Group Work

“ Group life and group health [are] the outcome of a warm and
tolerant concern not just for the members, but for the group being
in itself, and a reverent and attentive relationship to the higher
being, working and living in the group”.

| Rob Gordon

Whether we are part of a group’s life as a facilitator or a participant in other ways we face a challenging and ongoing learning task.

How do we function as a group for the purposes for which we have come together and yet include the autonomous needs of each individual?

Anthroposophy offers a picture of human relationship dynamics that now guides the work of many facilitators responsible for group dynamics from giant, global corporations to the smallest organizations and groups.

As with all pictures from Anthroposophy, there is a dimension of human activity that lives beyond the reach of our every day senses.

Working with these pictures, we will explore a dimension of group work that is not addressed in the usual academic texts on Group Work.

• What is the special task of group life that is particular to our times?

• What is the hidden ‘spiritual’ life of a group, of any size, that operates behind the scenes and needs to be taken care of for a group to flourish?

• What are the phases of group life, and the challenges and opportunities they pose?

• What part do the inherent social and anti-social forces in any group play to both challenge and enhance group life?

• What can groups do to include these inner dynamics and work with them for group benefit and the benefit of society as a whole?