'This is an extremely interesting book which succeeds in combining erudition with great clarity, respect of tradition with a refreshing search for new perspectives... It is also a book which sums up the work carried out in Italy and in France and often ignored by the Anglo-Saxon group analyst. In line with such work it links Freud, Bion and Foulkes within a group perspective.' - from the foreword by Malcolm Pines Group explores the processes that take place within groups from a psychoanalytical perspective. Combining his own original concepts with a critique of established theories, Claudio Neri describes how groups are formed and develop, and analyses what non-verbal or extra-verbal phenomena are present in human communication, and how they occur in practice. The author uses examples from various art forms from around the world to show the universality of such human communication. Although it deals with difficult new ideas, the book contains user-friendly inserts within the text to explain particular concepts as they arise for those unfamiliar with the subject. A substantial glossary also provides explanation of the many complex terms used thoroughout the book. from the publisher's website Table of Contents Preface, Parthenope Bion Talamo. Foreword, Malcolm Pines. Introduction. Historical Notes. PART ONE: ANALYTIC WORK 1. An Overall View. PART TWO: THE GROUP PROCESS 2. The Emerging Group State. 3. The Fraternal Community Stage. 4. The Group's Common Space. 5. Genius Loci. PART THREE: THE FIELD 6. The Field. 7. Self Rrepresentation and Semiosphere. PART FOUR: GROUP THOUGHT 8. Brain Mind. 9. Characteristics of Group Thought. 10. Therapeutic Function of Group Thought. 11. Conditions for Group Thought. 12. Mimesis. 13. Oscillations between Emotions and Thought. PART FIVE: GROUP AND THE INDIVIDUAL 14. The Entry of New Members. 15. Group Experience on the Arrival of New Members. 16. The Group as Self-Object. 17. Effective Narration. 18. Transtemporal Diffusion. Appendix 1. The Group and the Psychological Mass. Appendix 2. The Transformation of the Group into an Institution. Appendix 3. Therapeutics in the Group. Glossary. Bibliography. Index. | 
