Another layer of risk is that which arises from the group dynamic. Few major creative achievements happen as solo efforts. Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band – guided by his creative mind (and motivated at times by his darker side) – as well as the Rolling Stones and many other bands created a great deal of wonderful music as groups. But group creativity does not always result in positive outcomes. Although creative individuals may function normally by themselves, the dynamics of a group may lead to dysfunctional results and blur the line between normality and mental (or social) illness. Next month, therefore, we will consider disorders of group creativity.
Dr. Richard J. Caselli is medical editor of Clinical Neurology News and is a professor of neurology at the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Ariz.