61st Annual Conference

Workshop 99
The Division Into “Us and Them” as a Universal Social Structure

Chairs:            

Avi Berman, M.A., Teacher, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel

Miriam Berger, M.A., Senior Psychologist, Israeli Institute of Group

Analysis, Tel Aviv, Israel

People view their in-group affiliations as an expression of rational behavior while defining other groups - as potential enemies. The division into opposing groups of "us and them" constitutes an unconscious, universal, instinctual structure that predates ideologies.  The therapists attention to these dynamics consolidates the group into a more cohesive working team.

didactic-demonstration-sharing of work experiences-experiential

Course References:

1. Bion, W. (1961). Experiences in Groups and Other Papers. London: Tavistock.

2. Volkan, V.  (1985). The need to have enemies and allies: A developmental approach.

    Political Psychology, 6, 219-247.

3. Winnicott, D. (1975b) Aggression in relation to emotional development. In Through

    Pediatrics to Psychoanalysis, 204-219. New York: Basic Books.