Gerry McNeilly is senior adult psychotherapist, group analyst and art psychotherapist. He currently works with the Psychotherapy Service, South Warwickshire Combined NHS Trust. He has been involved in training with Birmingham University and the Institute of Group Analysis in England, Russia and Greece. He is an art therapy educator and is developing group analytic art therapy training in Lisbon with the Portuguese Art Therapy Society.
CONTENTSPart One. 1. How I Started: Brief Outline; Historical Review; S. H. Foulkes' Influence. 2. Early Formulations and Developments: Introduction to S. H. Foulkes' Theories; Movement through: Group Art Therapy - Group Art Psychotherapy - Thematic/Non Thematic Art Therapy - Directive and Non Directive Art Therapy - Group Analytic Art Therapy; Early Commentary on the Matrix and Resonance. 3. Early Theoretical and Practical Developments: The Therapeutic Community: Open Art Groups; Community Art Groups; Small Art Therapy Groups; Guiding Principles on Methodology. 4. The Group as a Whole: General Theories; Comparisons and Differences between Foulkes and Bion; Group Analytic Art Therapy Perspective; Group Illustration; Therapist's Technical Approach; Cross-Reference to Primarily Verbal Groups. 5. The Individual in the Group - Transference Constellations: Introduction; Therapist's Role - Transference Constellations: In Art Therapy, Group Illustration, The New Group, New Member Entering Existing Group. 6. Analytic Transitions: Introduction; Early Transitions; The Melting Pot in a Therapeutic Community; Technical Transitions; Individual Art Therapy and Psychotherapy; Art Groups to Analytic Art Groups. Part Two. The Portuguese Papers New Developments. 7. Introduction; Literature Review; Developments Since 1990. 8. That Which Binds Together Can Also Pull Apart; The Deep End of Group Analytic Art Therapy; Three Dimensional Triangular Theory; Dualities, Polarities and Opposites. 9. Openings: Connections between Resonance, Intuition and Wisdom; Complexity, Subtlety and Simplicity. 10. Cross FertilizationThe Development of an Organic Matter Analogy; The Exploration of Theoretical Components of Structure, Content and Process; A New Theoretical Perspective of 'The Individual in the Group as a Whole'. 11. The Matrix Pattern Fullness of Emptiness: A Uniting of Foulkes' 'Matrix' with Cortesão's 'Pattern' with McNeilly's 'Fullness of Emptiness'. Final Note.
This is a book which will be of great use to art therapists working with groups whether they wish to follow a strictly analytic approach in the work or not. Indeed, this book will be of great interest to any group therapist. It highlights and clarifies many of the profound aspects of the group analytic experience and it describes the possibilities offered by introducing art-making to the group analytic situation. The theoretical text is accompanied, all the way through, by hypothetical and real clinical examples of the concepts he explores making it easier to digest.
