The term "encounter", in the context of existential-humanism (like
existential therapy
Existential psychotherapy is a form of psychotherapy based on the model of human nature and experience developed by the Existentialism, existential tradition of European philosophy. It focuses on concepts that are universally applicable to human ...
), has the specific meaning of an authentic,
congruent
Congruence may refer to:
Mathematics
* Congruence (geometry), being the same size and shape
* Congruence or congruence relation, in abstract algebra, an equivalence relation on an algebraic structure that is compatible with the structure
* In mod ...
meeting between individuals.
Examples
Some uses of the concept of encountering:
*
Jacob L. Moreno ''Invitations to an Encounter'', 1914
*
Martin Buber
Martin Buber ( he, מרטין בובר; german: Martin Buber; yi, מארטין בובער; February 8, 1878 –
June 13, 1965) was an Austrian Jewish and Israeli philosopher best known for his philosophy of dialogue, a form of existentialism c ...
frequently uses this term and associated ideas.
*
Irvin Yalom in his book "Existential Psychotherapy".
*
Carl Rogers
Carl Ransom Rogers (January 8, 1902 – February 4, 1987) was an American psychologist and among the founders of the humanistic approach (and client-centered approach) in psychology. Rogers is widely considered one of the founding fathers of ps ...
, in
encounter group
__NOTOC__
A T-group or training group (sometimes also referred to as sensitivity-training group, human relations training group or encounter group) is a form of group training where participants (typically between eight and fifteen people) learn a ...
s and
person-centered psychotherapy
Person-centered therapy, also known as person-centered psychotherapy, person-centered counseling, client-centered therapy and Rogerian psychotherapy, is a form of psychotherapy developed by psychologist Carl Rogers beginning in the 1940s and ex ...
.
*
Jerzy Grotowski
Jerzy Marian Grotowski (; 11 August 1933 – 14 January 1999) was a Polish theatre director and theorist whose innovative approaches to acting, training and theatrical production have significantly influenced theatre today.
He was born in Rzesz ...
's notion of a "poor theatre" – "The core of the theatre is an encounter".
*
R D Laing
Ronald David Laing (7 October 1927 – 23 August 1989), usually cited as R. D. Laing, was a Scottish psychiatrist who wrote extensively on mental illnessin particular, the experience of psychosis. Laing's views on the causes and treatment ...
contrasts encounter with
collusion
Collusion is a deceitful agreement or secret cooperation between two or more parties to limit open competition by deceiving, misleading or defrauding others of their legal right. Collusion is not always considered illegal. It can be used to att ...
in much of his work, especially ''
Self and Others
''Self and Others'' is a psychological study by R. D. Laing, first published in 1961. It was re-issued in a second edition (1969), which (in Laing's words) was “extensively revised, without being changed in any fundamental way”.
The book for ...
''.
Existentialist concepts
Existential therapy
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