The Islands of the Blest or Fahrenheit 451. Response to Lecture by Jane Campbell

Abstract

To live on the Islands of the Blest means that the dwellers do not grow old or die but live an eternal life in a world closed and separated from the rest of the world. Is this what has happened to group analysis? Has it happened to us as group analysts? Has it happened to our groups? If this is so and we want to change it, what are we to do? Could it be that the myth might show us, I wonder? I emphasize the need for critical reflection and possible refinement of group analytic thinking and practice, as well as proper research to support this, and the need for us as group analytic societies and as practitioners to dare to take on authority marketing group analytic psychotherapy as a relevant and valuable choice of treatment. If not we may end up like the small group trying to make the culture of books and reading survive in Fahrenheit 451, the film by Truffaut. That is to me an image of desperation, anxiety and sorrow, not eternal bliss.