Resources and Writing
Latest writing
Room to Breathe in Psychogeography and Psychotherapy
Chris Powell’s latest publication is a chapter in Psychotherapy and Geography: connecting pathways.
Chris’s chapter, entitled ‘Room to Breathe’, describes the walking group he has run since 2006 with his friend and colleague Dr Andrew Wilson. He describes the origins of the group, the roots of its methodology in applied Group Analysis, and it’s connections with Psychogeography. The second half of the chapter is an account of one of the groups with the participant’s vivid descriptions of the experience of participating in the group.
The rest of the book is an insightful collection on the mutually enriching relationship between psychogeography and psychotherapy. The book invites an interdisciplinary, reflective and at times poetic exploration of place as an integral feature of personhood, from the sauntering of the 19th century flâneur to today s urban activism. Chapters range across diverse topics a gendered and embodied response to place and space, home and attachment, map-making, mindfulness in the city, the interplay between our internal and external landscapes, displacement from one country and cityscape to another, and the role of the urban therapist. These ground-breaking chapters offer new insights into our deep-rooted resonance with the landscapes we inhabit and contexts we construct. The book is illustrated throughout with original artwork by urban sketchers.
Click the link for more information or to buy Psychotherapy and Geography: connecting pathways.
Inside out in The Art and Science of Working Together
Chris Powell has contributed a chapter to The Art and Science of Working Together: practising group analysis in teams and organisations.
Chris’s chapter, entitled ‘Inside Out’, looks at what is going on inside his head as he seeks to work with a group of people in a team or organisation. His experience is that he more often than not becomes preoccupied with one of three questions. This chapter explores these questions, explains how they arise, and looks at why it is as important to listen to himself as to the members of the group.
The rest of the book enlarges on the theme of Group Analysis as a highly developed science of group relationships, which allows complexity and systems perspectives to be held in mind alongside organizational psychology, strategic development and business wisdom. Organized into eight sections, the book describes the essence of organizational group analysis, including the art of conversation, leadership, ethical issues in team working, and working with whole organizations. It addresses issues such as ‘us-and-them’ dynamics, the nature of systems boundaries, and the relationship between an organization and its context.
Click the link for more information or to buy The Art and Science of Working Together; practising group analysis in teams and organisations.
Uncle Bob Builds a Boat
Chris has collaborated with Mark Jarvis in writing a modern day parable about working in teams.
Uncle Bob Builds a Boat is the easy to read story of one man’s dream to win a local village sailing trophy. Along the way he learns more than he could have imagined, including how to build and lead a successful team.
The story is good read but as well as taking you through the process of designing and delivering a project and the teamwork needed for that, the book includes a final section outlining four traits of successful teams. It’s a really unusual book on a important topic, but which you can read like a short novel and pick up useful ideas as you go. There’s plenty to enjoy and learn if you are a manager, a team member, or just about to embark on a project of any kind. You could even enjoy it just because you like reading about the sea, boats, and city-boy accountants getting their comeuppance.
Click the link for more information or to buy Uncle Bob Builds a Boat on Amazon.
Resources
Click the links for more information and to buy on Amazon.
Group Analysis
Group-Analytic Psychotherapy: A meeting of minds, Harold Behr and Liesel Hearst
An accessible but comprehensive introduction to Group Analysis.
From the Couch to the Circle, John Schlapobersky
A recent, extensive exploration of Group Analysis in Practice
Group Analytic Psychotherapy, Steinar Lorentzen
Part of the growing research base for group analysis.
Reflective Practice Groups
Staff Support Groups in the Helping Professions: Phil Hartley (ed) and David Kennard (ed)
Principles, practice and pitfalls are covered in this book which covers the little examined area of how to run reflective practice, staff support and other consultation groups with professionals working in Health, Social Care, Mental Health, Forensic, Third Sector and other ‘caring’ organisations.
Chris Powell contributed the chapter on managing boundaries while running groups inside an organisation.
Group Analysis: working with staff, teams and organisations: Alexandra Novakovic (ed) and David Vincent (ed)
Featuring contributions from a range of organizational contexts, this book identifies the key features to group analytic practice as well as how different theoretical orientations, such as Systemic and Tavistock Consultancy approaches, can be incorporated into the process.
