Systems Psychodynamics: Theorist and Practitioner Voices from the Field - Paperback

by David Lawlor (Author), Mannie Sher (Author)

Through a series of in-depth interviews with Tavistock thinkers across three generations, this volume illustrates the practice and application of the systems psychodynamics paradigm to organisational development consultancy, research and training.

Across 28 stimulating interviews with a group of international consultants, interviewees present a critical appraisal of the systems psychodynamics paradigm and its application to present-day social and organisational difficulties. By using a narrative interpretive method, the interviewers attend to the historical, psychosocial and biographical dynamics of the interviewees' approaches and methods of work, and address several areas of organisational consultancy. These include organisational design, the division of labour, levels of authority and reporting relationships; the nature of work tasks, processes and activities; primary tasks and the inevitable unconscious dynamics within systems and individuals.

The multi-disciplinary approaches of the interviewees will interest managers, policymakers, consultant practitioners and researchers to understand the variety of applications of systems psychodynamics methodologies.

Author Biography

David Lawlor, professional partner, Tavistock Institute of Human Relations, specialising in research and consultancy practice; co-director, Organisational Consultancy: Working with the Dynamics; visiting lecturer, Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust; Group Relations consultant; former head, Social Work Discipline, Tavistock & Portman NHS Trust; principal consultant, Tavistock Consultancy.

Mannie Sher, principal social scientist, Tavistock Institute of Human Relations; former director, Group Relations Programme; forme chair, British Association of Psychotherapists; board member, International Society for the Psychoanalytic Study of Organisations (ISPSO); author, The Dynamics of Change: Tavistock Approaches to Improving Social Systems (2013); editor, Dynamics at Boardroom Level: A Tavistock Primer for Leaders, Coaches and Consultants; Lawlor, D. & Sher, M. (2022). An Introduction to Systems Psychodynamics: Consultancy, Research and Training. Routledge.