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Existential dialectics in therapeutic groups

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Abstract

The paper proposes that existential dialectics is one way of reaching clinically inaccessible material in group psychotherapy. Existential dialectics aims at fusing intra-personal, subjective reality with transubjective, social one, with the aid of face to face encounters with others. Its “techniques” include antithetical and synthetical questioning and attentive listening. The specific psycho-social dialetics outlined include participant-observation and the play of norms and counternorms. These dialectics are especially designed to help patients find meaning, reality, approval and feelings.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Hunter College of the City University of New York, USA

    Salomon Retting Ph.D. (Professor of Psychology)

  2. the Payne-Whitney Psychiatric Clinic, Department of Psychiatry, Cornell University Medical School, USA

    Salomon Retting Ph.D. (Professor of Psychology)

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  1. Salomon Retting Ph.D.
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Retting, S. Existential dialectics in therapeutic groups. Psych Quart 53, 33–52 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01065093

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