Microcosm–Macrocosm

Much has been learned in the 20th century about the impact of covert group dynamics on the individual, the family and small group on the micro level and about institutions, communities, national and international process on a macro level. However, as we enter the new millennium this knowledge seems dwarfed by the burgeoning of knowledge about the brain and biological approaches to disturbed human behavior, casting a worrisome shadow on the future of dynamic group therapies. This article explores the impact of socio-economic-political forces on mental health delivery systems from the vantage point of group process and therapy, and raises questions about possible interventions to restore a balance between social dynamics and biology.     

The Future of Training and Credentialing in Group Psychotherapy

High-quality group psychotherapy training is seen as more important than ever in the current health care environment. The training opportunities available at present are assessed. It is argued that there is a body of knowledge about generic group psychotherapy that can and should be taught, and that there are appropriate people to teach it. Credentialing is discussed, and it is suggested that the assessment of actual work in clinical situations must be emphasized if such efforts are to be meaningful.     

Will the Mother-Group Have a Face? The Future of the Facilitating Environment

The author predicts that maintaining the responsible practice of group psychotherapy in the coming years will require attention to three areas of professional life. The training of group therapists must include group-as-a-whole, in addition to intrapsychic and interpersonal, theoretical constructs. A supportive network of professional colleagues must be available to provide consultation and continuing education. Finally, a culture that values the necessary components of group psychotherapy practice must be encouraged and supported.     

On the Future of Group Therapy Theory

The author presents a hypothetical view of group therapy theories as they may evolve over the first decades of the New Milennium. Looking at the problem of prediction from the standpoint of postmodernism and social constructivism, the importance of these perspectives as frameworks of the social sciences is emphasized. The influence of general systems theory, Foulkesian group analysis, object relations theory, self psychology, cognitive-behavioral psychology, and neuropsychiatry are briefly examined with respect to the expected evolution of increasingly sophisticated, detailed, and nuanced theories of group psychology and group psychotherapy.     

Myths and Small Groups: Development, Managed Care, and the Year 2000

In this article, the author defines myth and shows that disguised myths of archaic and primitive peoples can be found in the modern world. He discusses the myths that guide the development of small groups. He sketches out mythic aspects of the encounter between group therapy and managed care. Finally, he suggests the mythic significance of the year 2000 for the future of group development and of group therapy.     

Shepherding Group Analysis: Shepherds Past, Present and Future

The development of group analysis in Britain and Europe following the death of the founder, S. H. Foulkes is described. Group analytic training, journal and book publications are noted. Future prospects for group analysis are envisaged.     

'I'm Just Saying . . .': Discourse Markers of Standpoint Continuity

Examining discourse markers (Schiffrin, 1987) in two transcribed discussions of controversial issues in an undergraduate 'critical thinking' class, we note frequent uses of 'I'm just saying' and related metadiscursive expressions (I'm/we're saying, I'm/we're not saying, etc.). Our central claim is that these 'saying' expressions are pragmatic devices by which speakers claim 'all along' to have held a consistent argumentative standpoint, one that continues through the discussion unless changed for good reasons. Through close analysis of a series of discourse examples, we show how these discourse markers are used to display continuity, deflect counterarguments, and acknowledge the force of counterarguments while preserving continuity. In a concluding section we reflect critically on the use of these continuity markers with regard to four pragmatic functions that they potentially serve: to specify and clarify argumentative standpoints, to acknowledge a presumption of standpoint continuity, to acknowledge a normative expectation that discussion participants should have standpoints, and to avoid overt disagreement while saving face.     

Power, Sex, and Violence: A Psychological Reconstruction of the 20th Century and an Intellectual Agenda for Political Psychology

Power, sex, and violence are three themes that characterize a good deal of 20th-century experience. Connections among these themes can be demonstrated through archival and field studies and by laboratory experiments, in the core disciplines of political psychology as well as in literature and art. Understanding and explaining this power-sex-violence fusion is an urgent theoretical and practical imperative. Two tasks are especially critical: understanding the nature of power-striving and how it might be tempered, and understanding how and why people construct "differences" among themselves. With its broad interdisciplinary tradition, its variety of traditional and innovative methods, and its links to the real world of human affairs, political psychology is well placed to assume this intellectual agenda.     

Reviews

Rottschaefer, William A. The Biology and Psychology of Moral Agency
Mccutcheon, Russell T. Manufacturing Religion: The Discourse on Sui Generis Religion and the Politics of Nostalgia
Drengson, Alan The Practice of Technology: Exploring Technology,Ecophilosophy, and Spiritual Disciplines for Vital Links
Burrell, David B. and Mcginn, Bernard (eds.) God and Creation: An Ecumenical Symposium     

Determining the implementation order of a general plan by using a multicriteria method

We describe a real-life application of a new multicriteria method in the context of assisting the decision-making for a general plan in the municipality of Kirkkonummi in Uusimaa, Finland. At the time our group started working on the problem, a proposal for an overall plan had already been completed, but the order in which different regional parts of the plan should be implemented needed to be considered based on the environmental impact assessment (EIA) procedure. The EIA procedure generated a large amount of data about the different impacts of the alternatives. For this group decision making problem we developed the SMAA-3 decision support method which does not require any explicit preference information from the decision makers during the procedure. The uncertainty of the basic data is modelled using ELECTRE III-type pseudo-criteria with preference and indifference thresholds. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.