 members posted 21,230 messages in 3,028 discussion threads. Forty-eight percent of posters posted just once. Thirteen percent of threads consisted of only the initial post. In July 2000, 534,219 Psycho-Babble pages were served. Samples of educational and supportive posts, mis- information, "Internet addiction," help-rejecting, limit-setting, and member feedback are given. The usage statistics and the anecdotal evidence of the posts themselves support the effective- ness of the group. The hypothesized key ingredients are discussed. The asynchronous online (message board) format is highly usable and makes the group accessible and safe. Drawbacks, however, are the potential for "multiple identities" and the technical difficulty of effectively preventing determined individuals from gaining at least temporary entry into the group. This hybrid type of group combines the best of the two worlds of self-help (empowerment) and lead- ership by a mental health professional (maintenance of the supportive milieu).
This article explores the relationship between the theory/experience of interconnectedness that is central to group analysis and the notion/experience of magic that is rarely written about in group analysis. The first part of the article reviews the history of magic in psychological theories of the mind ranging from Plato to Freud and Jung. A group-analytic clinical example serves to introduce a discussion of the place of magic within group-analytic theory and practice. It is hoped that this will encourage further dialogue about this important subject.
The authors address unanswered questions about the attraction of the often stormy large group and the interplay between it and small groups. If the large group is a place that arouses many difficult feelings, why do people in conferences, workshops, training programmes and on the Internet continue to participate in them? The authors found that within Internet large groups there was a clear pattern of setting up a small, intimate core group. They found a similar pattern in two live, group workshops. The authors learned that large and small groups are intricately related, and that when participants have the chance, they choose to continue in an on-going, back-and-forth movement between each.
In this article the conceptual clarification and application of group analytic thinking to the development of a virtual environment is discussed. The virtual institute of Group Analysis was created to provide the platform for a part-time distance learning postgraduate program in an academic department. Various fields of group analytic work have been consulted to formulate design principles in generating the conceptual idiom to present the course content. Various group analytic constructs are summoned to support the initial phase of formulating both the designed structure and the connecting communicational flow support structures. The virtual environment offers innovative possibilities but conceptual clarification and refinement of the various relational dynamics are still required.
Establishing group analytic psychotherapy as part of the academic offering in a clinical psychology-training programme requires revisiting the models and basic stance on training. This article outlines the significant shifts adopted when changing a traditional lecturer-centred approach to a relational model. Some of the arresting dilemmas created by social and academic isolation are highlighted. The significance of a personal validating participatory experience in bridging the divides is then discussed. The important role of Malcolm Pines is reviewed: in liaising and encouraging links and forging theoretical refinement and expansion, and his affirming contribution of scholarly works and professional discourse to widen group analytic practice.
This article examines the group dynamics in a discussion list on the Internet, focusing on the special psychological mechanisms that appear. A discussion list is seen to resemble a large group, and the processes characteristic of the large group are relevant to its study. The transference of the list members towards the moderator and the list as a whole is examined together with the countertransference of the moderator. Some of the dynamics that appear on the list deviate from those that usually appear in a large group. Exploring the unconscious of a discussion list on the Internet helps in under-standing the common hidden norms and values of organizations and communities, especially those of the community of mental health professionals.
There is little doubt that the Internet will continue to have an increasing effect on social interaction in the new millennium. Yet it remains widely misunderstood, seen by many as merely a new technology of communication. However; it is many different types of media, offering a rich array of enhancements to the forms our communication can take, and about which considerable research has already been done. This research is useful for the group analyst in preparing for the technical possibilities of the new millennium. This article will define the uses of the Internet, including the benefits, challenges to overcome and issues involved, then discuss some of the specific applications that can be made from a fuller understanding of group processes on the Internet, with the aim of focusing on the many new opportunities for growth in all aspects of group-analytic psychotherapy.
This article identifies group processes and group phenomena in discussion lists on the Internet and examines the differences and similarities with the processes in small and large groups. Group dynamics and phenomena, such as boundaries, cohesion, transference, scapegoating, and the leader's role are addressed. Large group features, such as alienation, vulnerability, and the vast amount of issues discussed in parallel are described. There are similarities between the discussion list and small groups on issues of cohesion and group norms, and in the psychological mechanisms of transference and scapegoating. There are differences regarding the contract, boundaries, leaving the group, and extra-group socialization. Although many of the phenomena described resemble a large group, a discussion list on the Internet maintains the illusion of being a small group and frequently acts like one. While a virtual therapy group would be somewhat different from a real group, it could nonetheless be useful.
The Internet is in the very early stages of being exploited by psychiatric nurses. Following an explanation of e-mail lists, this paper describes an analysis of the first 16 months operation of such a list devoted to psychiatric nursing. Those topics having international resonance for psychiatric nurses were: nursing models, labelling theory, the relationship of psychiatric nursing to medical psychiatry, the risks of depersonalised care, community care, and service cutbacks. Costs and benefits of the e-mail list to individual psychiatric nurses are described and evaluated. It is concluded that e-mail lists have the capacity to contribute to an international psychiatric-nursing identity in a unique and highly personal way. The Internet has many more possibilities for exploitation by psychiatric nurses.