In the idiom of Tavistock practice: approaches to public sector psychotherapy group relations organisational development & change and board evaluation

This portfolio of published work consists of four sections that reflect my professional journey, bridging my work at the Tavistock Clinic from 1971 to 1976 - Public Sector Psychotherapy (Section 2) with my experiences at the Tavistock Institute of Human Relations from 1997 to the present - Group Relations (Section 3); Organisational Development and Change (Section 4); and Board Evaluation (Section 5). The papers included in the portfolio are reflections of the important theories and approaches that have come out of both ‘Tavistock’ institutions 1 over the past 70 to 80 years - psychoanalysis (the role of thought); socio-technical systems (the interaction between people and technology in workplaces); theories of leadership, research and evaluation methodologies; participant design and greater democratisation of the workplace. This portfolio also gives me the opportunity to acknowledge the contributions of my supervisors and tutors in the work – Pierre Turquet, Robert Gosling and Mary Barker at the Clinic and Eric Miller and Gordon Lawrence at the Institute. They were influential in generating the most recent theoretical idea of the Tavistock – systems psychodynamics – the confluence of the dominant framing perspective of the structural aspects of organisational systems and the psychoanalytic perspectives on individual experiences and mental processes and the experiences of unconscious group and social processes. This portfolio reflects my career of grappling with a central feature of systems psychodynamics – the existence of primitive anxieties and the mobilization of social defense systems against them. The idea of social defenses that either facilitate or impede organisational task performance was one of the Tavistock’s earliest major organisational constructs that defined the Tavistock’s approach to organisational life. This construct has underpinned my work with individuals and organisations and the publications in this portfolio were selected on the basis of illustrating that in practice

Innovation or Stagnation – Social Work Organisations as Models of Behaviour for Clients

Tavistock Institute of Human Relations1T: (+44) 020 7417 0407F: (+44) 020 7417 0566E: [email protected]:www.tavinstitute.orgW: www.grouprelations.comPresented at the conference:Reconstructing social work strategies in relation to authority and powerUniversity of Vilnius8th November 2013 SummaryThe profession of social work is fundamentally concerned about the persisting problems of socially alienated people and communities. Social work, by relying on its long heritage of practical experience, intelligent conceptual models and leading edge methodologies for change, works consistently to develop radically different approaches to helping clients. They do so by challenging the government, welfare agencies and charities to review their strategies and practices across society as a whole. The profession of social work also has to manage the tension between a prevailing view of welfare services as a burden on the public purse and one which views welfare services as being for the good of society as a whole. Social policies and good social work services are a wise form of endowment in the potential of individuals and communities whose considerable resources and strengths for their and society’s mutual benefit are otherwise wasted.Key words: welfare; social work; sustainability; alienation; autonomy and independence; power and authority.Tavistock Institute of Human Relations1T: (+44) 020 7417 0407F: (+44) 020 7417 0566E: [email protected]:www.tavinstitute.orgW: www.grouprelations.comPresented at the conference:Reconstructing social work strategies in relation to authority and powerUniversity of Vilnius8th November 2013 SummaryThe profession of social work is fundamentally concerned about the persisting problems of socially alienated people and communities. Social work, by relying on its long heritage of practical experience, intelligent conceptual models and leading edge methodologies for change, works consistently to develop radically different approaches to helping clients. They do so by challenging the government, welfare agencies and charities to review their strategies and practices across society as a whole. The profession of social work also has to manage the tension between a prevailing view of welfare services as a burden on the public purse and one which views welfare services as being for the good of society as a whole. Social policies and good social work services are a wise form of endowment in the potential of individuals and communities whose considerable resources and strengths for their and society’s mutual benefit are otherwise wasted.Key words: welfare; social work; sustainability; alienation; autonomy and independence; power and authority

In the idiom of Tavistock practice. Approaches to public sector psychotherapy; Group relations; Organisational development and change and Board evaluation

This portfolio of published work consists of four sections that reflect my professional journey, bridging my work at the Tavistock Clinic from 1971 to 1976 - Public Sector Psychotherapy (Section 2) with my experiences at the Tavistock Institute of Human Relations from 1997 to the present - Group Relations (Section 3); Organisational Development and Change (Section 4); and Board Evaluation (Section 5. The papers included in the portfolio are reflections of the important theories and approaches that have come out of both ‘Tavistock’ institutions 1 over the past 70 to 80 years - psychoanalysis (the role of thought); socio-technical systems (the interaction between people and technology in workplaces); theories of leadership, research and evaluation methodologies; participant design and greater democratisation of the workplace. This portfolio also gives me the opportunity to acknowledge the contributions of my supervisors and tutors in the work – Pierre Turquet, Robert Gosling and Mary Barker at the Clinic and Eric Miller and Gordon Lawrence at the Institute. They were influential in generating the most recent theoretical idea of the Tavistock – systems psychodynamics – the confluence of the dominant framing perspective of the structural aspects of organisational systems and the psychoanalytic perspectives on individual experiences and mental processes and the experiences of unconscious group and social processes. This portfolio reflects my career of grappling with a central feature of systems psychodynamics – the existence of primitive anxieties and the mobilization of social defense systems against them. The idea of social defenses that either facilitate or impede organisational task performance was one of the Tavistock’s earliest major organisational constructs that defined the Tavistock’s approach to organisational life. This construct has underpinned my work with individuals and organisations and the publications in this portfolio were selected on the basis of illustrating that in practice. 1 Unless used with their specific descriptor titles, the use of the word “Tavistock” refers to both the Tavistock & Portman NHS Foundation Trust and the Tavistock Institute of Human Relations

The use of detention as a defence against intolerable social anxiety towards asylum seekers

The movements of peoples across the world are causing grave concern for politicians, government agencies, humanitarian organisations and individual citizens. The immigrants fleeing poverty, war and tyrannical regimes are seen every day on our televisions. We see immigrants crossing the Mediterranean in broken-down boats. In South East Asia Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia are turning back boatloads of refugees fleeing Burma, leaving 6,000 people stranded at sea. At Calais thousands of people are living in destitute conditions whilst risking their lives to stow away in lorries. In London a man fell to his death onto a roof being stowed away in an aircraft from South Africa. These scenes of human desperation are now every day occurrences. At the same time more overt political conflict is emerging from the European countries that take in the immigrants. Italy and Greece want a sharing out of the migrants known as 'compulsory burden sharing' but other European countries are not willing to participate. This paper focuses on an aspect of the immigration crisis namely the asylum seeking and detention centers of the UK. The Tavistock Institute of Human Relations was commissioned to review the mental health care of detainees in Immigration Removal Centers. This paper makes use of the concepts of system psychodynamics, open systems and boundary management, and social systems as a defence against anxiety. We examine the organisational culture of IRCs where people are detained. Our paper focuses on how asylum seekers are treated in removal centres, particularly in relation to their mental health needs. We suggest that there is confusion in the conscious and unconscious understanding of the primary task. We propose that there is a task conflict that manifests in the socio-technical system itself in the organisation of the centres. At the same time we examine the casework system that is engaged in processing asylum applications

The third genration: Karen Izod

Karen Izod, DPhil, MA, CQSW, has been working as an independent consultant to organisational change and professional development, as an educator and researcher for over 30 years. From 2019 to 2023 Karen was Course Lead for the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust's Professional Doctorate in Advanced Practice and Research. She has a long-standing association with the Tavistock Institute of Human Relations where she is a founder and former director of their professional development programmes in consulting for change, and in coaching. Karen has a master's degree in Advanced Organisational Consultancy from the Tavistock Institute and an Advanced Training in Social Work from the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust. Karen is additionally visiting tutor at Henley Business School on their MSc Coaching and Behavioural Change

An introduction to systems psychodynamics: Consultancy research and training

This book provides an introduction to systems psychodynamic theory and its application to organisational consultancy, research and training, outlining systems dynamics methods and their historical and theoretical developments. Systems Psychodynamics is an emerging field of social science, the boundaries of which are continually being refined and re-defined. The ‘systems’ designation refers to open systems concepts that provide the framing perspective for understanding the structural aspects of organisational systems. These include its design, division of labour, levels of authority, and reporting relationships; the nature of work tasks, processes, and activities; its mission and primary task; and the nature and patterning of the organisation’s task and sentient boundaries and the transactions across them. This book presents a critical appraisal of the systems psychodynamics paradigm and its application to present-day social and organisational difficulties, showing how a holistic approach to organisational and social problems can offer a fresh perspective on difficult issues. Bringing together the theory and practice of systems psychodynamics for the first time, this book provides an examination of the systems psychodynamics paradigm in action. This book gives an accessible and thorough guide to understanding and using systems psychodynamic ideas for analysts, managers, policy makers, consultants and researchers in a wide range of professional and clinical settings

GCPH Seminar Series 2013-14: Who are the Real Insane?

Dr Mannie Sher, a Director from the Tavistock Institution of Human Relations in London, presents this lecture on 'Who are the real insane? Our perceptions of disordered thinking and behaviour as defences against imagination'. The Tavistock Institute is concerned with a broad range of issues through activities involving research, organisational and change consultancy primarily in the Public Sector. With a background as a pyschoanalyst, Dr Sher brings these perspectives to bear on the work he does with large complex organisations which he discuses in this lecture, looking at examples where mental health issues are central to the organisations concerned

In search of the structure that reflects. Promoting organizational reflection in a UK Health Authority

The chapter presents a case where organizational reflection has been promoted through the use of a systemic involvement of the organization, through an Action Learning methodology and a constant attention to the practitioners' working practices. The study focuses on an healthcare context