The unconscious at work
Chapter 1: some unconscious aspects of organisational life
Some parts of psychoanalysis have become part of everyday life, but psychoanalysis as a
treatment for individual emotional problems remains a minority experience. Looking at an
institution through the spectrum of psychoanalytical concepts may help in understanding
and dealing with certain issues. The psychoanalytical approach to consultation involves
understanding ideas developed in the context of individual therapy, as well as looking at
institutions in terms of unconscious emotional processes.
The unconscious
Examples of the unconscious, which Freud drew attention to, are dreams, slips of tongue
and mistakes. Ideas that have a valid meaning at the conscious level may at the same time
carry an unconscious meaning. The psychoanalytically oriented consultant listens to both the
conscious and unconscious meanings.
The avoidance of pain
Institutions develop a defence against emotions that are too threatening or painful to
acknowledge. These emotions may be a response to external threats such as social change,
internal conflicts between management and employees or the nature of the work. The
defence can help cope with stress but it can also obstruct contact with reality and hinder
adaptation to changing circumstances. This is where denial is present, pushing feelings and
thoughts out of the conscious mind because they cause too much anxiety.
Institutions use consultants when they can no longer solve the problems. The thoughts of
the problem being brought to the surface brings both hope and fear, which can cause
resistance to the interpretations of the consultant and what they have been avoiding. When
the consultants understanding of the hidden meaning coincides with the groups readiness to
receive it, symbolic communication can occur.
The contribution of Melanie Klein
Children represent their feelings through different characters, such as the bad witch and the
good fairy. The process of dividing feelings into differentiated elements is called splitting.
This can cause relief from internal conflicts, by not wanting to both love and hate someone
like a mother. Splitting is often accompanied by projection, locating feelings in others rather
than in yourself. So a child attributes slyness to the fox and jealousy to the bad sister.
Melanie Klein developed a conceptualisation of an unconscious inner world, present in
everyone, peopled by different characters personifying differentiated parts of self or aspects
of the external world. As a child, splitting and projection are defences used to avoid pain.
This is called the paranoid-schizoid position, paranoid about badness coming from yourself
and schizoid referring to splitting. Through play, normal maturation or psychoanalytic
treatment, previously separated feelings such as love and hate can be brought together into
a more integrated whole. This stage of integration is called the depressive position, giving up
the simplicity of self-idealisation and facing feelings of guilt, concern and sadness.
Chapter 1: some unconscious aspects of organisational life
Some parts of psychoanalysis have become part of everyday life, but psychoanalysis as a
treatment for individual emotional problems remains a minority experience. Looking at an
institution through the spectrum of psychoanalytical concepts may help in understanding
and dealing with certain issues. The psychoanalytical approach to consultation involves
understanding ideas developed in the context of individual therapy, as well as looking at
institutions in terms of unconscious emotional processes.
The unconscious
Examples of the unconscious, which Freud drew attention to, are dreams, slips of tongue
and mistakes. Ideas that have a valid meaning at the conscious level may at the same time
carry an unconscious meaning. The psychoanalytically oriented consultant listens to both the
conscious and unconscious meanings.
The avoidance of pain
Institutions develop a defence against emotions that are too threatening or painful to
acknowledge. These emotions may be a response to external threats such as social change,
internal conflicts between management and employees or the nature of the work. The
defence can help cope with stress but it can also obstruct contact with reality and hinder
adaptation to changing circumstances. This is where denial is present, pushing feelings and
thoughts out of the conscious mind because they cause too much anxiety.
Institutions use consultants when they can no longer solve the problems. The thoughts of
the problem being brought to the surface brings both hope and fear, which can cause
resistance to the interpretations of the consultant and what they have been avoiding. When
the consultants understanding of the hidden meaning coincides with the groups readiness to
receive it, symbolic communication can occur.
The contribution of Melanie Klein
Children represent their feelings through different characters, such as the bad witch and the
good fairy. The process of dividing feelings into differentiated elements is called splitting.
This can cause relief from internal conflicts, by not wanting to both love and hate someone
like a mother. Splitting is often accompanied by projection, locating feelings in others rather
than in yourself. So a child attributes slyness to the fox and jealousy to the bad sister.
Melanie Klein developed a conceptualisation of an unconscious inner world, present in
everyone, peopled by different characters personifying differentiated parts of self or aspects
of the external world. As a child, splitting and projection are defences used to avoid pain.
This is called the paranoid-schizoid position, paranoid about badness coming from yourself
and schizoid referring to splitting. Through play, normal maturation or psychoanalytic
treatment, previously separated feelings such as love and hate can be brought together into
a more integrated whole. This stage of integration is called the depressive position, giving up
the simplicity of self-idealisation and facing feelings of guilt, concern and sadness.
