TOWARD A PSYCHOSYNTHETIC APPROACH TO THE GROUP

"For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." —Matthew 18:20 What is it that distinguishes the psychosynthetic approach to group work from other kinds of approaches? This is the question which we have set in this paper-a question which it would be premature to attempt to answer in a definitive way, but toward which we can begin to make some preliminary probes, if only to stimulate discussion. Our tactic will be to analyze certain fundamental principles and premises of such a group rather than to concentrate on the description of specific techniques, though some of the latter will be referred to for purposes of illustration. Dr. Assagioli himself has never fully elaborated this aspect of psychosynthetic theory, though he has always been deeply interested in groups and in human interrelatedness. By temperament he is more inclined toward the quiet and meditative intimacy of the one-to-one relationship than toward work in a group setting. The historical fact that group psychotherapy and growth groups are primarily a North American phenomenon-still not widespread in Europe-is probably a further factor in his lack of emphasis on group methods. Assagioli's framework is, however, sufficiently open and comprehensive that one can at least begin to derive a point o