T-groups

Began: 1947
Who: Bradford, Benne and Lippitt, after Kurt Lewin · Bethel, Maine
Connection to Circling: Not named as an influence in Circling’s histories

T-groups, 1947

Not named as an influence; the same moves only · Reveal and Impact.

Training groups that studied their own here-and-now process, begun at Bethel, Maine, in 1947. Circling’s histories don’t name them, though the Circling Guide likens Circling to them.

A full comparison with Circling isn’t written yet.

Moves it shares with Circling

Reveal · Learning centres on the here and now of the group. (Bradford, Gibb & Benne, 1964) The same move; no influence recorded.

Impact · Members give each other feedback on how each affects the others. (Bradford, Gibb & Benne, 1964) The same move; no influence recorded.

Grew out of

Kurt Lewin’s group dynamics; Lewin trained among the Gestalt psychologists in Berlin.

Circling’s histories don’t name them. Digges traces Authentic Relating’s roots to T-groups Susan Campbell led, which her own biography doesn’t mention; the Circling Guide likens Circling to them.