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Listening to the Unconscious in Self, Groups and Society

4-day workshop

Sunday 25th February 2018 - Tuesday 28th February 2017

Bengaluru, India

Group Relations India
HID Forum

Introduction
Primary Task
Methodology
Membership
Role of Staff
Staff
Info & Fees
Bursaries
Booking
Web Sites

Introduction

A popular 4-day workshop - to explore how unconscious processes shape us and impact how we take on roles in groups and systems.

WHY DO WE NEED TO LISTEN TO THE UNCONSCIOUS?
“Until you make the unconscious conscious,
it will direct your life and you will call it fate.”
~ C.G. Jung

At every moment of our lives, whether we’re awake or asleep, there is a process that
we are not conscious of, that is beneath the surface, which is termed the unconscious.
We are also often not aware that our unconscious not only consists of all that we
have suppressed from becoming aware of, but also contains the potential for our
development.

In groups that we are a part of, we take on different roles, sometimes consciously,
and more often unconsciously, depending on the context. Groups also seem to have
processes or dynamics of their own, some visible and some not so apparent. This
becomes more evident when groups we are in don’t behave according to “plan”. Tasks
don’t get done as planned, people get caught up in a lot of processes that do not focus
on the task, and become counterproductive. This leads to frustration, emotional
turbulence, break in relationships and delays in task accomplishment.

The path to pursue change or transformation in any situation is always beset with
uncertainty. We are often not aware of the deeper processes at work. We do not
seem to be willing to recognize that there are unconscious processes at play. We
may even wish to ignore them because surfacing these are likely to confront us with
realities that we prefer not to know, notwithstanding the cost to ourselves and the
organization of this ‘not knowing’. Addressing them may lead us to uncomfortable questions such as “how am I behaving in the group? Do I understand how the group is
affecting me in my role as leader/change agent? How can I understand my role in the
group and hold the space for the group to focus on task?”

Whether we are managers, leaders, consultants or simply a member of a group, it
is useful to have a sharper awareness of many aspects of what working in a group
entails. Some of these aspects are at the more conscious level such as the boundaries
of task, time, physical space or territory as well as their interconnection with other
boundaries such as values, relationships, resources and technology. In the process
of managing these boundaries a host of unconscious “below the surface” processes
also come into play such as the feelings people project on others (including one’s own
feelings) and the implications these have on the way the group functions and the
relationships that develop.
There are ways of becoming aware of, understanding and working with unconscious
processes provided by pioneers in the psychoanalytic tradition such as Sigmund
Freud, Melanie Klein, Carl Jung, and Wilfred Bion, which will be used in the workshop.

The tradition of work on the unconscious that is called group relations work is
influenced by this as well as other streams such as systems thinking, socio-technical
systems, (particularly the work of Eric Trist and A K Rice) as well as socio-analysis
(work initiated by Gordon Lawrence and Alastair Bain).
Work on the unconscious and recognition of its impacts however has had an
extremely long history and can be seen in thought and philosophy in the Indian subcontinent
in the pre-Vedic era, the Upanishads, Buddhist and Jain philosophy and in
literature on Yoga over millennia which Gouranga Chattopadhyay has introduced into
group relations work.

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Conference Aims and Primary Task

By the term primary task, we mean the top most priority task of a system that gives it
meaning and purpose; that which has to be engaged with meaningfully for the system to
fulfil its objectives.

The primary task of this workshop is to explore and work with unconscious
processes in individuals and groups through one’s direct experience in
the here and now, as well as working with the application of conceptual
frameworks.

The workshop is a learning event where we offer the opportunity to work with these
frameworks in an experiential way as well as engage with some of the concepts. The
idea is to learn, derive one’s own insights and apply them to one’s roles in our “back
home” situations, both organisational and personal. The workshop will provide an
opportunity to enhance the understanding of:
• Unconscious processes in groups and individuals and how they impact each other; &
• Exploration of the implications of the above for one’s roles in back home institutions.

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Methodology

A range of learning events, such as small study groups, plenaries, review and reflection,
social dreaming matrix, concept presentations and discussions and application group
will be used.
For the purpose of honing their ability to apply their learnings, participating members
are recommended to come prepared to work on a difficult issue that they are currently
facing in any system that they’re part of, to which new insights or perspectives
generated in the workshop can be applied.

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Membership

This workshop invites as members anyone to whom this task and methodology
seems appealing. Past participants have been from development and other not-forprofit
sectors, health care systems, trade unions, educational institutions, corporate
organisations, students and those with no particular paid working role as well!
All that is required is to have the capacity to wonder at what emerges in the present
and not get caught in one’s past. This kind of learning also calls upon one’s capacity to
be in touch with one’s feelings in the context of exploring one’s experience, instead of
neatly labelling them on the basis of the past, which includes cultural prescriptions and
proscriptions.

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Role of Staff

The staff of the workshop will be in roles such as director, administrator and consultant.
Collectively they form the management of the workshop and supervise the boundaries
of task, time and territories.

Workshop Director: Anuradha Prasad
Workshop Administrator: Meenakshi Vijayasimha
Consultants: Ganesh Anantharaman, Yash Kaul, Veena Pinto, Anuradha Prasad

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Staff

Workshop Director
Anuradha Prasad  PhD (Agricultural Extension, IARI, New Delhi)
Involved with the development sector in capacity building, research, planning, monitoring and evaluation
of development projects. Human process and institutional development consultant
and facilitator of change processes. Certified Coach. Director and consultant in Group
Relations Conferences (India and abroad). Professional member, Indian Society for
Applied Behavioral Science; Founder member and Secretary of the HID Forum;
Trustee, Group Relations India.

Workshop Administrator
Meenakshi Vijayasimha  M.Sc. Cytogenetics, M.B.A (University of Wales, Cardiff)
is passionate in facilitating growth and transformation in individuals and systems across
various sectors - Corporate, Social Development and Government. She works in the area
of Organizational learning and development. Meenakshi is a Certified Neuroscience
based Coach (David Rock model). She is also currently pursuing her Internship from the
Indian Society for Applied Behavioural Science (ISABS).

Consultants:
Ganesh Anantharaman  M. Phil. Political Science (Mumbai University)
Professional Member, Indian Society for Applied Behavioural Science (ISABS); Member, NTL Institute of Applied Behavioural Science, USA; Associate Certified Coach (ACC),
International Coaching Federation (ICF); Associate Member, Group Relations India
(GRI). Consultant, Leadership Development and Culture Building, working primarily
with the corporate sector. He has been on the staff of several Group Relations
Conferences in India since 2003.

Yash Kaul  B.Pharm (Hons) BITS Pilani, Diploma in Marketing Management (NMIMS) andExecutive Management Program (IIM Kozhikode
Twenty years experience in leadership roles in Healthcare Industry and currently working as Senior Director – Southern APAC Region. Passionate about Unconscious and Group Processes and their application in real
life industry settings.

Veena Pinto  MA Clinical Psychology, PGDHRM
Currently working as an independent Consultant, Coach & Trainer. Her work involves assisting individuals, groups and large systems to learn and grow. She brings to this work more than 30 years of experience
including 15 years as a Corporate HR Leader. Veena is a Professional Member of the
Indian Society for Applied Behavioral Science (ISABS), Member, NTL Institute, USA and
Consultant in Training, A K Rice Institute for the Study of Social Systems, USA.

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Info and Fees

Workshop Venue
SAIACS CEO CENTRE (A Division of SAIACS)
Dodda Gubbi Cross Road, Kothanur, PO Box 7747, Bangalore - 560077
Phone: 080 23681725/26/27
Website: www.saiacsceocentre.com
More information on how to reach the venue and other joining information will be sent to
members on confirmation of their applications
Language
The workshop is in English. Use of other languages, like any other intervention in the
workshop, is potentially material for exploration.
Workshop Dates
February 25-28, 2018

Timings/ Registration
Registration of members to the workshop is from 0900 to 1015 hours and the
workshop will open with a Plenary at 1030 hours on February 25, 2018 and end at
1615 hours on February 28, 2018.

Fee
This is a residential workshop. The workshop fee inclusive of tuition, board and lodge
of ` 35,000 plus GST of 18% (i.e ` 6300) for a double occupancy room is payable.
The Early Bird Fee for those paying the full fee by January 25th 2018 is ` 32,000 plus
18% GST (i.e ` 5760).

A few rooms on single occupancy are available on a first come first served basis for an
additional fee. Do write to us if you would like a single occupancy room.

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Bursaries

GRI and HIDF are organisations committed to ensuring that group relations work
is accessible to a wide membership – which has enabled people from a range of
economic and work sectors and representing many other important diversities to
attend. The diversity of members has been the hallmark of our programmes in the last
many years and been a critical factor in the depth and richness of the learning as well.
We are particularly committed to make these opportunities available to those in the
social justice and development sectors. A few bursaries are available for participants
from small under-resourced NGOs or community based organisations and
movements. The bursary fund is also supported by contributions from well-wishers
of the sponsoring organisations. Those applying for bursary may please mention in
writing (lttuc@grouprelationsindia.org) the justification for their application and the
amount of bursary they seek. We will revert to you on the amount we can offer based
on the total number of requests made and the relative merits of the case.

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Booking

You can fill out our application form through our website and effect a bank transfer of the fees.

You may write to us at lttuc@grouprelationsindia.org if you have any enquiries.

Last date to avail the Early Bird Fee: January 25, 2018
Last date for bursary requests: February 5, 2018
Last date for all other applications: February 15, 2018.

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Web Sites

Group Relations India: http://www.grouprelationsindia.org
HID Forum: http://www.hidforum.org
SAIACS CEO Centre: http://www.saiacsceocentre.com

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