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In the twentieth century, group therapy flourished in different countries. As part of The New International Library of Group Analysis, a series edited by the psychoanalyst and group analyst Earl Hopper, this book provides a cartography of Swedish
group therapy experiences. It is the outcome of jointly written seminars, organized by Christer Sandahl and a group of professionals in the field. It honours the work of Swedish pioneers, combining in a creative and independent way the North American and British influences, especially group analysis, on group therapy. As announced in the introduction, the aim was ‘to write an introductory book with wide applications, primarily in different forms of time-limited group therapy, and at the same time being deeply rooted in the group analytic tradition’ (p. 3). At first glance, it proposes an unexpected dialogue with different theoretical epistemologies whose combination might surprise the reader. However, its richness lies exactly in the fact that this dialogue transcends taken-for-granted theoretical and clinical frames of reference in group therapy and challenges the reader to reflect on the essence of the question ‘Why does group therapy work?‘.
In each of its 12 chapters, the authors discuss the idea of ‘group’, from early human flocks in the savannahs to the creation of family bonds, attachment and social learning, to relationships among persons with regard to the treatment of their psychological and social suffering, a moment when group therapy is fundamental. Social psychological perspectives and Kurt Lewin's ideas on the social field enabled the authors to define a group as more important than the sum of its parts/members, asserting their interaction in terms of the pursuit of common goals, for good or for evil. The idea of the group as a whole is highlighted and connected with the Foulkesian concept of ‘matrix’, defined as ‘the network of all individual mental processes, the psychological medium in which they meet, co