Poland on the Couch Project
The Workshop Poland on the Couch is an initiative of group analysts aimed at building a safe space for conversation – the basis of social life. The roots date back to 2014, when I co-organized an international conference Poland on the Couch – about the strength and fragility of the individual in the contemporary global world seen from the perspective of social and psychodynamic psychology. During the conference, analysts together with representatives of the world of science and the media discussed together what is happening in the Polish society.
The conference has become an inspiration for the organization of the reflective citizens workshops held in different cities in Poland, in which representatives of diverse environments have an opportunity to reflect on social processes. According to S. H. Foulkes the best way to work with people is to develop the understanding of what it means to work together in a group and support ways of being with and relating to others. In order to achieve cooperation, trust is necessary. Poland is among countries with the lowest levels of social trust. It seems that the Polish social unconscious, a concept broadly described by Earl Hopper, consists of fear of “the other”. That is why it is so important to develop “relationality”, which can be done by incorporating both agency and relatedness into an autonomous-related self. This is a concept described by cross-cultural psychologist, of a Turkish origin, Çiğdem Kağıtçıbaşı. She held the belief that Western psychology could not account for the whole of humanity and it needed to recognize the experiences of those living in non-Western cultures. That is what we try to incorporate during the reflective citizens workshops – an agentic ego in a group.
The workshops usually take place in accordance with the following plan:
I. Social Dreaming Matrix (SDM) – an hour and a half free discussion on the subject of dreams told by individual participants of the meeting together with the comments of the leaders and with reference to the current and past social situation.
or
Trilogy – moderated by group analysts, a discussion in three circles on the following topics: What, for me, is it to be a Polish citizen now? (first circle); Reflections on the first discussion, as well as analysis of the revealed emotions and main themes (second circle); Placing both discussions in the social context: local and national (third circle).
II. Short lectures by two or three invited guests, which are a free response to the main subject of the workshop – that is the question: What does it mean to me to be a citizen of Poland?
III. A large group, based on a free-floating discussion, during which, on the one hand, we pay attention to the wider social context and, on the other, to the interaction between the participants of the workshop.
The Organizational Committee on behalf of Institute of Group Analysis Rasztow (IGAR) is formed by Anna Zajenkowska and Tomasz Wyrzykowski.
In 2018, thanks to cooperation with many wonderful and committed people, we organized four workshops, including three in Poland and one in Germany. Below we present general information together with questions that have been raised and are still open.
June: Bielefeld, Germany
Organizers: Joanna Skowrońska (IGAR), Monika Bistula (psychotherapist from Germany)
Guest: Angela Schmidt (IGA Heildergerd)
The workshop took place at the Intercultural Learning Center (IBZ, Interkulturelles Bildungszentrum Friedenshaus) and about 25 people attended. Joanna Skowrońska (IGAR) conducted the Social Dreaming Matrix session As Monika Bistula commented the work in small groups over the differences and intercultural similarities, in this case between Poles and Germans, turned into a discussion, in which one could clearly hear prejudices, historical fears and uncertainties related to the current situation of the relations between Poland and Germany. Workshops in Bielefeld were the first ones outside of Poland.
October: Piekary Śląskie, Cultural Centre of Andalusia
Organizers: Pelagia Galbas (Psychologist from Piekary, Psychological and Pedagogical Clinic), Katarzyna Wrzesień (IGAR Kraków), Roman Kwiatkowski (IGAR Kraków), Anna Zajenkowska (IGAR)
The meeting in Piekary began with the Trylogy, the main themes of which were the relations between local and national patriotism and the issue of the distance necessary for the conscious experience of this patriotism. After this part, invited guests spoke: Professor Bogdan de Barbaro, psychiatrist and psychotherapist from the Jagiellonian University, and social psychologist Prof. Katarzyna Popiołek, head of the SWPS University in Katowice.Professor de Barbaro in his lecture focused on what psychotherapists can currently do in public space. There is a suggestion that they can speak and educate about psychological mechanisms (such as projective identification), which will allow to understand, for example, the actions of politicians or various social phenomena (e.g. the minimal group paradigm.)The lecture by Professor Katarzyna Popiołek, in turn, was concerned with the activity of young people and the search for areas in which different social groups (especially “young” and “old”) can interact with each other. The question she asked was whether there are any ideas for which it is worth living and fighting. As she has noticed, such ideas – both for the young and old – are related today to environmental issues, or global ones such as ecology, and to a much lesser extent to political or systemic issues (e.g., democracy).
November: Gdańsk, European Solidarity Centre
Organizers: Tomasz Drzazgowski (IGAR), Anna Maroszek (PTPP), Anna Zajenkowska (IGAR)
The meeting began with a Social Dreaming Matrix led by Joanna Skowrońska from the “Rasztow” Institute. Then, lectures were given by invited guests: Professor Tomasz Grzyb, sociologist from the SWPS University in Wrocław and Ewa Modzelewska, a psychoanalyst from the Polish Psychoanalytic Society. Professor Tomasz Grzyb devoted his lecture to research on the perception of Poles by Poles. He described, among others, the results suggesting that we Poles are better (e.g. honest and friendlier) than we think. The question then arose: why do we Poles belittle ourselves and why this worse perspective is so often chosen? On the other hand, Ewa Modzelewska focused on analyzing the “case” of dealing with prejudices and anti-Semitism (the process of creating two hostile camps within one organization). “The case” was the society she represented. She presented the perspective of how Polish psychoanalysts see our history, and how it is seen by outsiders (psychoanalysts of other nationalities). The confrontation with this difficult experience prompted us to search and reveal the historical and present Polish-Jewish relations more openly. The question arose about how do we (psychotherapists, psychoanalysts) want to be really aware of the difficulties arising from the relationship with the victims?
4th December: Warsaw, Jewish Historical Institute
Organizers: Małgorzata Krzanowska (ŻIH), Tomasz Wyrzykowski (IGAR)
The workshop started with a Social Dreaming Matrix led by Joanna Skowrońska (IGAR) and Halina Brunning, who works in London. Among the invited guests were: doctor Jacek Prusak, a Jesuit and publicist of Tygodnik Powszechny from the IGNATIANUM Academy; Professor Ireneusz Krzemiński from the University of Warsaw, sociologist and doctor Krzysztof Czajka representing the Jewish Historical Institute, psychologist. Jacek Prusak told us about the processes taking place in the Church and the role of women. He presented the results of research on “going away” from faith and changes that have occurred in this process in recent years. He also discussed other studies indicating the progressive radicalization of religious views among clerics and the young . Ireneusz Krzemiński, in his lecture, focused on the history of civil society in Poland, he wondered about what we call the civic movement and whether, for example, listeners to Radio Maryja[1] are an example of a “working” civic group. Krzysztof Czajka, on the other hand, considered the question of helping and the role of a helping person, asking if we have the right to go into what needy people spend money on, or whether we should focus on whether we want to help, or on the act of action itself. The question was whether to give money to beggars or indeed only to organizations.
Large groups during the workshops
The meetings always end with a large group. During all the meetings (except Bielefeld) large groups were run by Anna Zajenkowska and Tomasz Wyrzykowski. As a result, a number of reflections were born, which we present below. During the group sessions, there was often a fantasy that we (as participants of the group) are an “elite, even a bourgeoisie” and that there are no significant differences between us. This conviction seems to first of all protect against the unexpected, the other, something difficult, turbulent and incomprehensible, which is usually placed outside. The elitism that is perceived so quickly becomes a source of isolation and separateness. In relation to psychotherapists (especially those working individually) there is a need to “leave” the office. In fact, as it turns out, in the course of the discussion, the groups were quite diverse, mainly in terms of their beliefs and views on issues from communism to extreme liberalism, or from atheism to orthodox Catholicism and even Islam. Often, there was a desire among those discussing that “ordinary people be with us”, which can also be understood as a desire to express, in a simple and ordinary way, thoughts and feelings appearing in relation to those present in the room. In groups, one can notice the tension unloaded through various behaviours, such as whispering (which raises opposition from others), lateness, drills, jokes, etc. Some speak with contempt for others, e.g.: “Well, these bints always … “. Such behaviours and monologues, sometimes dominated the discussion, indicating difficulties in talking with each other, especially in dealing with “our” group “here and now”. It was easier to discuss “external” social problems. There appeared statements, particularly statements with which “one cannot argue” and seemed interesting, because you can turn out to be a “bad man”. Naturally, there were also threads about patriotism or, more broadly, Polishness. It seemed that a large part of the participants presented the idea that it is best to be a Pole outside their place of residence. The current dilemma is: how to talk about pride in Polishness?
Conclusions
At the end of this cursory description it is worth stressing that each workshop raised a further need and willingness to talk. As a result of the talks, new initiatives and proposals for new workshops have appeared. It is clear that the ability to talk about difficult and even traumatic personal experiences, as well as problems in the social dimension, enhances the sense of self-efficacy and openness to oneself and others.
In 2019 we have already held more events, with more to come:
- Toruń, April
- Wrocław, June
- Pol’and’Rock Festival, July
- Gdańsk, November
- Kraków, December
And for 2020 we already have 2 events planned:
- Łódź & Białystokand Bydgoszcz
Our team Poland on the Couch is also growing and gathering people willing to coordinate such workshops including: Kamila Kocewiak, Edek Buzun, Sebastian Galant, Roman Kwiatkowski, Joanna Skowrońska, Katarzyna Wrzesień, Tomek Drzazgowski from the Institute of Group Analysis Rasztow and Anna Maroszek from the Polish Society for Psychoanalitic Psychotherapy.
For further information
- http://instytut.rasztow.pl/s/aktualnosci /kat/6/Polska-na-kozetce
- https://www.facebook.com/Polska-na-Kozetce-213210992206508/
- http://apsycholab.pl/events/
The project has resulted in two books:
Zajenkowska, A. (ed.) (2016). Polska na kozetce – siła obywatelskiej refleksyjności (Poland on the couch – the power of citizens’ reflexivity). Sopot: Smak Słowa
Zajenkowska, A., Levin, U. (ed.) (to be published in 2019.). A Psychoanalytic and Socio-Cultural Exploration of a Continent. Europe on the Couch. Routhledge: London
A Psychoanalytic and Socio-Cultural Exploration of a Continent. Europe on the Couch is a book that comprises three sections: General Reflections; Particular Understanding; and Practical Interventions. The first and second sections concentrate on analyzing processes and dynamics utilizing psychoanalytic and group analytic concepts: from the macro, i.e., more of a European level and from the micro, i.e., a specific country level perspective. The third section presents some of the current applications of psychoanalytic and group analytic concepts as tools for enhancing national and international change in countries as well as on the “continent as a whole”.
[1] Radio Maria is very conservative, led by priests and monks and has gathered a large number of active and devoted listeners
Tomasz Wyrzykowski
tomwyr@me.com