ARTICLES

Organizational Dynamics, 2005, #34 (1), pp.1-17

This article addresses the subject of clinically oriented consultation in the workplace, offering an example of an intervention to illustrate the limitations of more traditional, rational forms of organizational consultation. It is suggested in these pages that unconscious intrapersonal, interpersonal and group-related dynamics have a serious impact on many decisions and policies in organizational life. It is pointed out that both rational and irrational forces will affect life at work. Such irrational processes are a powerful force in explaining otherwise incomprehensible human motivations and actions. The argument is put forth herein that the clinical approach to organizational consultation can make a significant, positive contribution in situations of problematic organizational transformation, dysfunctional leadership, collusive superior-subordinate relationships, destructive social defense mechanisms, ineffective intra- and inter-group relationships, and neurotic organizational cul ture. To help executives understand the dynamics of these irrational forces, a number of salient themes in contemporary psychoanalytic theory a domain that includes contributions from dynamic psychiatry, developmental psychology, anthropology, neurophysiology, cognitive theory, family systems theory, and individual and group psychotherapy are discussed. The breadth of that grounding makes in-depth interpretations of organizational phenomena more powerful. The main parameters of the clinical paradigm are also reviewed in this article. In the final section, the role of the clinically oriented consultant is dealt with, and attention is given to the impact of transferential and counter-transferential processes in the client-consultant interface.