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Groups, Gimmicks, And Instant Gurus: An Examination Of Encounter Groups And Their Distortions
Great vintage book!
181 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1972
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September 24, 2023
I found this a fascinating read, although it is a strangely unsatisfying book. Coulson worked with Carl Rogers for many years; and this book is his reflections on the Encounter Group and its various manifestations and distortions. Part of my fascination lies in knowing that later (years after this book was written) Coulson recanted, as it were, from Rogerian humanism; so this book is something of a staging post on his intellectual journey.
Reading it now, some 50 years after it was written, it is easy to look back and think how naive - indeed how crazy - some of the thinking was. For example:
"My group was pretty good, I thought. On a coffee break on the first day I bumped into Dick in the Hall and told him with pride: "Three people cried in my group this morning!"
"That's nothing," Dick said offhandedly. " I had a woman vomit in mine."
Nonetheless it is valuable to read this early account of a body of thinking and work that has enduring influence on how we conceive of and manage human relations and development. 'Rogerian' is still a gold-standard in many circles, despite Rogers' own reservations (and breakdwon) towards the end of his career, and the criticisms of people like Maslow (and indeed Coulson). And that is because Rogers really was onto something; but perhaps not quite what he thought he was on to: his practice, I suspect, was better than his theorising about it.
But coming back to Coulson, one of the things that is interesting as well as unsatisfying about this book is the lack of any coherent meaning.
Coulson is unsure, which is an honest place to be. And It leaves me asking a lot of questions, which is also valuable, if unsettling...
Reading it now, some 50 years after it was written, it is easy to look back and think how naive - indeed how crazy - some of the thinking was. For example:
"My group was pretty good, I thought. On a coffee break on the first day I bumped into Dick in the Hall and told him with pride: "Three people cried in my group this morning!"
"That's nothing," Dick said offhandedly. " I had a woman vomit in mine."
Nonetheless it is valuable to read this early account of a body of thinking and work that has enduring influence on how we conceive of and manage human relations and development. 'Rogerian' is still a gold-standard in many circles, despite Rogers' own reservations (and breakdwon) towards the end of his career, and the criticisms of people like Maslow (and indeed Coulson). And that is because Rogers really was onto something; but perhaps not quite what he thought he was on to: his practice, I suspect, was better than his theorising about it.
But coming back to Coulson, one of the things that is interesting as well as unsatisfying about this book is the lack of any coherent meaning.
Coulson is unsure, which is an honest place to be. And It leaves me asking a lot of questions, which is also valuable, if unsettling...
Displaying 1 of 1 review