The discordant conjunction of irreconcilable elements which the title of this paper represents is intended to convey something of the strange nature of the relationship between the discipline of group analysis and the institutions which offer an academic accreditation today. It is a dialogue which I believe is often an uneasy one and I illustrate some of the reasons why I think that may be so. In the process, I also focus on group-analytic concepts which may help analysts to meet the challenge of Quality Assurance. Key words: Group-Analytic Training, Quality Assurance, rainbows.