Organisational Psychology Books at Karnac Books

Leading with Depth: The Impact of Emotions and Relationships on Leadership

Leadership goes well beyond efficient management, and the significance of emotions on the success of organisations is often underestimated. In Leading With Depth: The Impact of Emotions and... (more)

Systems Psychodynamics: Innovative Approaches to Change, Whole Systems and Complexity

by David Lawlor, Mannie Sher

In the second of this three-volume series, the authors expand on the theory and practice of systems psychodynamics – which integrates psychoanalytic thinking, open systems theory and complexity... (more)

The Covid Trail: Psychodynamic Explorations

Edited by Halina Brunning, Olya Khaleelee

The idea of The Covid Trail developed at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. Using the language of psychoanalysis and system psychodynamic thinking, it seeks to find a way to think about and... (more)

What Lies Beneath: How Organisations Really Work

by Ajit Menon, Trevor Hough

This book looks beyond the public face and below the surface of organisations. Using a deceptively easy-to-read and accessible narrative concerning eight international organisations, it covers many... (more)

The Curiosity Drive: Our Need for Inquisitive Thinking

by Philip Stokoe

After eighteen frustrating months heading a specialist adolescent unit, Philip Stokoe applied for a training in consultation at the Tavistock Clinic based on the ‘Tavi’ aka ‘group relations’ model.... (more)

British Psychology in Crisis: A Case Study in Organisational Dysfunction

Edited by David Pilgrim

Riven by poor governance and outright corruption, the British Psychological Society (BPS) may now be in terminal decline. Individual members have left it in despair and some groups (for example... (more)

An Introduction to Systems Psychodynamics: Consultancy Research and Training

by Mannie Sher, David Lawlor

This book provides an introduction to systems psychodynamic theory and its application to organisational consultancy, research and training, outlining systems dynamics methods and their historical... (more)

The Unconscious at Work: A Tavistock Approach to Making Sense of Organizational Life: Second Edition

Edited by Anton Obholzer, Vega Zagier Roberts

Why do our organizations so often seem to be less than the sum of their parts? What undermines effectiveness and morale, and gets in the way of achieving what we set out to do?

The Unconscious... (more)

Social Defences Against Anxiety: Explorations in a Paradigm

Edited by David Armstrong, Michael Rustin

This book revisits the theory of social systems as a defence against anxiety first set out by Elliott Jaques and Isabel Menzies Lyth in papers which they published in 1955 and 1960, and which have... (more)

Experiential Learning in Organizations: Applications of the Tavistock Group Relations Approach

Edited by Laurence J. Gould, Lionel F. Stapley

This is an authoritative sourcebook on a major strand of Group Relations Theory - "learning from experience". This approach was developed jointly from psychoanalytic and open systems theories,... (more)

Group as a Whole: Learning for Leadership, Authority and Organisation

by Lionel F. Stapley

The focus of this volume is on groups. The approach taken is to study groups from the perspective of the group as a whole, which provides a totally different perspective from studying individual... (more)

Systems Psychodynamics: Theorist and Practitioner Voices from the Field

by David Lawlor, Mannie Sher

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... (more)

Family Psychodynamics in Organizational Contexts: The Hidden Forces that Shape the Workplace

by Steen Visholm

This fascinating book shows how an understanding of the psychodynamics of the extended family, from parental relations to sibling rivalries, can provide insight into many of the key issues faced by... (more)

Transforming Experience in Organisations: A Framework for Organisational Research and Consultancy

Edited by Susan Long

This book explores a theoretical model – the Transforming Experience Framework (TEF) - used to understand the complexities and ambiguities of experience within organisational life. The TEF explores... (more)

Containing Anxiety in Institutions: Selected Essays Volume 1

by Isabel Menzies Lyth

This is a controversial collection, which makes available to a wider public an important part of the research tradition of the Tavistock Institute of Human Relations. The author extends her analytic... (more)

Organisational and Social Dynamics Vol.23 No.1

Edited by Aaron J. Nurick, Matias Sanfuentes

Organisational & Social Dynamics (O&SD) aims to create a deeper understanding of organisational and social processes and their effects on individuals, and to provide a forum for both theoretical and... (more)

All That We Are: Uncovering the Hidden Truths Behind Our Behaviour at Work

by Gabriella Braun

Longlisted for the 2022 CMI Management Book of the Year Award

Who do you bring with you to work?

Try as we might, we cannot leave part of ourselves under the pillow with our pyjamas when we... (more)

Workplace Intelligence: Unconscious Forces and How to Manage Them

by Anton Obholzer

Workplace Intelligence provides a range of insights into the unconscious processes at play in the workplace and an introduction to a balanced approach to organizations.

The book explores key... (more)

The Art and Science of Working Together: Practising Group Analysis in Teams and Organisations

Edited by Christine Thornton

The Art and Science of Working Together: Practising Group Analysis in Teams and Organisations is a primary resource for anyone wishing to learn more about the complex unconscious dynamics of... (more)

To Be Met as a Person at Work: The Effect of Early Attachment Experiences on Work Relationships

by Nicola Neath, Una McCluskey

This book provides an account of how the 'Theory of Attachment-Based Exploratory Interest Sharing' (TABEIS) and the practice of Goal Corrected Empathic Attunement (GCEA) was used in a university... (more)

An Introduction to the Psychodynamics of Workplace Bullying

by Sheila White

This book gives in-depth insights into the core issues of workplace bullying from the perspectives of the individuals involved, their interpersonal relationships, the group dynamics and... (more)

The Body of the Organisation and its Health

by Richard Morgan-Jones

Using the frameworks of psychoanalysis, group relations, systemic organisational observation, consulting and research, this book explores the relationship between the health of the work force and the... (more)

Psychodynamics for Consultants and Managers

by Leopold Vansina, Marie-Jeanne Vansina-Cobbaert

This book explores the ways in which psychoanalytic thinking can be more extensively and effectively used to the benefit of organizations and groups. It provides future and practicing consultants and... (more)

Organizations Connected: A Handbook of Systemic Consultation

Edited by David Campbell, Clare Huffington

In this book, each contributor describes the way they use the systemic model in their consultancy practice. Their key ideas are illustrated via a case example (or examples), where possible including... (more)

Organisational and Social Dynamics Vol.8 No.1

Edited by Michael Moskowitz, Anne-Marie Cummins

Contents in this issue:

Competition and Coherence: Creating a New Balance Between Economic Change and Organizational Identity in Mental Health Care Organizations

- Mathias Lohmer

Where... (more)

From Transformation to TransformaCtion: Methods and Practices

by David Gutmann

This book describes a journey of discovery from transformation to transformaCtion that extends and enhances the life of the organization. The journey occurs on the seas of anxiety and passion, which... (more)

Social Dreaming in the 21st Century: The World We Are Losing

by John Clare, Ali Zarbafi

We are running out of ideas in Western society. Faced with global warming, Third World devastation, nuclear proliferation and the threat posed by religious conflict, we need new ways of thinking.... (more)

The Perverse Organisation and its Deadly Sins

by Susan Long

There is evidence of a movement from 'a culture of narcissism' toward elements of a perverse culture. This book brings forth and examines the evidence as it reveals itself through one of the major... (more)

Organisational and Social Dynamics Vol.6 No.2

Edited by Laurence J. Gould, Paul Hoggett

Included in this issue:

When Faith Eclipses Hope; Forgiveness Within Reparation
- Lindsey Nicholls

Broad Based Organising: Reflective Citizenship and Political Action
- Paul... (more)

Organization in the Mind: Psychoanalysis, Group Relations and Organizational Consultancy

by David Armstrong

David Armstrong has been a leading figure internationally in the fields of organizational consultancy and group relations for many years. Robert French and Russ Vince have gathered together, for the... (more)