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In the 1940s, the psychoanalyst S.H. Foulkes conceived “Group Analysis” as a new epistemology of the relations between the individual and society. By combining psychoanalysis and sociology and prioritizing the social nature of individuals, Foulkes fostered the exploration of intersubjective and transsubjective perspectives as a way of understanding of human suffering in relation to the social world. Through classical and contemporary group analysis, this article explores how group analysts deal with the destructiveness, hatred, regression and progression of individuals, groups and social systems. To this end, the article presents the work done in large groups, which helps to understand the primitive and psychotic processes, but also the possibilities of dialogue produced by interactions in groups. From a contemporary perspective, Hopper’s theory of “Incohesion” highlights the role of traumatic experiences in the unconscious life of groups, which is fundamental for understanding personal and social suffering in relation to expressions of destructiveness.