This article traces the first steps of a community psychoanalytic project with young offenders. Drawing on the social aspects of adolescent delinquency, this exploratory work used a group approach to engage teenagers who might otherwise shun mental health services, through fear or stigma. Grounded Theory, a research methodology closely aligned to psychoanalytic work, allowed us to capture four emerging themes within the group work; thinking and not thinking, maintaining equilibrium, group and gang states of mind, and the importance of endings. Despite a pervasive atmosphere of mistrust, the group began to think, dream, challenge and connect in small moments, whilst also ensuring they could maintain an equilibrium as a group and not be overwhelmed by either the pain or reality of their stories. We began to understand our task as promoting a group state of mind; that is a sense of connection, primarily containing, and allowing small moments of thinking, dependency. This group state of mind was contrasted with the more manic modes of fight and flight and a gang state of mind. Careful examination of these tentative first steps in a project, have allowed us to build our work with young offenders, and the staff who work in them.