Organising for Change? Group-Analytic Perspectives on a Feminist Action Research Project

Abstract

Drawing on my experience of managing a research project on domestic violence service provision to women from black and minority ethnic backgrounds, I elaborate three examples to illustrate the relevance and application of group-analytic concepts and interpretations. First, I outline some striking resonances between the research topic and process within the research team, focusing on the negotiation of similarities and differences within this team arising from its commitment to feminist antiracist work, and how tensions between these two foundational ‘group illusions’ were realized when convening support groups. The third example addresses how dilemmas around safety, secrecy, containment and entrapment came to figure within the research team process, and describes strategies to resolve these difficulties. The paper ends by reviewing the relative compatibility between group analysis and other frameworks for the analysis of, and intervention within, social change projects.