Organization in the Mind

David Armstrong is an Associate Consultant at Tavistock Consulting. He trained as a social psychologist at the Tavistock Institute of Human Relations and worked in action research and organisational consultancy at the University of London and The Grubb Institute before returning to the Tavistock in 1994 to join a newly established consultancy service at the Tavistock Clinic. A Distiguished Member of the International Society for the Psychoanalytic Study of Organisations, he is the author of 'Organization in the Mind: Psychoanalysis, Group Relations and Organizational Consultancy'. Robert French is a writer and organisational consultant and Visiting Research Fellow at Bristol Business School, University of the West of England.

'For years, David Armstrong has been an immense, hidden resource of intelligence and clarity. Those working at the interface of psychoanalysis and organizations have been exchanging copies of his papers, citing his ideas, seeking his reflections. He has been a powerful influence in shaping our understanding of the organization- in-the-mind, organizational consultation, and role analysis. This collection, at last, puts many of his most important contributions in public view.'- Kenneth Eisold, President, International Society for the Psychoanalytic Study of Organizations'Reading these pages is a delight. In a culture obsessed with the new, the idea of "tradition" gets short shrift these days. But here is an author steeped in a tradition, one he calls the "Tavistock Approach to Groups and Institutions", who is able to continually revisit and rework many of that tradition's core ideas to produce something startlingly innovative. I can see myself returning to these pages again and again, each time finding something new. If there is such a thing as "radical wisdom" then this is it.'- Paul Hoggett, Professor of Politics, University of the West of England, Bristol'David Armstrong's writings go a long way beyond mere contributions-they are an act of taking up leadership in a much needed and generous way, sharing and making sense of one's own experience. I have no doubt that the reader of this collection will find himself enriched both as follower and leader, genuinely better equipped to assume and discharge his own thoughtful and responsible reflections.'- Shmuel Erlich, Ph.D., Sigmund Freud Professor of Psychoanalysis, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

• Series Editor’s Preface , Editor’s Note , Foreword , Organization in the mind: an introduction , Names, thoughts, and lies: the relevance of Bion’s later writing for understanding experiences in groups , The “organization-in-the-mind”: reflections on the relation of psychoanalysis to work with institutions , The analytic object in organizational work , The recovery of meaning , “Psychic retreats”: the organizational relevance of a psychoanalytic formulation , Emotions in organizations: disturbance or intelligence? , Keeping on moving , Making present: reflections on a neglected function of leadership and its contemporary relevance , The work group revisited: reflections on the practice and relevance of group relations