title: Intersubjectivity and narcissism in group psychotherapy: how feedback works.
abstract: In group psychotherapy, inter-subjectivity is complicated by the number and quality of therapist-member, member-member, and member-group relations. Inter-member feedback structures the relational process. However, fears of narcissistic injury engender resistance to this form of engagement. The nature of the narcissistic belief system that motivates such resistance is discussed. Then, two models of feedback are presented: the cybernetic and the inter-subjective. In the cybernetic model, feedback is intended to inform recipients about themselves and to change their behavior accordingly. As such, this model is consistent with narcissistic beliefs in the power of others' perceptions to control one's being, identity, or value. The inter-subjective model focuses, instead, on what feedback tells recipients about their donors' worlds. This model and some of its parameters are exemplified clinically.
authors.affiliation: Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Rutgers University Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology, USA.
authors.forename: B D
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: Cohen
mesh_terms: D005246:Feedback; D006801:Humans; D009289:Narcissism; D011615:Psychotherapy, Group / Q000379:methods*