The Tavistock Institute of Human Relations, a novel, interdisciplinary, action orientated research organisation, was founded in London in 1946 with the aid of a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation.

It was set up for the specific purpose of actively relating the psychological and social sciences to the needs and concerns of society. In sustaining this endeavour for more than fifty years, it has won international recognition.

The circumstances of World War Two brought together an unusually talented group of psychiatrists, clinical and social psychologists and anthropologists in the setting of the British Army, where they developed a number of radical innovations in social psychiatry and applied social science. They became known as the Tavistock Group because the core members had been at the pre-war Tavistock Clinic. Though only some of them continued their involvement with the post-war Tavistock organisation, those who did built on the war-time achievements to introduce a number of far-reaching developments in several fields. This style of research related theory and practice in a new way.

The objectives of the Institute were to study human relations in conditions of wellbeing, conflict or breakdown, in the family, the community, the work group and the larger organisation, and to promote the health and effectiveness of individuals and organisations.

Since that time, the Tavistock Institute has evolved into an organisation that does research and consultancy, evaluation and professional development work in support of change and learning. We try to contribute to the development of the social sciences by publishing our work. We also own and edit Human Relations, an international social science journal, and edit the journal Evaluation.

The Institute was located in the Tavistock Centre in Belsize Park, which we shared with the Tavistock Clinic until the summer of 1994, when we moved to our current office in central London. We do research, consultancy, evaluation, and professional development work to support change and learning. We also produce publications. We are interested in inter-organisational relations, the emergence of the knowledge society, and problems of organisation, particularly in the delivery of public policy.

We like to work creatively with people involved in innovative activities, working across boundaries, or in difficult situations. In our work we combine research and analytical skills with practical help in devising solutions and in following through to implementation.

We come from a variety of disciplines, including sociology, social psychology, economics, anthropology, policy science, and management.

We also have a sister website, grouprelations.com, which is a resource for people who are interested in the dynamics of people and organisations. It contains information about the theory behind group relations; a calendar and details about upcoming group relations training and events; news; group relations publications and people and organisations who work in group relations. - homepage

The Grubb institute

The Grubb Institute began its life as the The Christian Teamwork Trust in the late 1950s. Funded voluntarily and involving nationally-known Christian leaders from banking, insurance, business, industry, law and the church it provided a supportive framework within which a staff core worked with a large network of volunteers at issues of faith, life and education in people's working lives. The Trust tackled over 1000 different requests for help in 8 years which developed into projects including The Lyndhurst Club, The Abbeyfield Society, The Richmond Fellowship, Langley House Trust and Christians in Industrial Life.

The work of the Trust in understanding human behaviour led to involvement in the early development of the group relations movement. Through working with Dr A K Rice and Dr Pierre Turquet of the Centre for Applied Social Research at the Tavistock Institute the Trust explored how the insights of group relations conferences related to basic beliefs of Christian theology. This developed new understanding of psychodynamic and systemic theory within the Group Relations movement itself and to the development of Group Relations conferences like Being, Meaning, Engaging which are still run to this day.

The change of name to the Grubb Institute of Behavioural Studies in 1969 was a recognition of the fact that since 1966 the Trust had been winning consultancy assignments and applied research projects in which it was now seen as a professional body, competing in the secular world of universities, research bodies and management consultancies.

In the 70's and 80's the Institute submerged itself in the critical social issues of the time through, for example, seminal work with the Prison Service, the Transition to Working Life Program for the Unemployed and even work with the Communities in Northern Ireland during the height of the Troubles. It also developed the breadth and vision of its thinking through the setting up of bodies like the Centre for the Study of Social Consciousness and through seminal publications such as Bruce Reed's The Dynamics of Religion.

In the early 1990's the Institute's experience of transforming Institutions and seminal work with ITT led to the development of the conceptual framework of Person, System and Role. This provided a basis for the Institute to branch into professional coaching and consultancy through methodologies like Organisational Role Analysis and the Corporate Work Process. Since then, these conceptual frameworks and methodologies have been continuously tested, redeveloped and adapted in education, health and social care, business, industry, government agencies, the voluntary sector and religious organisations.

Through its persistent search for truth and reality and the experiences of its staff over the years the practice and theory of the Grubb Institute has turned out to be very contemporary. It has been a humanistic approach, in the best sense, which has turned out to have a theological validity - a validity which has come from the positive and often transformative impact the Institute has had, and continues to have, on persons, communities and institutions. The Grubb Institute

The Bayswater Institute was founded in 1991 by Dr Lisl Klein, formerly of the Tavistock Institute with the help and advice of Harold Bridger. It was created as an independent research organisation and a registered charity.

Mission Statement

The Bayswater Institute uses research, evaluation studies and action research

To further:

organisational strategies and methods which reflect and integrate the whole complex of values (human, technical and economic) that are espoused by the organisations and their members;

consideration of the needs and development of people in the design and implementation of technical, managerial and administrative systems.

uses education, training and developmental programmes

To further:

the dissemination of methods and experience in working with and integrating human aspects of organisation;

the use and application of the understanding that has been gained in these areas from research and experience in the social sciences.

The Bayswater Institute

"so....tell me what you saw on the day of the bombings, "

"well we werent allowed on trains at 6 in the morning...why, not?"

"yes very interesting....hmmm... I 'm afraid you are remembering it all wrong, you see...it's the trauma...don't worry if you talk to Dr Cameron & take these tablets everything will go back to normal" - You'll forget everything...

Up to 100 members of the Church of Scientology in garish yellow jackets joined the relief operation as sandwiches and bottles of water were rushed through the police cordons.

- Sunday July 10, 2005 - The Observer "The Horror"

"If soldiers did something that ended up with children getting killed, do you want to give them beta blockers so that they can do it again?" - Dr Paul McHugh, Johns Hopkins University

MK Program in full swing...Beta-blockers 'blot out memories'

A common blood pressure drug could help people who have witnessed traumatic events, such as the London bombings, to block out their distressing memories.

Cornell University psychiatrists are carrying out tests using beta-blockers, the journal Nature reports. The drug has been shown to interfere with the way the brain stores memories. Post-traumatic stress disorder affects around one in three of people caught up in such events, and memories can be triggered just by a sound or smell.

People with PTSD are given counselling, but because it is not always effective, researchers have been looking for alternative therapies. However there are concerns that a drug which can alter memories could be misused, perhaps by the military who may want soldiers to become desensitised to violence.

Fear and memory linked

The beta-blocker propranolol has been found to block the neurotransmitters involved in laying down memories. Studies have shown that rats who have learned to fear a tone followed by an electric shock lose that fear if propranolol is administered after the tone starts. The Cornell University team are reported to be seeing similar results in early studies in humans, Nature reports.

Margaret Altemus, who is one of the psychiatrists working on the study, told the journal: "The memory of the event is associated with the fear, and they always occur together."

The researchers plan to recruit 60 patients for a clinical trial where participants would be asked to take a dose of propranolol whenever they experienced symptoms of PTSD, such as an increased heart rate or breathing difficulties. But so far only one person has volunteered to take part.

Dr Altemus believes patients can be reluctant to try new therapies. She said a drug treatment could be a useful option for those with PTSD. "People with PTSD are disabled - their communication and relationships can be crippled. "It's a serious illness."

But other psychiatrists have expressed concern about the use of the beta-blocker in PTSD treatment. Berthold Gersons, based at the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands, said: "We hope it will work, but it is a simple solution." He cautioned it may not work in all cases of PTSD.

But other experts say PTSD is a natural response to traumatic events and should not be treated with drugs. Dr Paul McHugh, a psychiatrist at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland and member of the US President's Council on Bioethics expressed concern over the possible uses of the drug. "If soldiers did something that ended up with children getting killed, do you want to give them beta blockers so that they can do it again?" He added: "Psychiatrists are once again marching in where angels fear to tread." - BBC Tavistock unit

many side effects have been reported from these medications, including rash, anaphylactic shock (sudden unconsciousness or death), slowed heart rate, low blood pressure, cold extremities, worsening of heart failure, fainting, rapid heart beats, dizziness, fatigue, headache, depression, sleep disturbances, nightmares, hallucinations, short term memory loss, high or low blood sugar, stomach ache, flatulence, constipation, nausea, diarrhea, dry mouth, vomiting, heartburn, bloating, impotence or decreased libido, difficulty urinating, bronchospasm, cough, wheezes, naal stuffiness, joint pain, and muscle cramps. - BETA BLOCKERS AND PERFORMANCE ANXIETY IN MUSICIANS

CAMBRIDGE dancer Bruce Lait has spoken of his miraculous escape when a bomb exploded just yards away from him in a Tube train carriage. The 32-year-old was knocked out by the blast and awoke to a terrible scene of devastation in the underground tunnel near London's Aldgate East station.

"I've had people who know me phone me from all over the world and ask if I am alright. Those pictures of me and the Queen have gone all over the world."