What is a Person-Centred Encounter Group?
Person-Centred Encounter Groups
While simple in concept, person-centred encounter groups can be challenging to define. We do not want to dictate how any group will run, yet there are some things we would like people to consider before joining a group.
These are Person-centred encounter groups. While participants do not need formal training in the Person-Centred Approach, understanding the approach would be helpful, and everyone is expected to follow person-centred principles.
This means that participants should:
- Treat each other thoughtfully and with respect.
- Listen with empathic understanding, rather than immediately formulating a response.
- Hold one another in a positive light and to try to see things from the other person’s perspective.
- Be considerate, careful, and honest in what they say about each other, both when we’re together and when we’re not.
Note that our groups are self-facilitated. All participants share equal responsibility for facilitating the group. No one is required to speak, and everyone chooses for themselves how much they want to share.
Encounter Groups Are Not Therapy Groups
Encounter groups are not therapy sessions. Participants don’t need to act like therapists, nor should they expect to receive therapy within the group.
Person-centred encounter groups differ from therapy groups in three important ways:
- The groups have vastly different aims. Therapy groups are set up to provide psychological healing, focussing on a specific issue. Encounter groups focus more on self-awareness and personal growth. There is no pre-defined focus or topic of conversation in an encounter group.
- Therapy groups are generally facilitated by a qualified psychologist. That named person has responsibility for the safety and conduct of the group. Our encounter groups have no such facilitation. No specific individual has responsibility for the safety and conduct of the group. All members share that responsibility equally.
- In therapy groups, the same group of individuals meets regularly for some weeks. Each session of our encounter group stands alone. Participants come and go, and there can be little or no continuity between sessions.
In Summary
There are many other types of encounter groups organised in diverse ways. Some might be more confrontational, while others might offer more diagnostic or treatment-based interventions. We hope the groups we offer will provide a safe space where people can explore their own experiences without psychological interpretation.
References
AACD (1970) Carl Rogers Conducts an Encounter Groups (1970) Parts 1 & 2. YouTube.
Rogers, C.R. (1970). Carl Rogers on encounter groups. New York. Harper Row.
Rogers, C.R. (1970). My way of facilitating a group. YouTube.
Rogers, C.R. (1971). My way of facilitating a group. The American Journal of Nursing. pp. 275-279.