In this paper, we expand upon our use of the cocoon metaphor for understanding and working with organizations from a psychodynamic perspective. Conceived as both defensive and generative, cocoons are relational phenomena that manifest throughout organizations and risk being mistaken as dysfunctional entities in need of dismantling. To illustrate the utility of the cocoon metaphor in conceptualizing organizational problems, we present a case study of a hospital restructuring following its acquisition by a for-profit health care system and driven by efficiency and cost-savings. The resulting disruptions across operating divisions created a set of problems that necessitated the help of an outside consultant. Engaging members of the organization in the task of solving their own problems entailed recognizing their (inter)subjective experiences and behaviors as more than just defensive hiding, or aggressive attacking, but also as holding the potential for new ways of working and relating. It also entailed showing leaders how to replace environmental impingement in the form of “looking for mistakes” with what we call, borrowing from Marion Milner (1969), a “waiting watchfulness” that fostered understanding of the emotional world inside, outside, and at the boundaries of cocoons to promote organizational learning and meaningful change.

中文翻译：

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识别医院重组中的茧现象：心理动力学组织咨询的案例研究

在本文中，我们扩展了我们对茧隐喻的使用，以从心理动力学的角度理解和与组织合作。蚕茧被认为是防御性的和生成性的，是在整个组织中表现出来的关系现象，并有可能被误认为是需要拆除的功能失调的实体。为了说明茧隐喻在组织问题概念化中的效用，我们提出了一个医院重组的案例研究，该案例研究在被营利性医疗保健系统收购并由效率和成本节约驱动后进行了重组。由此产生的跨运营部门的中断产生了一系列问题，需要外部顾问的帮助。让组织成员参与解决他们自己的问题的任务需要认识到他们的（跨）主体经历和行为不仅仅是防御性隐藏或攻击性攻击，而且还具有新的工作和联系方式的潜力。它还详细向领导者展示了如何用我们所说的“寻找错误”形式来代替环境影响，借用 Marion Milner (1969)，一种“等待观察”，促进对内部、外部和外部情感世界的理解。茧的界限促进组织学习和有意义的改变。