The Social Unconscious

In this text, Earl Hopper has made a major contribution to the understanding of the depth and breadth of individuals and how we might help them to know more of their patterns of relatedness with others, inter-personally, socially and culturally. Of particular note is the open honest manner of his consideration of his counter-transference and these can be clearly observed in the abundance of pertinent vignettes. This book draws attention to theory and practice in relation to a side of therapeutic work insufficiently attended to and will reward readers at all stages of professional development. It is written in a clear, accessible style and manages to convey complex ideas in a readily comprehensible manner’.

The social unconscious and its manifestations in group analysis are the focus of this important new book of Earl Hopper’s selected papers. Drawing on sociology, psychoanalysis and group analysis, he argues that groups and their participants are constrained unconsciously by social, cultural and political facts and forces. These hypotheses are illustrated with clinical vignettes concerning anti-Semitism, racism, the politics of class and gender, and the effects of rapid social change. Transference and countertransference processes are examined both vividly and honestly. Theoretically generative and clinically astute, this book will be of value to both analysts and their students.