On scapegoating in therapy groups: a social constructivist and intersubjective outlook.
The social constructs of the group, the group self of an individual member, and the moral order of the group as a whole are described as basic, interrelated concepts essential to our understanding of scapegoating. Two patterns of scapegoating are then introduced: one concerns antagonistic, the other, agonistic relations of scapegoat to scapegoaters. A series of case examples are presented, one involves an advocacy group of socio-cultural "outsiders;" the other three pertain to scapegoating in therapy group settings. The case materials illustrate the meaning and usefulness of an intersubjective/social constructivist perspective on the problem of scapegoating.
Cohen
Bertram D
BD
Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Joint Faculty, Rutgers University Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology, USA.
Schermer
Victor L
VL
D000328:Adult; D001010:Anxiety, Separation; D005260:Female; D006126:Group Processes; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011615:Psychotherapy, Group; D011616:Psychotherapy, Multiple; D012059:Rejection, Psychology; D012539:Scapegoating; D017741:Survivors / Q000523:psychology; D014167:Transference, Psychology; D014481:United States; D014857:Warfare