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Drawing the Isolate into the Group Flow

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Every group has members who stay out of the main flow. If isolates are not woven into the group’s fabric – if they cannot participate in the group verbally and emotionally – then they usually leave the experience dissatisfied. Even before they leave, their presence is centrifugal. They rarely make identification with others, and contribute little to the mutual understanding members are expected to offer one another; other participants experience them as detached and indifferent. Among the types of resistance presented by peripheral members are: (1) denying responsibility; (2) giving advice, and (3) distorting. This paper describes how to recognize these patterns, how to empower the group to work on them, and thus how to integrate the avoiding member, for his or her own benefit as well as that of the group.

Key Words: isolates • group • resistances • transient identification

Group Analysis, Vol. 37, No. 1, 65-76 (2004)
DOI: 10.1177/0533316404040995


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