{"id":100023419,"date":"2025-10-18T12:21:03","date_gmt":"2025-10-18T09:21:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/psikeistanbul.org\/caroline-garland-pb19\/"},"modified":"2025-10-18T12:23:23","modified_gmt":"2025-10-18T09:23:23","slug":"caroline-garland-pb19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/psikeistanbul.org\/en\/caroline-garland-pb19\/","title":{"rendered":"Caroline Garland"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Discovery of Siblings: Oedipus joins a therapy<\/span> group<\/strong><\/p>\n

Human beings are a social species.   We do not spend our lives in twos, in dyads.  From the beginning we are part of a group of three, each of us having been born into that threesome:  mother<\/span>, father and infant. In individual treatment the third party is present in the mind and in phantasy<\/span>; in a therapy<\/span> group, that third party is present in the room, not only in the mind. The belief, conscious<\/span> or unconscious<\/span>, that one is a parent’s only or most favoured child<\/span> may be universal.   Oedipus himself is felt to be unique, and special.   In individual settings in which Oedipal<\/span> issues emerge, the analyst<\/span> is perceived as belonging to the more knowledgeable or parental generation, becoming the object<\/span> of possessive love<\/span> or rivalrous hostility.  In this paper, I will give material<\/span> showing how as members of a psychoanalytic therapy<\/span> group realise that they must share the presence of a single therapist<\/span>, they turn to each other<\/span> for understanding instead of always to the therapist<\/span>.  Thus in terms of the generations, the connectedness in the room is primarily lateral, or horizontal, rather than vertical.   This reflects Bion’s description of the move into a Work Group<\/span> and away from a Basic Assumption Dependency group.<\/p>\n

Members come to develop strong connections with each other<\/span>.  They are not family, neither are they friends, nor colleagues, although relationships within the group contain elements of each.   As individual differences produce rivalries, irritations and alliances, as well as loyalties and feelings of affection, relationships in the group seem similar to those between siblings in a large family:  Intimate knowledge of each other<\/span>, a common language, plain – even blunt – speaking, which might include jokes<\/span>; and an ambience that is ultimately supportive.   That group members can discover how to use their 7 or 8 fellow members as honorary siblings can be very helpful to those who otherwise might remain restricted by their Oedipal<\/span> conflicts, anxieties and illusions, stuck in a mental world in which an idealised sole possession of the parent (or transference<\/span> equivalent) is felt to be not only the only but<\/span> the most desirable solution to the difficulties of mental and personal life.<\/p>\n

Caroline GARLAND<\/strong> spent many years as a clinician<\/span>, teacher and researcher both in the Tavistock Clinic and in the Maudsley Hospital. Before beginning work<\/span> in the National Health Service, she used to be an ethologist, studying the social behaviour<\/span> of chimpanzees (and she speaks fluent chimpanzee), which she followed with a study of the behaviour<\/span> of newborn babies<\/span> in St. Marys Hospital, Paddington. Her subsequent clinical and academic work<\/span> includes many publications, including three books: Children and Day Nurseries (1980), Understanding Trauma<\/span> (1999, 2002) and The Groups Book: Psychoanalytic Group Therapy<\/span>, Principles and Practice (2010). She has made a point of presenting the work<\/span> of the Tavistock Clinic, and its relevance for modern mental health<\/span> provision, to the general public. The BBC series Talking Cure<\/span> was the first to have gone inside the consulting room<\/span> to show genuine clinical encounters with actual<\/span> patients. Garland also had much experience in working with groups, including consulting to organisations in trouble, and working in conflict<\/span> situations at home and abroad. She was also one of the senior clinicians working with patients in the Tavistock Study of Long-Term Treatment-Resistant Depression<\/span> – demanding but<\/span> fascinating work<\/span>, making emotional<\/span> contact with people who have spent many years in a state of retreat<\/span>, living in an emotional<\/span> bunker from which they are hard to unearth.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Discovery of Siblings: Oedipus joins a therapy group Human beings are a social species.\u00a0\u00a0 We do not spend our lives in twos, in dyads.\u00a0 From the beginning we are<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[541],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-100023419","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-psychoanalytical-views-19"],"yoast_head":"\nCaroline Garland - Psike \u0130stanbul<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/psikeistanbul.org\/en\/caroline-garland-pb19\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Caroline Garland - Psike \u0130stanbul\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Discovery of Siblings: Oedipus joins a therapy group Human beings are a social species.\u00a0\u00a0 We do not spend our lives in twos, in dyads.\u00a0 From the beginning we are\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/psikeistanbul.org\/en\/caroline-garland-pb19\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Psike \u0130stanbul\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-10-18T09:21:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-10-18T09:23:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"csadmin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"csadmin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/psikeistanbul.org\\\/en\\\/caroline-garland-pb19\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/psikeistanbul.org\\\/en\\\/caroline-garland-pb19\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"csadmin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/psikeistanbul.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4f6e97ca797fc2cebb53a16bd3c7a363\"},\"headline\":\"Caroline Garland\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-10-18T09:21:03+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-10-18T09:23:23+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/psikeistanbul.org\\\/en\\\/caroline-garland-pb19\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":585,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/psikeistanbul.org\\\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Psychoanalytical Views 19\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/psikeistanbul.org\\\/en\\\/caroline-garland-pb19\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/psikeistanbul.org\\\/en\\\/caroline-garland-pb19\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/psikeistanbul.org\\\/en\\\/caroline-garland-pb19\\\/\",\"name\":\"Caroline Garland - Psike \u0130stanbul\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/psikeistanbul.org\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-10-18T09:21:03+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-10-18T09:23:23+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/psikeistanbul.org\\\/en\\\/caroline-garland-pb19\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/psikeistanbul.org\\\/en\\\/caroline-garland-pb19\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/psikeistanbul.org\\\/en\\\/caroline-garland-pb19\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Anasayfa\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/psikeistanbul.org\\\/en\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Caroline Garland\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/psikeistanbul.org\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/psikeistanbul.org\\\/\",\"name\":\"Psike \u0130stanbul\",\"description\":\"\u0130stanbul Psikanaliz E\u011fitim, Ara\u015ft\u0131rma ve Geli\u015ftirme Derne\u011fi\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/psikeistanbul.org\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/psikeistanbul.org\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/psikeistanbul.org\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Psike \u0130stanbul\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/psikeistanbul.org\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/psikeistanbul.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/psikeistanbul.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/05\\\/Psike-logo-tr-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/psikeistanbul.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/05\\\/Psike-logo-tr-1.jpg\",\"width\":528,\"height\":448,\"caption\":\"Psike \u0130stanbul\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/psikeistanbul.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/psikeistanbul.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4f6e97ca797fc2cebb53a16bd3c7a363\",\"name\":\"csadmin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/2e1009a865a67812b04878ec7f7dd2dd7f67714fe2aa1525bbd50a583af4c50c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/2e1009a865a67812b04878ec7f7dd2dd7f67714fe2aa1525bbd50a583af4c50c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/2e1009a865a67812b04878ec7f7dd2dd7f67714fe2aa1525bbd50a583af4c50c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"csadmin\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/psikeistanbul.org\\\/en\\\/author\\\/csadmin\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Caroline Garland - Psike \u0130stanbul","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/psikeistanbul.org\/en\/caroline-garland-pb19\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Caroline Garland - Psike \u0130stanbul","og_description":"The Discovery of Siblings: Oedipus joins a therapy group Human beings are a social species.\u00a0\u00a0 We do not spend our lives in twos, in dyads.\u00a0 From the beginning we are","og_url":"https:\/\/psikeistanbul.org\/en\/caroline-garland-pb19\/","og_site_name":"Psike \u0130stanbul","article_published_time":"2025-10-18T09:21:03+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-10-18T09:23:23+00:00","author":"csadmin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"csadmin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/psikeistanbul.org\/en\/caroline-garland-pb19\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/psikeistanbul.org\/en\/caroline-garland-pb19\/"},"author":{"name":"csadmin","@id":"https:\/\/psikeistanbul.org\/#\/schema\/person\/4f6e97ca797fc2cebb53a16bd3c7a363"},"headline":"Caroline Garland","datePublished":"2025-10-18T09:21:03+00:00","dateModified":"2025-10-18T09:23:23+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/psikeistanbul.org\/en\/caroline-garland-pb19\/"},"wordCount":585,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/psikeistanbul.org\/#organization"},"articleSection":["Psychoanalytical Views 19"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/psikeistanbul.org\/en\/caroline-garland-pb19\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/psikeistanbul.org\/en\/caroline-garland-pb19\/","url":"https:\/\/psikeistanbul.org\/en\/caroline-garland-pb19\/","name":"Caroline Garland - Psike \u0130stanbul","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/psikeistanbul.org\/#website"},"datePublished":"2025-10-18T09:21:03+00:00","dateModified":"2025-10-18T09:23:23+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/psikeistanbul.org\/en\/caroline-garland-pb19\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/psikeistanbul.org\/en\/caroline-garland-pb19\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/psikeistanbul.org\/en\/caroline-garland-pb19\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Anasayfa","item":"https:\/\/psikeistanbul.org\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Caroline Garland"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/psikeistanbul.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/psikeistanbul.org\/","name":"Psike \u0130stanbul","description":"\u0130stanbul Psikanaliz E\u011fitim, Ara\u015ft\u0131rma ve Geli\u015ftirme Derne\u011fi","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/psikeistanbul.org\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/psikeistanbul.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/psikeistanbul.org\/#organization","name":"Psike \u0130stanbul","url":"https:\/\/psikeistanbul.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/psikeistanbul.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/psikeistanbul.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Psike-logo-tr-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/psikeistanbul.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Psike-logo-tr-1.jpg","width":528,"height":448,"caption":"Psike \u0130stanbul"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/psikeistanbul.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/psikeistanbul.org\/#\/schema\/person\/4f6e97ca797fc2cebb53a16bd3c7a363","name":"csadmin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2e1009a865a67812b04878ec7f7dd2dd7f67714fe2aa1525bbd50a583af4c50c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2e1009a865a67812b04878ec7f7dd2dd7f67714fe2aa1525bbd50a583af4c50c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2e1009a865a67812b04878ec7f7dd2dd7f67714fe2aa1525bbd50a583af4c50c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"csadmin"},"url":"https:\/\/psikeistanbul.org\/en\/author\/csadmin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/psikeistanbul.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100023419","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/psikeistanbul.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/psikeistanbul.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/psikeistanbul.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/psikeistanbul.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=100023419"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/psikeistanbul.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100023419\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":100023420,"href":"https:\/\/psikeistanbul.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100023419\/revisions\/100023420"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/psikeistanbul.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=100023419"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/psikeistanbul.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=100023419"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/psikeistanbul.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=100023419"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}