From identified patient to identifiable group: the alchemy of the group as a whole

Group-as-a-whole theory is a relational paradigm of some complexity. Despite the growing popularity of this perspective, there is abiding confusion about the essence of group-as-a-whole practice and whether the approach attends sufficiently to members and part processes. The threefold aims of this article are to (a) show how group-centered thinking differs essentially from traditional psychodynamic theory that relies heavily on familial dynamics, interpretation, and transference analysis; (b) present the mind-set and working principles for a generic treatment that specifically utilizes collective forces generated in the context of the group matrix; and (c) compare and contrast the thrust of recent dyadic relational therapies with group therapy generally and the group-as-a-whole approach more particularly. The relationship between the whole (group) and its parts (members and what they bring) is detailed and demonstrated as it appears in the context of fused, affiliated, fragmented, and differentiated groups.