1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910172212203321

Titolo

The unconscious at work : individual and organizational stress in the human services / / by the members of the Tavistock Clinic "Consulting to Institutions" Workshop ; edited by Anton Obholzer and Vega Zagier Roberts

Pubbl/distr/stampa

London ; ; New York : , : Routledge, , 1994

ISBN

1-138-12774-4

1-134-85278-9

1-280-07189-3

0-203-35986-0

Edizione

[1st ed.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (245 p.)

Altri autori (Persone)

ObholzerAnton <1938->

RobertsVega Zagier <1948->

Disciplina

361.3/01/9

Soggetti

Human services personnel - Job stress

Human services personnel - Psychology

System theory

Group relations training

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Book Cover; Title; Contents; List of figures; About the authors; Foreword by James Krantz; Preface; Acknowledgements; A note on confidentiality; Introduction: the institutional roots of consulting to institutions; Some unconscious aspects of organizational life: contributions from psychoanalysis; The unconscious at work in groups and teams: contributions from the work of Wilfred Bion; The organization of work: contributions from open systems theory; Authority, power and leadership: contributions from group relations training

The dangers of contagion: protective identification processes in institutionsAttending to emotional issues on a special care baby unit; Containing anxiety in work with damaged children; Till death us do part: caring and uncaring in work with the elderly; Fragmentation and integration in a school for physically handicapped children; Working



with dying people: on being good enough; Where angels fear to tread: idealism, despondency and inhibition of thought in hospital nursing; The self-assigned impossible task; Institutional chaos and personal stress

The troublesome individual and the troubled institutionFacing an uncertain future; Finding a voice: differentiation, representation and empowerment in organizations under threat; Asking for help: staff support and sensitivity groups re-viewed; Managing social anxieties in public sector organizations; Balancing care and control: the supervisory relationship as a focus for promoting organizational health; Conflict and collaboration: managing intergroup relations; Evaluation: organizations learning from experience; Afterword; Appendix; Bibliography; Suggestions for further reading; Index

Sommario/riassunto

Working in the human services has always been stressful, and the current massive changes in the organization of these services, together with dwindling resources and ever greater demands for cost effectiveness, add to the stresses inherent in the work. Even in the best run and best resourced organizations there are pockets of irrationality where unconscious institutional processes undermine both effectiveness and morale.The contributors to this book use ideas drawn from psychoanalysis, open systems theory, Bion's work with groups, and group relations training to explore the difficulties ex