Abstract
Michael Balint was a physician/psychoanalyst who trained in Hungary and emigrated to England in 1939 when Nazi Germany began to dominate Europe. At the Tavistock Clinic, he and his wife met with social workers and physicians around “case discussion seminars.” With his strong interest in medicine and his curiosity about the patient-physician relationship, he initiated research/training groups with interested physicians, which ultimately led to publication of the now-classic The Doctor, His Patient, and the Illness, a rich text that has become a virtual staple of family practice residencies, along with “Balint Groups” for training. Balint refrained from considering his groups “psychotherapy” in order to minimize resistance of his physician-students. But because the groups lasted sometimes for years and explored transference and countertransference in patient-physician relationships, he acknowledged that the result was personal growth of the participants. His techniques are described and an example of a Balint Group (“Boston Group”) are presented here.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Balint, E. (1994). Address to 17th Annual General Meeting of Balint Society, Ascona, Switzerland June 30, 1987. Journal of the Balint Society 22: 6-7.
Balint, M. (1926). On the psychotherapies for the general practitioner. Terapia (Budapest). No. 5.
Balint, M. (1926). Psychotherapy and psychogenesis of physical symptoms. Gyogyaszat 66: 310.
Balint, M. (1926). Psychoanalysis and clinical medicine. Zeitschrift fur Klinische Medizen 103: 628.
Balint, M. (1930). Crisis of medicine. Gyogyazsat 70.
Balint, M. (1952). Primary love and psycho-analytic technique. New York: Liveright Publications.
Balint, M. (1954). Training general practitioners in psychotherapy. British Journal of Medical Psychology 27: 37-41.
Balint, M. (1957). The doctor, his patient and the illness. New York: International University Press.
Balint, M. (1966). Psycho-analysis and medical practice. International Journal of Psycho-Analysis 47:54.
Balint, M. (1968). The Basic Fault. London: Tavistock Publications, 1968
Balint, M. (1970). Repeat prescription patients: Are they an identifiable group? Psychiatry in Medicine 1: 3-14.
Balint, M, Balint, E, Gosling, R, and Hildebrand P. (1966) A study of doctors. London: J.B. Lippincott.
Balint, M., Hunt, J., Joyce, D., Marshall, M., and Woodcock, J. (1970). Treatment or diagnosis: A study of repeat prescriptions in general practice. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott.
Freud, S. (1895). The psychotherapy of hysteria. In J. Strachey (Ed.) The standard edition of the complete psychological works of Sigmund Freud, Vol. 2, pp. 255-305. London: Hogarth Press, 1955.
Hopkins, P. (1972). Patient-centred medicine. London: Regional Doctor Publications Ltd.
Journal of the Balint Society (1971). 1:1.
Journal of the Balint Society (1994). 22.
Khan, M. (1969). On the clinical provision of frustrations, recognitions and failures in the analytic situation: an essay on Dr Michael Balint's researches on the theory of psychoanalytic technique. International Journal of Psycho-Analysis 50: 237-248.
Lipkin, M., Jr., and Putnam, S. (1980). On the teaching of interviewing: A report of a workshop. New York: Society for Research and Education in Primary Care Internal Medicine.
Rachman, A.W. (1997). Sándor Ferenczi: The psychotherapist of tenderness and passion. New York: Jason Aronson.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Lipsitt, D.R. Michael Balint's Group Approach: The Boston Balint Group. Group 23, 187–201 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1023028121072
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1023028121072