Dear Reader,

Did you know Carl Jung didn't like groups? Apparently, he found them a bit dangerous.

“Every mass organization is a latent danger just as much as a heap of dynamite is.”

Eeek. He was really feeling it.

It makes sense that we fear groups. There's so much that could spin out of control, so much that could go wrong. And so, many of us respond by trying to control them to alleviate that fear. We want to feel grounded and to help those in the group feel safe.

In some ways, it works. But control also has a shadow side. It stifles voices, suppresses dissent, and quietly replicates the very power dynamics we're trying to move beyond. It can leave people feeling powerless, and that powerlessness often creates exactly the disruption we were trying to avoid. Control, paradoxically, can escalate the behaviour it seeks to prevent.

So what's the alternative?

There’s no doubt groups do need a certain kind of holding. Ronald Heifitz observed that participants look to facilitators for "Protection, Direction and Order" and that's real. We need to feel someone is at the helm, otherwise a group can feel purposeless or, at worst, unsafe.

But there's a crucial difference between holding boundaries and exerting control. And riding that line is an art.

Groups need disturbance to feel alive. Groups operating at their learning edge will feel electric…and sometimes a little uncomfortable. It’s precisely in the space of not-knowing that creativity, innovation and genuine insight emerge. Most facilitators err toward control, which isn't entirely wrong. But if we can't loosen the reins even slightly, groups go one of two ways: they go flat and stale, or they blow up anyway.

Enter Arnold Mindell.

Arny Mindell, founder of Process Work, trained originally as a Jungian analyst but then he grew frustrated with Jung's limitations. Where Jung largely stayed with the individual, Mindell was equally concerned with the social: with groups, difference and power. He travelled the world, learning from diverse cultures and practising new ways of being together, ways where difficult things could actually be processed rather than suppressed.

Over time, he identified patterns of group interaction that appeared across wildly different contexts and cultures. Never identical, but threaded through with a common root - one that mirrored nature itself. The skills he developed have since been deepened by Process Workers across the globe, building a collective body of knowledge about what it really means to facilitate at depth - in any group, anywhere.

What does this look like in practice?

Drawing on Process Oriented skills as a facilitator means developing a deep feel for what's happening beneath the surface: reading the signals, recognising patterns, and knowing when and where to intervene. It's both a framework and an awareness practice. And crucially, it's always responsive to the actual group in front of you, and the social and cultural structures they exist within, not some idealised group from a textbook.

When you understand the structures at play and have the techniques to work with them, something shifts. You stop needing to control and start trusting that holding boundaries, following signals, and intervening with precision is enough. More than enough. It creates space for growth, surprise, real creativity, and genuine accomplishment.

Ready to grow your practice?

If you're curious about becoming more effective with groups without losing the wisdom that lives in the unknown, we have some wonderful offerings coming up:

• ​Working with Conflict in Groups (online) — April 22 & 29. A short sharp learning opportunity that covers how to address tension; build your confidence, recognise where to intervene and find your own version of what to say.
• ​Facilitation Masterclass Series — 5 live modules online, 20 May – 22 July. A rich and thorough training built on five of the key issues that often trouble facilitators and the corresponding competencies that enable truly transformative group work. Includes: mastering your inner compass, focusing where it matters, working the learning edge and leading from your strengths with true power awareness. All with practice.
• ​Stopping the World — Melbourne, 1–2 May. A two day experiential workshop exploring the throughline between shamanism and psychology. Includes practicing shifting your attention in ways that let you drop your normal self and sense something larger, and working with irrational, powerful forces that you cannot control (and why respecting these forces is central to healing).

Each one teaches different aspects of this work, and they can be done independently or as a growing body of practice. We'd love to have you join us.

“Useful, transformational, experiential, embodied, dynamic and natural.”

“Left me wanting to dive in and learn more for my own growth. So professional, thank you.”

“An incredible learning time. Learning about myself and the process of communicating through conflict”

These are just some of the participant responses from last weekend’s event Yearning for a Better World, held in Byron Bay. This training was lead by a team of ANZPOP faculty and explored a range of experiential practices to support people to connect to themselves, whilst also creating open group opportunities to process differences, feelings and experiences of our world that were coming through. Feelings like hope, grief, despair and equal rights.

“I loved this experience. It opened-up a new understanding of myself and world healing, thank you!”

We are very excited to continue our presence in Byron Bay with the Byron Cohort of the 2 year Process Work Study Program – beginning in July this year. If deep, creative and lasting learning and change is your thing - register for the cohort here: https://anzpop.org/two-year-process-work-study-program/​

warmly,

ANZPOP

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