Since the early 1990s, Enrico Pedriali with R. D. Hinshelwood organised workshops in Italy known as the learning from action workshops. This novel approach evolved from applying the principles of therapeutic communities to a group relations form of experiential conference. The group relation tradition, however, does not focus particularly on mental health organisations and tends to focus on senior management issues of leadership and authority. In contrast, the learning from action workshops are tailored to the care workers engaged in the direct work, in particular for those working with clients and patients with significant problems with verbal and symbolic communication. The workshops also include an element of research into the unconscious messaging systems employed in making relations, which contribute to therapeutic and other mental health care services. There are also chapters on a related form of workshop - the living and learning experience - which was established primarily for learning about therapeutic communities, which bring further insight to working practices. The book brings together a community of 21 authors: Giada Boletti, Louisa Diana Brunner, Davide Catullo, Heather Churchill, John Diamond Donna M. Elmendorf, Giovanni Foresti, Rex Haigh, R. D. Hinshelwood, Yuko Kawai, Eriko Koga, Jan Lees, Simona Masnata, Luca Mingarelli, Gilad Ovadia, Mario Perini, Barbara Rawlings, Antonio Sama, Edward R. Shapiro, Lili Valko, and Zsolt Zalka. It will be a must-read for those working in mental health care. The information within will be of use to those new to the profession, for whom there is often very little preparation or reading material, and also to more senior members to use not only for their own development but also in training and research activities in mental health.

Since the early 1990s, Enrico Pedriali with R. D. Hinshelwood organised workshops in Italy known as the learning from action workshops. This novel approach evolved from applying the principles of therapeutic communities to a group relations form of experiential conference. The group relation tradition, however, does not focus particularly on mental health organisations and tends to focus on senior management issues of leadership and authority. In contrast, the learning from action workshops are tailored to the care workers engaged in the direct work, in particular for those working with clients and patients with significant problems with verbal and symbolic communication. The workshops also include an element of research into the unconscious messaging systems employed in making relations, which contribute to therapeutic and other mental health care services. There are also chapters on a related form of workshop - the living and learning experience - which was established primarily for learning about therapeutic communities, which bring further insight to working practices. The book brings together a community of 21 authors: Giada Boletti, Louisa Diana Brunner, Davide Catullo, Heather Churchill, John Diamond Donna M. Elmendorf, Giovanni Foresti, Rex Haigh, R. D. Hinshelwood, Yuko Kawai, Eriko Koga, Jan Lees, Simona Masnata, Luca Mingarelli, Gilad Ovadia, Mario Perini, Barbara Rawlings, Antonio Sama, Edward R. Shapiro, Lili Valko, and Zsolt Zalka. It will be a must-read for those working in mental health care. The information within will be of use to those new to the profession, for whom there is often very little preparation or reading material, and also to more senior members to use not only for their own development but also in training and research activities in mental health.

Acknowledgements Our community of 21 authorsForeword Donna M. Elmendorf and Edward R. ShapiroIntroduction R.D. Hinshelwood and Luca MingarelliChapter 1. Applying group relations to therapeutic communities: A marriage with offspring R.D. HinshelwoodChapter 2. Deciding for Surviving: Ideas and Models in Group Relations Conference (GRC) Traditions Giovanni Foresti and Antonio SamaChapter 3. Language in Action: The other side of Group Relations Mario PeriniChapter 4. The early intentions Louisa Brunner and R.D. HinshelwoodChapter 5. The LfA programme and its reasoning Giada Boldetti and Luca MingarelliChapter 6. Snapshots of the process Simona MasnataChapter 7. Reflections on behaviour and relations as meaningful R.D. HinshelwoodChapter 8. A journey called learning from Action Davide CatulloChapter 9. The dilemmas of role taking as consultant during decision-making and activities Gilad OvadiaChapter 10. Comments from other approaches: Living-Learning Experience (LLE) Workshops in theory Rex Haigh, Jan Lees and Barbara RawlingsChapter 11. Comments from other approaches: LLE in Practice Rex Haigh and Jan LeesChapter 12. Research conclusions Barbara RawlingsChapter 13. Facilitating learning at the LFA and taking the learning home John DiamondChapter 14. Developments and later conceptualisation Luca Mingarelli and Giada BoldettiChapter 15. Understanding community dramaturgy in the everyday life Zsolt Zalka and Lili ValkoChapter 16. LfA-Japan: European Flavour and Japanese Taste Eriko Koga and Yuko KawaiChapter 17. A Perspective from the US Heather ChurchillLeaving our conclusions open Luca Mingarelli, and R.D. HinshelwoodAppendix 1 Initial CorrespondenceAppendix 2 Sample Programmes (2001, 2005, 2012, 2019)