61st Annual Conference

“Hope is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out (Vaclav Havel).” In this presentation, Dr. Shapiro will examine the link between individual commitment and particular group tasks. What kind of negotiation allows becoming a member of a group to “make sense”? Through the study of a therapeutic community in a unique institution, Dr. Shapiro will explore the link between individual needs and group tasks, and the way in which taking up a member role contributes to an appreciation of the unique contributions of others.

Dr. Shapiro is the Medical Director/CEO of the Austen Riggs Center. A board

certified psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, family researcher, and organizational

consultant, he is also Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical

School. He has been an organizational consultant for over 25 years, and has

consulted with hospitals, mental health clinics, law firms, and family businesses.

Co-author of Lost in Familiar Places: Creating New Connections between the

Individual and Society, Dr. Shapiro is also the editor of The Inner World in the

Outer World. Dr. Shapiro has published over 40 articles and book chapters on

human development, organizational and family functioning, and personality

disorders, presenting papers in the country and abroad.