The Unconscious at Work: Individual and Organizational Stress in the Human Services

by Obholzer, Anton; Roberts, Vega Zagier; And Members of the Tavistock Clinic con

• ISBN13: 9780203359860
• ISBN10: 0203359860
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2004-03-09
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Summary

The contributors to this book use ideas drawn from psychoanalysis, open systems theory, Bion's work with groups, and group relations training to explore the difficulties experienced by managers and staff in a wide range of care settings. Each concept is introduced in as non-technical a way as possible and illustrated with examples from practice to make it recognizable and useful to the reader. Each chapter develops a theme relating to work with a particular client group or setting (including hospitals, schools, daycare centers, residential units, community services, and others), or explores aspects of work organization (for example, the supervisory relationship, facing cuts and closure, or intergroup collaboration). By describing both the difficulties and their own feelings and thoughts while consulting to these institutions, the authors offer the reader new ways of looking at their own stressful experiences at work.

Table of Contents

Introduction: The Institutional Roots of Consulting to Institutions

Conceptual Framework

Some Unconscious Aspects of Organizational Life: Contributions from Psychoanalysis

The Unconscious at Work in Groups and Teams: Contributions from the Work of Wilfred Bion

The Organization of Work: Contributions from Open Systems Theory

Authority, Power and Leadership: Contributions from Group Relations

Working with People in Pain

The Dangers of Contagion: Projective Identification Processes in Institutions

Attending to Emotional Issues on a Special Care Baby Unit

Containing Anxiety in Work with Damaged Children

Till Death Us Do Part: Caring and Uncaring in Work with the Elderly

Fragmentation and Integration in a School for Physically Handicapped Children

Working with Dying People: On Being Good Enough

Where Angels Fear to Tread: Idealism, Despondency and Inhibition of Thought in Hospital Nursing

The Self-assigned Impossible Task

Institutions in Crisis

Institutional Chaos and Personal Stress

The Troublesome Individual and the Troubled Institution

Facing an Uncertain Future

Finding a Voice: Differentiation, Representation and Empowerment in Organizations under Threat

Asking for Help: Staff Support and Sensitivity Groups Re-viewed

Towards Healthier Organizations

Managing Social Anxieties in Public Sector Organizations

Balancing Care and Control: The Supervisory Relationship as a Focus for Promoting Organizational Health

Conflict and Collaborations: Managing Intergroup Relations

Evaluation: Organizations Learning from Experience

Afterword

Appendix

Bibliography

Suggestions for Further Reading

Index

Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.