NOTES ON THE CONCEPT OF RESONANCE

S. H. Foulkes, M.D., F.R.C.Psych.

Anotaciones sobre el concepto de resonancia

S. H. Foulkes, en Lewis R. Wolberg and Marvin L. Aronson, eds., Group Therapv 1977. An Overview. 1977:
Nueva York, Stratton Intercontinental Medical Book Corporation, pp. 52-58. Also,
S. H. Foulkes, en Elizabeth Foulkes, ed., S. H. Foulkes. Selected Papers. Psvchoanalvsis and Group Analvsis,
1990: London, Karnac Books, pp. 297-305.



Editors' Summary:
This paper is probably the last one that Foulkes ever
wrote. It was completed on July 15, 1976several
weeks prior to his death.
The concept oI resonance, Iirst propounded by
Foulkes at least twenty years ago,* reIers to the
tendency oI a group therapy member to resonate to
group events "in the key to which his particular
personality structure is attuned."

Foulkes postulates that "that which is unknown or
unknowable to each individual is, nevertheless,
activated by this common process and is in this way
Ied back into the common matrix. It is as iI all the
events were speciIically interrelated with each other in
their vital meaning and showed this interrelationship
by resonating."
To illustrate his concept, Foulkes describes a series oI
group events, extending over twenty Iive sessions, all
oI which were related to the same themes death and
dying!

DeIinitions:
From the Shorter OxIord English Dictionary:
Resonance. The reinIorcement or prolongation oI
sound by reIlection, or speciIically by synchronous
vibration. In electricity: the eIIect produced by an
oscillatory current upon one oI equal period.
From the Encyclopaedia Britannica:
Term used in physics and related Iields originally
denoting a prolongation or increase oI sound because
oI sympathetic vibration oI some body capable oI
moving in the proper period. An example is the
oscillation induced in a violin string or piano string oI
a given pitch when a musical note oI the same pitch is
sung or played nearby.

Resumen del Editor:
Este articulo es probablemente el ultimo que Foulkes
escribio. Fue terminado de julio el 15 de 1976
varias semanas antes de su muerte.
El concepto de resonancia, propuesto la primera vez
por Foulkes, hace por lo menos veinte aos,* reIiere a
la tendencia de los miembros de un grupo terapeutico
a resonar con los hechos grupales "segun aquello con
lo que su particular estructura de personalidad
armoniza.
Foulkes postula que aquello que "es desconocido o
incognoscible para cada individuo es, sin embargo
activado por este proceso comun y es de este modo
retroalimentando la matriz comun. Es como si todos
los acontecimientos estuvieran especiIicamente
interrelacionados en su signiIicacion vital y mostraran
su interrelacion por resonancia."
Para ilustrar su concepto, Foulkes describe una serie
de acontecimientos grupales, pertenecientes a
veinticinco sesiones, todos relacionados con los
mismos temas: la muerte y el morir.


DeIiniciones:
Del Diccionario Breve del Ingles de OxIord:
Resonancia: ReIuerzo o prolongacion del sonido por
reIlexion, o especiIicamente por vibracion sincronica.
En electricidad: el eIecto producido por una corriente
oscilatoria sobre otra de igual periodo.
De la Enciclopedia Britanica:
Termino usado en Iisica y campos relacionados
denotando originalmente una prolongacion o un
aumento de sonido por vibracion simpatica de algun
cuerpo capaz de moverse en el periodo en cuestion.
Un ejemplo es la oscilacion inducida en la cuerda de
un violin o de un piano, de un grado dado, cuando una
nota musical del mismo grado es cantada o tocada
cerca.

2
The term resonance was originally introduced by me
in the Iield oI group-analytic psychotherapy in order
to do justice to the Iact that each individual member
picks out oI the common pool what is relevant to him.
He responds according to his individual disposition on
the speciIic level oI regression, Iixation or
developmental arrest on which his main disturbances
and conIlicts operate. This unconscious, highly
speciIic reaction in response to a stimulus is roughly
what I have called resonance.
From a psychoanalytic point oI view such a response
may correspond to an Oedipal or pre-Oedipal level, to
any oI the diIIerent phases oI libidinal and destructive
development (id), or to concern with the equivalent
deIensive, protective reactions and narcissistic
character Iormations (ego, superego). All the well-
known `deIence mechanisms,' such as repression,
denial, somatic or conversional representation, acting
out, isolation, projection, introjective and projective
identiIication come into operation. In short, the
individual resonates in the key to which he is attuned,
in which his speciIic personality structure is `set'.

As it stands this is hardly in need oI an explanation
how could it be otherwise? Whatever is stimulated in
the patient by what is going on in the group naturally
brings about his own individual reactions and thus is
speciIic Ior him. But the term resonance underlines
that this happens quite instinctively and inevitably.
This observation oI the phenomenon oI resonance was
particularly impressive when, during the early years oI
my group-analytic work, I still practiced with
`combined' groups, seeing patients individually as
well as in the group. It was oIten astonishing how
much personal material had been stirred up and
activated by the group session.

There is, however, another, much more signiIicant
Ieature oI the process oI resonance which perhaps can
be seen more readily in the group situation though in
retrospect it can also be noticed in the individual
situation where it had been overshadowed by the
umbrella oI transIerence/countertransIerence
phenomena.
It is this: the `stimulating' event can take any
conceivable Iorm or maniIestation. Apart Irom verbal
communication the unconscious meaning may be
expressed in behaviour, in somatic events, in
accidents, through dramatic developments in liIe, in
the boundary zone oI the therapeutic situation and in
the network or plexus to which the patient belongs, or
in any other way. Nevertheless the 'response'in our
context the resonancealways takes into account the
El termino 'resonancia Iue originariamente
introducido por mi en el campo de la psicoterapia
grupoanalitica para hacer justicia al hecho de que cada
miembro individual selecciona del acervo comun
aquello que es relevante para el. El responde, segun su
disposicion individual en el nivel especiIico de la
regresion, Iijacion o detencion en el desarrollo, en el
cual sus trastornos y conIlictos principales Iuncionan.
Esta reaccion inconsciente, altamente especiIica, en
respuesta a un estimulo, es aproximadamente lo que
he llamado resonancia.
Desde un punto de vista psicoanalitico tal respuesta
puede corresponder a un nivel edipico o pre-edipico, a
alguna de las diversas Iases del desarrollo libidinal y
agresivo (ello), o relacionarse con el equivalente
deIensivo, reacciones de proteccion y Iormaciones
narcisisticas de caracter (yo, super-yo). Todos los
mecanismos de deIensa conocidos, por ejemplo
represion, representacion somatica o de conversion,
actuacion, aislamiento, proyeccion, identiIicacion
introyectiva y proyectiva entran en Iuncionamiento.
En resumen, el sujeto resuena en la clave en la cual
esta aIinada, en la que su estructura especiIica de
personalidad esta 'Iijada.

Como se puede ver, esto necesita apenas de una
explicacion, como podria ser de otra manera? Lo que
se estimula en el paciente por lo que sucede en el
grupo, naturalmente origina sus propias reacciones
individuales, y asi es especiIico para el. Pero el
termino resonancia subraya que esto sucede bastante
instintiva e inevitablemente. Esta observacion del
Ienomeno de resonancia Iue particularmente
impresionante durante los tempranos aos de mi
trabajo grupoanalitico, cuando aun practicaba con
'grupos combinados, viendo a pacientes
individualmente asi como en grupo. Era, a menudo,
asombroso comprobar cuanto material personal habia
sido activado por la sesion grupal.

Sin embargo, hay otra variable mucho mas
signiIicativa del proceso de resonancia que quizas
pueda considerarse mas Iacilmente en la situacion
grupal, aunque retrospectivamente puede ser tambien
notada en la situacion individual; donde habia estado
oculta bajo el paraguas del Ienomeno de transIerencia/
contratransIerencia.
Es asi: el hecho estimulante puede tomar cualquier
Iorma o maniIestacion concebible. Ademas de
comunicarse verbalmente, el signiIicado puede
expresarse en la conducta, en hechos somaticos, en
accidentes, a traves de desarrollos dramaticos en la
vida, en la zona Ironteriza de la situacion terapeutica y
en la 'red o 'plexus a los cuales pertenece el
paciente, o de cualquier otra manera. Sin embargo, la
'respuesta en nuestro contexto la 'resonancia
3
unconscious meaning and the `wavelength' oI the
stimulating event, IaithIully and correctly. Reaction
and stimulus are in the same key and throw light onto
each other; these two are, as it were, members oI the
same Iamily and, moreover, oIten closely related, one
might say, oI the same generation.

It is this speciIic aIIinity as regards the wavelength oI
any event, which in the course oI time has given a
more general signiIicance to the operation oI
resonance in regard to communication in the group
situation. Though we have been treating this process
in terms oI stimulus and response, resonanceance is a
good example oI communication taking place without
any particular message being sent or received, being
in Iact purely instinctive. In the group-analytic group
individuals not only resonate on a large scale to each
other, simultaneously and reciprocally, but also to the
group as a whole and particularly to the group
conductor who in turn is inIluenced by his own
resonance.
This concept thus threw new light on the question;
how is it possible that the group context produces a
shared liIe oI a modality usually conceded only to the
`inner' mental liIe, the inner psychic, as distinct Irom
`reality' or social inIluences. Under the conditions
which we create in these groups that which is deeply
individual material is also shared in the group itselI.
Thus, what is unknown and unknowable to each
individual member is nevertheless activated by this
common process and is in this way also Ied back into
the common matrix. It is as iI all the events were
speciIically interrelated with each other in their vital
meaning, and showed this interrelationship by
resonating. The concept does justice to the quasi-
automatic nature oI the process which disregards how
much or how little the individual member is conscious
oI it.

Resonance has a considerable signiIicance Ior the
conductor in his orientation, more especially regarding
the choice oI level on which to interpret particular
events to the group and to the individuals. We can
readily understand that the reinIorcement oI
communicational processes on particular levels
provides the therapist at the same time with the key in
which he can most beneIicially intervene. He may also
let this process more consciously inIluence his mode
oI interpretation and Iormulation at a given time. The
process oI resonance has, oI course, aIIinities and
relationships to transIerence, projection or
introjection; one might say it uses these very
mechanisms but it is not the same thing. It accounts
Ior the speciIicity oI meaning both in terms oI the
toma en cuenta siempre el signiIicado inconsciente y
la 'longitud de onda del estimulo, Iiel y
correctamente. La reaccion y el estimulo estan en la
misma sintonia y se esclarecen de modo reciproco;
como si Iueran miembros de la misma Iamilia y, mas
aun, con Irecuencia, intimamente relacionados, se
podria decir, de la misma generacion.

Es esta aIinidad especiIica en relacion con la 'longitud
de onda de cualquier hecho, la que en el transcurso
del tiempo ha dado signiIicacion mas general a la
operacion de resonancia, relacionada con la
comunicacion en la situacion grupal. Aunque hemos
estado tratando este proceso en terminos de estimulo y
respuesta, la resonancia es un buen ejemplo de
comunicacion, sin ningun mensaje, enviado o
recibido, siendo, de hecho, puramente instintivo. En el
grupo grupoanalitico, los individuos no solo resuenan
entre si a gran escala, simultanea y reciprocamente,
sino tambien con relacion al grupo como totalidad y
en particular con el conductor grupal que, a la vez es
inIluido por su propia resonancia.

Este concepto arrojo una nueva luz sobre la cuestion:
como es posible que el contexto grupal produzca una
vida compartida de una modalidad generalmente
concedida solo a la vida mental, intima, la psique
interna, diIerenciandola de la 'realidad o de las
inIluencias sociales. Bajo las condiciones que creamos
en estos grupos, aquello que es considerado material,
proIundamente individual, tambien es compartido en
el grupo mismo. Asi, lo desconocido e incognoscible
para cada miembro individual es sin embargo activado
por este proceso comun y es de este modo
retroalimentando la matriz comun. Es como si todos
los hechos estuvieran interrelacionados
especiIicamente con su signiIicacion vital, y
mostraran su interrelacion, resonando. El concepto
hace justicia a la naturaleza 'cuasi automatica del
proceso, que no considera cuan consciente de esto es
el miembro individual.
La resonancia tiene una considerable signiIicacion
para el conductor, mas especialmente con relacion a la
eleccion del nivel en el que interpretar situaciones
particulares al grupo y a los individuos. Podemos
comprender que el reIuerzo de los procesos
comunicacionales en niveles particulares proporcionan
una clave al terapeuta para saber donde puede
intervenir con mas beneIicios. El puede tambien dejar
que este proceso inIluya mas conscientemente su
modo de interpretar en un momento dado. El proceso
de resonancia tiene, por supuesto, aIinidades y
relaciones con la transIerencia, la proyeccion o la
introyeccion, uno podria decir que usa estos mismos
mecanismos, pero no es lo mismo. Da cuenta de la
especiIicidad del signiIicado, tanto en terminos de
4
individuals' liIe experience and the ongoing
communication in the group.
Here Iollows an illustration which, it is hoped, will
make this diIIicult concept more tangible. In this
example the basic theme is that oI death and suicide. It
is Iollowed through a number oI sessions, altogether a
timespan oI twenty-Iive sessions.

The theme Iirst occurred in the third session oI the
group, the beginning oI a slow-open group oI well-
educated members suIIering Irom various kinds oI
neuroses, a number oI them colleagues and other
workers in the Iield. A group member reported that he
Ieared that he would die when he had done his
essential work. This was spoken oI as the legendary
theme oI the swan song someone being sacriIiced
when he has just completed his real work, his master-
piece. Miss L said "yes, the most wonderIul member
is always sacriIiced." This Iollowed a session where
there had been much criticism and hostility expressed
in association and through a `group dream.' It is likely
that the reIerence to the sacriIiced person also had a
transIerence meaning concerning myselI, the group
conductor.
In the IiIth session a member reported the suicide oI a
patient whom she had been instrumental in having
admitted to hospital. She showed quite severe and
elaborate guilt Ieelings in connection with this. Dr. 0
asked Miss L "what is the matter with you to-day?"
Miss L had been looking haggard, old and obviously
aIIected by something. Someone asked iI she had had
any such experience with the death oI a patient. "Oh
yes," Miss L said somewhat smilingly, "in Iact I was
puzzled just what made you speak oI this to-day. I
nearly didn't come my Iather died last Friday." My
Iirst impulse was to tell her how sorry I was, but I
controlled this. The group didn't show much sympathy
but indeed rather grilled and `analysed' Miss L, Dr.
Ma being most active in this, and most dissatisIied
with Miss L's reaction saying it was not at all genuine,
or emotionally like that oI a person deprived. Actually
I thought that L took this whole reaction very well,
was being truthIul and did not disguise her ambivalent
Ieelings towards her Iather. She also made the
interesting remark that Ieelings which she had perhaps
not settled on the death oI her mother a year or so
previously had been aroused and became mixed up
with her reaction when her Iather died. Dr. Ma
wouldn't have any oI this; it soon turned out why. She
(Dr. Ma) Ielt extremely strongly about her own
Iather's death; she can't hear oI it. This is because she
has, as it were, killed him when she was six months
old. It turned out in a later session that this was a
version Dr. Ma had Iound in her own prior
experiencia de vida individual como de la
comunicacion en marcha dentro del grupo.

Aqui sigue una ilustracion que se espera que haga este
concepto diIicil mas tangible. En este ejemplo el tema
basico es el de la muerte y del suicidio. Se sigue a
traves de un numero de sesiones, en total veintiocho
sesiones.

El tema primero surgio en la tercera sesion del grupo,
el comienzo de un grupo 'lentamente abierto de
miembros bien instruidos que suIrian varias clases de
neurosis, algunos de ellos colegas y otros trabajadores
de este campo. Un miembro del grupo dijo que el
temia morirse cuando hubiera hecho su trabajo
esencial. Esto se trataba como el tema legendario del
canto del cisne alguien que es sacriIicado cuando
termina su trabajo verdadero, su obra maestra. La Srta.
L. dijo: "Si, el miembro mas maravilloso siempre es
sacriIicado". Esto siguio a una sesion donde habia
habido mucha critica y hostilidad expresadas en
asociacion a y a traves de un 'sueo grupal. Es como
si la reIerencia a la persona sacriIicada tuviera
tambien un sentido transIerencial, con relacion a mi
mismo, el conductor grupal.

En la quinta sesion un miembro hablo del suicidio de
un paciente a quien ella habia admitido en el hospital.
Ella mostraba sentimientos de culpa bastante severos
y complicados en torno a todo esto. El doctor O le
pregunto a la Srta L: "Que te sucede hoy?". La Srta.
L. estaba ojerosa, avejentada y obviamente aIectada
por algo. Alguien pregunto si ella habia tenido alguna
experiencia con la muerte de un paciente. "Oh si", dijo
la Srta. L. algo sonriente, "de hecho, me estaba
preguntando sobre justamente que es lo que le habia
llevado a hablar de esto hoy. Yo casi no vengo mi
padre ha muerto el viernes pasado". Mi primer
impulso Iue decirle cuanto lo lamentaba, pero me
contuve. El grupo no se conmovio demasiado, sino
que en verdad la 'interrogo severamente y "analizo
a la Srta.L, La Dra. Ma siendo la mas activa en esto y
la mas insatisIecha con la reaccion de la Srta. L.
diciendole que su respuesta no era genuina y no
parecia la de una persona emocionalmente despojada.
De hecho pense que L. llevaba bien esta reaccion, era
veraz y no oculto sus sentimientos ambivalentes hacia
su padre. Ella tambien hizo la observacion interesante
de que sentimientos que no habia resuelto con la
muerte de su madre, un ao antes, ahora resurgieron y
se mezclaron con su reaccion ante la muerte de su
padre. La Dra. Ma no tuvo en cuenta nada de esto y
pronto se desvelo por que. Ella tenia Iuertes
sentimientos respecto la muerte de su propio padre y
no pudo escuchar nada de esto. Fue asi porque sentia
como si lo hubiera asesinado cuando tenia seis meses.
5
psychoanalysis, and it reIerred to a very early period.
She had been leIt with her Iather. Then her mother
came and the Iather went away and died. She had
always had a phantasy that she had been responsible
Ior her Iather's death.

One member now displayed his character deIence
against death and dying. He obviously had extremely
strong emotions in connection with death, being
greatly obsessed with it while he maniIestly displayed
a philosophical attitude. It was revealed that this man's
sister was killed in a concentration camp; also a Iriend
Ior whom he had Ielt very responsible had committed
suicide aIter ten years oI psychoanalysis which had
been a terrible blow to him. He actually identiIied
death and dying with Iaeces on a narcissistic basis, in
a deep sense as losing a part oI his own body. He
really Ielt that he had been abandoned, or would be,
and he was terriIied not only oI dying but oI this
abandonment.

It is interesting that Miss J. as one learned in
parenthesis, lost her mother some time ago and now
leIt her Iather aged eighty-six alone with a
housekeeper. She Ielt guilty about this as she knew
that he would not like to die alone, i.e., without close
relatives with him, which apparently he now had to
expect.
In the eleventh session the theme oI suicide was
raised. In the course oI a long account oI his liIe one
member told us that he was now living with a woman
whom he knew only rather casually and who
threatened him with committing suicide. On this Dr.
Ma, getting a very red Iace, said she had very much
the same story to tell. As a matter oI Iact she had
come that very moment Irom home where her Iriend
had telephoned her, threatening to commit suicide iI
she was going to leave him. He was a married man.
She went quite deeply into their relationship, saying
some rather contradictory things: on the one hand she
couldn't see what else he could do but commit suicide,
on the other hand Ieeling strong enough to say "well,
go ahead and do it I Ieel strong enough to Iace it",
adding in the group "then I'm sure he won't do it."


This brought up the so-called "one-sided love story":
one being in love, the other not! It now became clear
that Dr. Ma identiIied with her lover, the one who was
now so desperate, seeing herselI in him. She again
told how she had been abandoned by her Iather. When
she was six months old the Iather died. She has always
Se vio en una sesion mas adelante que esta era una
version que la Dra. Ma habia encontrado en su propio
psicoanalisis anterior, y que se reIeria a un periodo
muy temprano. Ella habia sido dejada al cuidado de su
padre. Luego su madre volvio y entonces, el padre se
marcho y murio. Ella siempre tuvo la Iantasia de haber
sido la responsable de la muerte de su padre.
Ahora, un miembro desplego su deIensa de caracter
contra la muerte y el morir. Obviamente, tenia
emociones extremadamente Iuertes en relacion con la
muerte, estando muy obsesionado con ella, en tanto
que maniIiestamente desplegaba una actitud IilosoIica.
Se revelo que la hermana de este hombre Iue
asesinada en un campo de concentracion; tambien una
amiga por la que se sintio muy responsable, despues
de diez aos de psicoanalisis se suicido, lo que Iue un
golpe terrible para el. De hecho el identiIicaba la
muerte y el morir con las heces, sobre una base
narcisistica, en un sentido proIundo como perdida de
una parte de su propio cuerpo. El, realmente, sintio
que habia sido abandonado, o lo seria, y estaba
aterrorizado no solo de morir sino de este abandono.

Entre parentesis, es interesante que la Srta. J. perdio a
su madre hace un tiempo y ahora dejo a su padre de 86
aos con un ama de llaves. Ella se sintio culpable ante
esto al saber que a el no le gustaria morir solo, sin
Iamiliares cercanos junto a el, cosa que aparentemente
ahora tenia que esperar.

En la undecima sesion, aparecio el tema del suicidio.
En el transcurso de un largo relato de su vida, un
miembro del grupo nos conto que en ese momento
estaba viviendo con una mujer, a quien conocio de
modo bastante casual y que lo amenazaba con la
posibilidad de suicidarse. La Dra. Ma, ruborizada, dijo
que ella tenia la misma historia para contar.
De hecho, venia desde su casa, donde su pareja la
habia llamado por teleIono amenazando con suicidarse
si ella lo abandonaba. El era un hombre casado. Ella
proIundizo bastante en su relacion con el, diciendo
algunas cosas ciertamente contradictorias: por un lado,
no podia ver que otra cosa podia hacer el que no Iuera
suicidarse; pero por el otro, se sentia lo
suIicientemente Iuerte como para decir: Bien,
adelante, suicidate. Me siento lo suIicientemente
Iuerte como para enIrentarlo, agregando en el grupo
que, por otro lado, 'estoy muy segura de que el no lo
haria.

Esto trajo a colacion la llamada 'historia de amor
unilateral: uno enamorado, el otro no. Quedo claro
que la Dra. Ma se identiIicaba con su pareja, el que
ahora estaba tan desesperado, viendose ella misma en
el. Nuevamente conto como habia sido abandonada
por su padre. Cuando ella tenia seis meses, el padre
6
blamed everything on her Iather `leaving her.'
Apparently Miss L had also had similar Ieelings at
some time, and so had Miss J. Mrs. O remained more
in the background, but Mr. N was prompted to the
remark that there seemed to be many people in this
group with `suicidal partners in the cupboard.'

We now come to session twenty-six in which Dr. Ma,
soon aIter the beginning, said that she Ielt very rotten,
as she had never Ielt in her liIe. Her Iriend, whom she
had hoped to marry at a Iuture date, had killed himselI
on a golI course. She had received the message only
an hour or so ago. It seemed that the Iriend and his
wiIe had seen a psychiatrist to ask his advice about the
situation. Dr. Ma had written a letter to state her side
oI the case which she read towards the end oI the
group session. She had written in terms which she
thought `objective' and which more or less amounted
to a psychiatric report.
The group was much agitated by this. Dr. Ma
mentioned that her own Iormer analyst had
encouraged her to write the letter in this impersonal
Iorm, which made another woman colleague say that
iI she knew the analyst she would kill her Ior this
advice. Dr. R almost insisted that wethe group
must in some way be to blame. Dr. Ma stressed that
she had acted out a pattern Irom her childhood,
recalling again how she had `killed' her Iather and
ending by saying "now it has happened, I've done it
now, I am a bad person ..."
Some time ago when this man had come round to see
her, telling her that he was not going on living with his
wiIe, but that the only thing was to live with her, Dr.
Ma had been jubilant and happy, but had got "tight,"
which she had interpreted as `warning him oII,' telling
him and herselI that she was an awIul person, he had
better take care and keep away. Although she said "I
don't think I'll ever get over this" she gave the
impression oI being rather cold about the whole thing.

We now come to the last session I shall report here,
session twenty-eight, which took place beIore the
Christmas break. As to the theme oI resonance, and
the theme oI suicide, the Iollowing is the only relevant
episode. R is under the weather, having learnt oI his
Iormer analyst's suicide. He gives this rather a positive
meaning in saying it was almost a sense oI release . . .
so much made sense to him now which previously did
not. In our context the Iollowing story which
transpired is oI interest; it turned out that this Iormer
analyst oI R's had at some time been at Dr. Ma's
nursing home. At that time Ma's doctor Iriend (the one
who has committed suicide) had been `treating' this
murio. Ella siempre echaba la culpa de todo al hecho
de que su padre la habia abandonado. Parece que la
Srta. L. tambien habia tenido, en algun momento,
sentimientos similares, al igual que la Srta. J.
La Sra. O, permanecia mas distante, pero el Sr. N. se
vio impulsado a remarcar que parecia haber mucha
gente en este grupo con 'parejas suicidas en el
armario.
Llegamos ahora a la sesion veintiseis, en la que la Dra.
Ma, casi al comienzo dijo que se sentia terrible, pero
mucho, como nunca antes en su vida. Su pareja, con
quien esperaba casarse en un Iuturo, se habia matado
en un campo de golI. Hacia apenas una hora que ella
habia recibido el mensaje. Parecia que su pareja junto
a la esposa habian visto a un psiquiatra para pedirle
consejo sobre la situacion. La Dra. Ma habia escrito
una carta para expresar su parte en el caso y la lee
hacia el Iinal de la sesion. Habia escrito en terminos
que creia 'objetivos y que mas o menos se parecian a
un inIorme psiquiatrico.
El grupo se angustiaba mucho con esto. La Dra. Ma
menciono que su primera analista la habia incitado a
escribir la carta en esta Iorma impersonal, por lo que
otra colega dijo que si ella conociera a la analista la
habria matado por este consejo. Dr. R. casi insistio
que nosotros el grupo de alguna manera
deberiamos ser culpables. La Dra.Ma enIatizo que ella
habia actuado un modelo de su inIancia, recordando
nuevamente como habia 'matado a su padre y
termino diciendo: 'Ahora ha ocurrido, yo lo he hecho
ahora. Soy una mala persona.

Un tiempo atras, cuando este hombre la Iue a a ver, y
le dijo que ya no seguiria viviendo con su esposa,
porque lo unico que el deseaba era vivir en pareja con
ella la Dra. Ma. estaba jubilosa y Ieliz, pero se habia
emborrachado, lo cual ella habia interpretado como
una 'advertencia, diciendole a el y a si misma que
ella era una mala persona, que era mejor para el tener
cuidado y no acercarse. Aunque dijo 'Pienso que
nunca superare esto, daba la impresion de estar
bastante Iria ante toda la situacion.

Ahora llegamos a la ultima sesion que comentare aqui,
la sesion veintiocho. que tuvo lugar antes de las
vacaciones de Navidad. En relacion al tema de la
resonancia y el del suicidio, el siguiente es el unico
episodio relevante. R. no se siente bien, habiendose
enterado del suicidio de su anterior analista. El da un
sentido bastante positivo a esto, diciendo que era casi
un sentimiento de liberacion.muchas cosas ahora
tenian sentido que anteriormente no tenian. En nuestro
contexto la historia siguiente que surgio es de interes;
resulto que este analista anterior de R. habia estado
algun tiempo en la clinica particular de la Dra. Ma. En
aquel tiempo, el doctor-amigo de Ma (el que se
7
very analyst and had had long talks with her, and had
pronounced her as `incurable,' as Ma called it. One
Iactor in this illustration which I think is otherwise
illuminating may be somewhat misleading, namely
that the resonance in this case developed Irom a
deIinite theme, death, and not Irom a symptom, or
dream, or any other maniIestation which had been
reacted to and become deciphered in the course oI
reaction as representing the idea oI death. The reader
might thereIore take the diIIerent reactions and reports
as mere associations. He might also Ieel that death is
such an important and primal subject that it provokes
important associations as a matter oI course.

For this reason we must take a closer look at what
happened. In the Iirst place the group moved Irom
death to suicide, and particularly to the suicide oI a
partner, exposed to unrequited love, the group
member being the Irustrating partner and thereIore
guilty. This oI course is a reversal oI the transIerence
situation which repeats the nonIulIilment oI the
inIantile Oedipal attachment to the unobtainable
parent oI the opposite sex. TransIerence in this respect
undoubtedly intertwines with the shared resonance oI
the group
The death oI an analyst, a psychiatrist and an
analysand are here surprisingly part oI the maniIest
material. In this connection, and in order to show how
deep is the level oI the reported transactions, I will
add some inIormation not so Iar mentioned.

R (the member who had Iound his woman analyst's
suicide a relieI) dreamt without disguise oI my own
death.
Miss L suIIered Irom cancer which had been pre-
existing but was brought to medical attention and
surgical operation during the group's liIe. At the time
oI this present report she had had an operation, but she
later developed a relapse and died. `Death' was thus
`in the air.' When she knew Ior certain that she was
dying she decidedcontrary to her attitude in healthy
days to marry her boy Iriend "because he was
always so good to her." Thus she made good the
unrequited love situation oI her boy Iriend.
Consider once more the enhanced signiIicance, in the
experience oI these colleague-patients, oI death in
relation to the psychoanalytic situation.
In the second place it must be stressed that the
experiences which seemed so closely related were
independent and had all taken place long ago, but
where they happened currentlysometimes almost
simultaneouslythey could not have been mutually
suicido) habia estado 'tratando a esta misma analista
y habia tenido largas conversaciones con ella, y la
habia deIinido como 'incurable, tal como dijo Ma.
Un Iactor en esta ilustracion, que pienso que en otro
aspecto resulta iluminandor, puede ser algo engaoso,
a saber, que la resonancia en este caso se desarrollo
desde un tema deIinido, 'la muerte, y no desde un
sintoma, o sueo, o cualquier otra maniIestacion a la
que se reaccionaba y Iuera desciIrada en el curso de la
reaccion como representando la idea de muerte. Por lo
tanto, el lector podria tomar las diIerentes reacciones e
inIormes como meras asociaciones. Podria sentir
tambien que la muerte es un tema tan importante y
primordial que provoca importantes asociaciones,
como algo natural.
Por esta razon, debemos mirar mas de cerca lo que
ocurrio. En el primer momento, el grupo paso 'de la
muerte al suicidio, y particularmente al suicidio de
un compaero, expuesto al amor no correspondido,
siendo el miembro del grupo el compaero Irustrante
y por tanto, culpable. Por supuesto, esto es un reverso
de la situacion transIerencial que repite la
insatisIaccion del enlace inIantil edipico hacia el padre
inalcanzable del sexo opuesto. En este aspecto, la
transIerencia indudablemente se entreteje con la
resonancia compartida del grupo.
La muerte de un analista, un psiquiatra y un
analizando son aqui, sorprendentemente, parte del
material maniIiesto. En esta conexion, y para sealar
cuan proIundo es el nivel de las transacciones
reIeridas, agregare alguna inIormacion no demasiado
mencionada.
R. (el miembro que habia vivido como un alivio el
suicidio de su anterior analista mujer) soo sin censura
mi propia muerte.

La Srta. L. suIria de cancer desde antes, pero habia
requerido atencion medica y una intervencion
quirurgica durante su permanencia en el grupo. En la
epoca de este inIorme, ella habia tenido una
operacion, pero posteriormente desarrollo una recaida
y murio. Asi, la 'muerte estaba 'en el aire. Cuando
ella supo con certeza que se estaba muriendo decidio
contrariamente a su actitud en dias de salud
casarse con su novio, porque 'el Iue siempre tan
bueno con ella. Asi, ella modiIico la situacion
amorosa no correspondida de su novio.
Consideremos una vez mas la creciente signiIicacion,
en la experiencia de estos colegas-pacientes, de la
muerte en relacion a la situacion psicoanalitica.
En segundo lugar, se debe enIatizar que las
experiencias que parecieran tan Iuertemente
relacionadas, Iueron independientes, y habian ocurrido
largo tiempo atras, pero donde ocurrieron en el
presente a veces, casi simultaneamente no podian
8
known to have occurred, members becoming aware oI
these events only during their exchange in the
Iollowing sessions. It is also worth noting that the
signiIicant action was oIten committed by the
`partner,' the group member being the maniIest or
concealed agent provocateur, though not always
clearly so. Sometimes it seemed like the tail end oI a
relationship built on the grounds oI the particularly
signiIicant conIlict situation.

The events described are not simply associative,
neither are they just `acting out,' they are not based on
`identiIication' or `projection,' though all these
mechanisms may enter into them. The shared
transIerence situation and elements oI transIerence
undoubtedly enter into them, but the particular Ieature
oI precise speciIicity seems to be best explained by a
speciIic Iactor, namely resonance.


REFERENCES
S.H. Foulkes. Therapeutic Group Analysis. London,
Allen & Unwin, 1964: New York, International
University Press, 1965.
S.H. Foulkes. The Group as Matrix oI the Individual's
Mental LiIe. In: Group Therapy 1973. Eds. L. R.
Wolberg & E. K. Schwartz, New York,
Intercontinental Medical Book Corporation, 1973.
S.H. Foulkes. Group Analytic Psychotherapy: Method
and Principles. London & New York, Gordon &
Breach, 1975.

S.H. Foulkes. The Leader in the Group. In: The
Leader in the Group. Ed. Z. A. LiII. New York, Jason
Aronson, 1975.


ser conocidos mutuamente, los miembros tomando
conciencia de estos acontecimientos solo durante su
intercambio en las sesiones siguientes. Tambien es
digno de destacar que, la accion signiIicativa Iue a
menudo cometida por el 'compaero, siendo el
miembro del grupo el 'agente provocador maniIiesto
o encubierto, aunque no siempre de manera clara. A
veces parecia el Iinal ultimo de una relacion
construida sobre las bases de la situacion conIlictiva
particularmente signiIicativa.

Los hechos descritos no son simplemente asociativos,
ni son simplemente 'actuaciones, no estan basados
en 'identiIicacion o 'proyeccion, aunque todos
estos mecanismos pueden estar presentes en ellos. La
situacion transIerencial compartida y elementos
transIerenciales entraron indudablemente en ellos,
pero la variable particular de especiIicidad exacta
parece explicarse mejor por un Iactor especiIico,
llamado resonancia.


REFERENCIAS
S.H. Foulkes Therapeutic Group Analvsis 1964:
Londres, Allen & Unwin; 1965: Nueva York,
International University Press; en Obras Completas de
S. H. Foulkes, Grupo Analisis Terapeutico 2006:
Barcelona, Cegaopress, en imprenta.
S.H. Foulkes. 'El grupo como matriz de la vida
mental del individuo, en L. R. Wolberg & E. K.
Schwartz, eds., Group Therapv 1973. 1973: New
York, Intercontinental Medical Book Corporation, pp.
211-220.
S.H. Foulkes (1981 |1975|) Psicoterapia Grupo-
Analitica. Metodo v Principio 1981: Barcelona:
Gedisa, pp 318..

S.H. Foulkes 'The leader in the group`, en Z. A. LiII,
ed. The Leader in the Group 1975: Nueva York, Jason
Aronson, pp. 83-94.