We are independent & ad-supported. We may earn a commission for purchases made through our links.
Advertiser Disclosure
Our website is an independent, advertising-supported platform. We provide our content free of charge to our readers, and to keep it that way, we rely on revenue generated through advertisements and affiliate partnerships. This means that when you click on certain links on our site and make a purchase, we may earn a commission. Learn more.
How We Make Money
We sustain our operations through affiliate commissions and advertising. If you click on an affiliate link and make a purchase, we may receive a commission from the merchant at no additional cost to you. We also display advertisements on our website, which help generate revenue to support our work and keep our content free for readers. Our editorial team operates independently of our advertising and affiliate partnerships to ensure that our content remains unbiased and focused on providing you with the best information and recommendations based on thorough research and honest evaluations. To remain transparent, we’ve provided a list of our current affiliate partners here.
Mental

Our Promise to you

Founded in 2002, our company has been a trusted resource for readers seeking informative and engaging content. Our dedication to quality remains unwavering—and will never change. We follow a strict editorial policy, ensuring that our content is authored by highly qualified professionals and edited by subject matter experts. This guarantees that everything we publish is objective, accurate, and trustworthy.

Over the years, we've refined our approach to cover a wide range of topics, providing readers with reliable and practical advice to enhance their knowledge and skills. That's why millions of readers turn to us each year. Join us in celebrating the joy of learning, guided by standards you can trust.

What is an Encounter Group?

Tricia Christensen
By
Updated: Mar 03, 2024
Views: 23,157
Share

The idea of the encounter group primarily springs from the writing and work of humanist psychologist, Carl Rogers, and early examples of group therapy can be found in Roger’s work Client-Centered Therapy, published in the mid-20th century. The basic premise of Rogers and other humanists was that people had an innate ability to self-heal, and in disclosing their thoughts and feelings in a group setting, this potentiality could emerge. A group might head itself, but usually includes a therapist whose job it is to mirror the comments, thoughts, and feelings of each participant; group participants serve as mirrors too. Other types of encounter groups are formed from different perspectives on the therapist’s role and the goals or orientation of the whole group, but the generic type was a means of increasing self-awareness by talking about self within the group and addressing issues that tend to create problems in life.

Early types of the encounter group involved people sitting comfortably in a circle, and people might sit in chairs or on comfortable cushions sharing thoughts and feelings with each other. In Rogers’ model, the therapist is mostly there to facilitate the communication between group members, possibly repeating or rephrasing the comments of individuals when there are pauses or when such repetition mirrors valuable thoughts and feelings. Some group leaders take a more interpretive or analytic role and might explain, elucidate, or compare individual’s feelings. Groups can evolve from relatively passive sitting and speaking to dynamic adventures where things like acting out or movement are encouraged.

There are other forms of the encounter group that are organized around a specific purpose. Some are religious in nature, and people can find encounter groups or retreats where some of the time will be spent in an encounter group fashion. Focus might be on speaking about religious convictions and coming closer to a perfect understanding with God.

Another encounter group type may occur in Marriage Encounter, a program first developed by the Roman Catholic Church that has a weekend retreat. This may feature group discussions and other activities in the hopes of improving marriages and communication between spouses. Generally, facilitators of these weekends are not professional therapists.

Quite different from models used by Rogers and others are encounter groups based on attacking one participant of the group. One of these, the Synanon Encounter, has been most often used in programs that treat addiction. A similar model may be used for family interventions to address a number of destructive behaviors. This model is potentially dangerous without guidance by a therapist or skilled interventionist, since the person being attacked isn’t a willing participant.

The heyday of the encounter group was when humanist psychology was in flower. Especially in the 1960s-1970s, these groups were popular and could be found in many locations. Though less popular today, it’s still possible to find groups. There are also many unrelated types of group therapy, which don’t take the initial form suggested by Rogers and others.

Share
The Health Board is dedicated to providing accurate and trustworthy information. We carefully select reputable sources and employ a rigorous fact-checking process to maintain the highest standards. To learn more about our commitment to accuracy, read our editorial process.
Tricia Christensen
By Tricia Christensen
With a Literature degree from Sonoma State University and years of experience as a The Health Board contributor, Tricia Christensen is based in Northern California and brings a wealth of knowledge and passion to her writing. Her wide-ranging interests include reading, writing, medicine, art, film, history, politics, ethics, and religion, all of which she incorporates into her informative articles. Tricia is currently working on her first novel.
Discussion Comments
By JavaGhoul — On Jan 13, 2011

I have found a helpful group at my local church, where people share and are prayed for. This has helped me to understand myself and others better, and I've become a much more sensitive person. Before attending meetings like this, I thought it was tremendously awkward for men to cry. Now I find myself crying often, and really being sensitive to how people feel.

By Armas1313 — On Jan 11, 2011

The flip-side of peer pressure is peer comfort. In this kind of a context people are allowed to be open about themselves in front of others, and it is often a very tearful time of healing. Getting your inner scars out into the open is a necessary part of forgiving yourself and others.

Tricia Christensen
Tricia Christensen
With a Literature degree from Sonoma State University and years of experience as a The Health Board contributor, Tricia...
Learn more
Share
https://www.thehealthboard.com/what-is-an-encounter-group.htm
Copy this link
The Health Board, in your inbox

Our latest articles, guides, and more, delivered daily.

The Health Board, in your inbox

Our latest articles, guides, and more, delivered daily.