Encounter: Group Processes for Interpersonal Growth

Gerard Egan is a professor of organization, development and psychology and is also an author of over 15 books. "The Skilled Helper", which is currently the most widely used counseling text worldwide, is a good example of the many books he has written, some being in the field of counseling, such as this one. Mr. Egan has explored areas of interpersonal interactions based on the premise that people act in accordance with their perception of a given situation. While behaviour is obvious, a person's thoughts and feelings are masked. This gives rise to the idea that the most common problems between people are based on the assumption that we can guess what the other person is feeling and thinking. Mr. Egan offers methods, within this scope, for effective communications. This includes: reflective listening, assertion skills, conflict resolution etc. This area of psychology is called perceptual psychology which is a branch of cognitive psychology dealing with mental processes that we use in everyday living. Any time you problems-solve, make a decision, make a memory or reflect on one you are using an example of perceptual psychology. Perceptual psychology is often used in therapy to help a patient better their problem-solving skills. This book is about a small group experience that has many names- a basic encounter group, a laboratory in interpersonal relations, sensitivity training, or an interpersonal growth oriented T-group. This book describes the goals and kinds of interaction that constitute the backbone of this kind of experience. The emphasis here is not on counseling and therapy groups, but most of what is said applies also to these groups. The purpose of this study was to get at the "whys" behind the interactions that constitute encounter-group experiences and to suggest the kinds of individual and group action that are most likely to make the group experience as interpersonally growthful as possible. The book includes references and an index.