SOCIAL DEFENCES AND TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY ORGANIZATIONS

The author addresses the concept of social defences as originated by Isabel Menzies Lyth. After reviewing the origin and development of the concept, he discusses some of the challenges encountered in using it in the service of meaningful change, and finally highlights some features of emerging 21st...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:British journal of psychotherapy 2010-05, Vol.26 (2), p.192-201
Main Author: Krantz, James
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
21st century
Adaptation
Isabel Menzies Lyth
organizational psychodynamics
Psychoanalysis
Resistance
Social anxiety
social defence
Tavistock Institute
Workplaces
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Summary:The author addresses the concept of social defences as originated by Isabel Menzies Lyth. After reviewing the origin and development of the concept, he discusses some of the challenges encountered in using it in the service of meaningful change, and finally highlights some features of emerging 21st century organizations that are well suited for social defence analysis. Social defences, in Menzies Lyth's sense, are aspects of organizations that: (1) exist independently of their members, such as structures and policies; and (2) come to serve the purpose of reinforcing peoples' defences against the primitive anxieties stimulated in the workplace. The concept illuminates otherwise hidden sources of resistance to change and, as such, provides a valuable perspective on the challenges of continuous change and adaptation required of contemporary organizations.
ISSN:0265-9883
1752-0118
DOI:10.1111/j.1752-0118.2010.01173.x