Balint Groups and Peer Supervision

Balint groups: an Australasian perspective for psychiatrists

“…Nowadays, Balint groups are used mainly for medical students, 4 for medical postgraduate trainees especially in general practice and psychiatry, and for practising GPs. 5 Since 2010, psychiatry training in the UK has mandated about a year’s experience in weekly case-based discussion groups which are generally run as Balint groups (pers. comm.…”

“…Johnston J). 6 They are used in some general practice training programs in the UK 5,7 and about half such programs in the USA. 8…”

“…Balint groups are unique, and it is difficult to get a sense of what they are like without experiencing them. Although they can be sampled in one-off or workshop experiences, the capacities achieved by participants essentially develop gradually over time, 5 and this needs to be considered when evaluating outcomes after brief Balint experiences.…”

“…Together with Balint’s classic book 2 I recommend the excellent overview of the history and nature of Balint groups together with a survey of research into Balint groups, in the two chapters by Jablonski et al in Sommers and Launer. 5,13…”