Desire, demand and psychotherapy: on large groups and Neighbours

Abstract

Explanations of the disturbing effects of large groups are sought in the group analytic literature, where there is an emphasis on boundary disturbance, and in contemporary psychoanalytic and social theory, where the peculiar nature of the ‘neighbour’ has become a topic for investigation. It is argued that the human subject is an ‘interrupted’ subject, with the other/neighbour being a key figure in creating this interruption. In large groups, the alien nature of the neighbour who is both close and unknowable comes to the fore, disrupting attempts to cover over this ‘interruption’ and promoting confusion and dislocation. The large group is consequently expressive of specific forms of contemporary sociality, and also suggestive for an ethical practice of psychotherapy that does not reduce to consolation.