The group and the individual in conflict and war

This article is an expression of gratitude to Malcolm Pines who has been both a personal mentor and a robust supporter of the Israeli Institute for Group Analysis. The firm friendship which we developed, as well as his strong links with Israel and his wish to see us well, secure and developing are a source of great comfort. I would not have started to write at all if he had not provided encouragement over a decade ago. Thus this article is not only an effort to use the group clinically and an attempt to overcome difficulties politically by group work, but is itself an outcome of Malcolm's influence. Beyond many other possible citations, I use two of the most relevant: 'My belief is that the therapist has always to earn the right to make any interpretation. Truths are always personal. There is no objective, impersonal truth given by a therapist pronouncing objective truth about the patient. To speak out what you believe to be true about another person's life is to engage with them in a shared encounter . . . ' (Pines, 1993: 101); and, 'A new group has a limited range of communication, as its capacity to contain, to hold and ultimately to understand what people are expressing in their illnesses is limited. Over the time the range of responsiveness and understanding greatly widens. . . ' (Pines, 1993: 102). This article is about the difficulties of painfully working through our own truths and the advantages and limitations of group development.