Encounter Group

Encounter Group
Definition
It is a term from existentialist
philosophy and simply means a real
meeting between people.
Group size ranges from 8 to 15 people.
They typically meet 20 to 60 hours over
several sessions.

Encounter Group
Definition
Collection of persons who are
gathered to interact with one another
in order to satisfy some need in each
person present, to accomplish some
group goal, and who are in
agreement as to who is and who is
not a member of the group.

Encounter Group
The aim of the encounter group is to
make it possible for people to treat
each other in that direct and
undefended way. For that reason it
has sometimes called the game of no
game. An explicitly suggest that the
encounter with ones real self is just as
important as the encounter with other
people.


Three Different Versions of Encounter Groups

Basic Encounter By Carl Rogers

Carl Ransom Rogers was an
influential American
psychologist and among the
founders of the humanistic
approach to psychology.
Rogers demonstrated that
person-centered therapy could
help individuals who were out
of touch with their feelings and
closed to lifes experiences.

Basic Encounter By Carl

Rogers
Here people sit in
a
circle, usually on chairs,
and
interact
almost
entirely
at
conscious
verbal level. The role of
the leader is simply to
facilitate what is going
on, to participate as full
human being, and to
encourage people to be
more honest and more
self- disclosing.

Open Encounter
by Will Schutz
Schutz introduced a theory of interpersonal
relations he called Fundamental Interpersonal
Relations Orientation (FIRO).
He was fascinated by groups and immersed
himself in studying, participating, and working
with them, from group-dynamics research to Tgroups to an eclectic form he developed himself
and called open encounter, a combination of
group therapy, pyschosynthesis, bioenergetics,
psychodrama and Gestalt.

Open Encounter by Will

Schutz
Here people also sit in a circle, but
usually on cushions, because furniture
gets in a way of physical actions.
There is much more emphasis on the
body and on energy. If the leader sees
that some physical action would
enable the person to go deeper into an
experience, he or she will suggests
such an action. So there is a great deal
of movement in an open encounter.

Synanon Encounter by Chuck

Dederich
Synanon, is the first ever self helpno
doctors drug rehabilitation program,
founded
by
Charles
Chuck
Dederich Sr. (19131997) in 1958 in
Santa Monica, California. The name
was chosen when a member slurred
the
words
Symposium
and
Seminar. One of its early cardinal
rules was no violence or threat of
same.

Synanon Encounter by Chuck

Dederich
Here the whole group turn on one
member and make him or her target
of attack. The group does not focus
so much upon the group but more on
individual work within the group. At
one time the focus will be on one
person at another time on another
person and the leader will continually
continue to work with the one person
until the particular point and issue is

ADVANTAGES

DISADVANTAGES

It deals with the problems

faced by its members.
It helps in addressing and
understanding problems
faced by people in life.
Encounter groups are very
good for working through
interpersonal issues such
as shyness, talkativeness,
inability to express anger,
difficulties in handling
closeness, not knowing
what to say to people and
all kinds of thing, because
the leader can encourage
very direct confrontation
on such matters.

Some individuals
did not have the
ego strength to
benefit from the
intensity of this
type of experience.
The feelings and
changes that
manifested the
participants of the
group members
disappeared over a
short period of
time.

Conclusion
Encounter groups always require a leader
to monitor the group. The onus of
leadership may shift from one person to
another if required. Truth has to be spoken
and once that is discovered people are
able to see themselves clearly. Self
realization and self awareness is one of the
main features of encounter groups.

Thank you for listening