Encounter group
An encounter group is a form of group psychotherapy that emerged with the popularization of humanistic psychology in the 1960s. The work of Carl Rogers (founding father of Person-centered psychotherapy) is central to this move away from psycho-analytical groups toward the humanistic encounter group.
Such groups (also called "T" (training) groups and "sensitivity training" groups) explored new models of interpersonal communication and the intensification of psychological experience. The first groups were experimental efforts by health researchers and workers, trying to move away from the "sickness" group work model used in the psychiatric industries of the time. In later years, these pioneering groups evolved into educational and treatment schemes for non-psychiatric people.
A commercialized strand of the encounter group movement developed into Large Group Awareness Training. Other variations have included the nude encounter group, where participants are naked, and the marathon encounter group, where participants carry on for 24 hours or longer without sleep.[1]
References
- ↑ Rubin, Zick; McNeil, Elton B. (1983). The psychology of being human. Harper & Row. pp. 419 (3rd Edition). ISBN 9780060443788 (4th Edition). http://books.google.co.uk/books?client=firefox-a&id=QZ5FAAAAYAAJ&dq=%22nude+encounter%22&q=divested#search_anchor.
Further reading
- Encounter Groups, Carl Rogers, 1970
- Theory and Practice of Group Counseling, second edition, by Gerald Corey, 1985
- Lieberman, Morton A.; Miles, Matthew B.; Yalom, Irvin D. (1973). Encounter Groups: First Facts. New York: Basic Books.
