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This is an intriguing and stimulating book about problems of change and resistance in organisations, and the continuous development of a theory about the interplay between organisation, individuals, and groups on the one hand, and external consultants on the other. One of the several reasons it is of interest to psychoanalysts is that the theory includes, and in part develops from, psychoanalysis, especially its developments in the early work of Bion.
In his preface, Dr Miller introduces himself with a brief intellectual and professional autobiography. This is interesting and illuminating in its own right, and is also an explanation of how and why the book is compiled, for it is a compilation of papers that for the most part have been published previously. These were widely scattered, as the bibliography shows; together they form a coherent demonstration of the development of Miller's practice and theory. He is a long-standing member of the Tavistock Institute of Human Relations, and thus his book is also a demonstration of an important line of development of the Institute's work as it evolves through the professional life of an eminent member and his close colleagues.
Analysts will be particularly interested to see how analytic theory and practice (as understood in the UK) have been included in the conceptualisation of problems in a wide sampling of institutions. They will also see how it has been applied reflexively to the consultation process itself. All the work reported here is consultation, not survey or academic research, and this focus gives these papers their particular life and immediacy. It is not only this positioning and application of psychoanalysis which is of interest: we are all members of societies and institutes, and their sub-groupings, which have their own more or less difficult and often traumatic lives. Most analysts who read the book will have their own society in mind. The exercise is enlightening but not exhilarating; at one point Miller says