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Introspective groups
Introspective groups bring people together and create a protected environment in which to experiment.
In this context participants, moving from interpersonal relationships, contact themselves and their own inner world. They work with others to work on themselves.
I start from the Yalom’s concept of MICROCOSM, but I turn to the inner microcosm, made up of parts (or sub-personalities) that build up our personality.
It is difficult to delve into its complexity, because of the rigid control of rationality, which creates resistance and blocks any intrusion attempts.
Working with introspective art
To recognize and disarm resistances, we recur to introspective art.
Through the active observation of a painting, it becomes possible to reach inner silence. This allows you to detect the interferences of rationality, and to observe them until they slow down and weaken. This way you can reach a deeper level, where you get in touch, through further observation, with emotions that you rarely notice.
These emotions often scare us, or we judge them unacceptable. So, we deny and inhibit them in our daily lives.
Through introspective groups, you can reawaken dormant emotions and learn the healthy way to welcome and manage them.
It is important to gain this competence, because our most frequent ailments have to do with repressed or denied emotions.
We could compare work groups to a gym where you train to get results.
Antonella Giannini
See: Group work