Elements of Encounter: a Body-Mind Approach

132 Pages·1973·7.731 MB·English

by  Will Schutz

WILLMM 9CHUTZ
C.
JOY
author of
ELEMENTS
OF
ENCOUNTER
A?nOACH
DODYMiriD
^

The depth of the controversy that has swirled around
encounter for the past several years is indicated by these two
statements:
"The encounter group is perhaps the most important
social invention of this century." —Carl Rogers
"The artificial, the shoddy, and the absurd."
—Time Magazine
Will Schutz's credentials for clarifying this controversy are
impressive:
His first book, FIRO, which presented a theory of
interpersonal behavior, was called "a magnificent and
exciting job of quantifying the (almost) unquantifiable."
(Ardie Lubin, Ph.D., Research Psychologist, U.S. Navy)
His next book, JOY, which has sold over half a million
copies, helped to launch and to popularize the encounter
movement. Its impact was foreseen by Jerome Frank, M.D.,
Professor of Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins. "It should help all
psychotherapists to break out of the strait jacket of purely
verbal approaches."
In HERE COMES EVERYBODY Schutz began to expand
encounter to incorporate the human body and the culture.
"Clearly Schutz's best book ... As usual he is ten years
ahead of the other professionals." (Warren Bennis, Ph.D.,
President, University of Cincinnati.)
Will Schutz is one of the most respected encounter group
leaders in the world. Writing with the clear, direct style that
makes his earlier books popular, in ELEMENTS OF
ENCOUNTER
he brings his theoretical, experimental, and
experiential work to fruition.

ELEMENTS;
OF
ENCOUNTER
WILLIAM SCHUTZ
C.
^.
press
BIG SUR CALIFORNIA 93920
©
Copyright 1973 by Joy Press, Big Sur, California
All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced in any form, or by any means, without permission in
writingfromthepublisher.
Standard Book Number 0-913662-01-1
Library of Congress Card Number 73-77889
Printed in U.S.A.
Third Printing
Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2010
http://www.archive.org/details/elementsofencounOOschu

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
1
A Note on Style 2
DEFINITION OF ENCOUNTER 3
HISTORY OF ENCOUNTER 4
Precursors 4
Beginnings 7
Group Psychotherapy 7
T-Groups 7
Group Dynamics 9
Psychodrama 9
Gestalt Therapy 9
Body Methods 9
Theater and Dance 10
Current Status 12
Training 12
Publications 14
Literary Movement 14
PRINCIPLES OF ENCOUNTER 16
Unity of the Organism 16
Honesty 16
Awareness 17
Free Choice 18
Responsibility 18
Naturalness 19
Way of Life 19
Other Systems 20
PHYSIOLOGICAL BASIS OF ENCOUNTER 22
Physical Trauma 23
Emotional Trauma 24
Limited Use 25
Feldenkrais Exercise 27
Expression of Emotions 28
Unity of the Organism 29
Motor Aspects 29
Suppression 30
Energy Cycles 32
Body Interpretation 34
Summary 37
PSYCHOLOGICAL BASIS OF ENCOUNTER 38
Inclusion 38
Control 41
Affection 44
Psychoanalytic Theorists 46
l-Nature 47
l-Thou 48
Summary-Table 50
THEORY OF GROUP DEVELOPMENT 51
Inclusion Phase 51
Inclusion-Leader 53
Inclusion-Member 53
Control Phase 53
Control-Leader 53
Control-Member 54
Affection Phase 54
Affection-Leader 55
Affection-Member 55
Separation 56
Summary -; 58
THE ENCOUNTER GROUP 59
Rules of Encounter 61
The Encounter Group Leader 69
Leader Technique: Follow the Energy 72
Case Example 79
EVALUATION OF ENCOUNTER 86
APPLICATIONS OF ENCOUNTER 90
Psychotherapy 90
Industry 92
Theater 93
Education 93
Childbirth and Parent-Child Relations 94
Religion 95
Society 97
Daily Life 99