In 1974, a psychotherapy patient at the Charité psychiatric hospital in East Berlin wrote to his therapists: 'I am not fully occupied, i.e., the activity does not satisfy me. However, I use my free time for conversations and pleasant talks with my fellow patients. In general, I do not like the laxity. The daily schedule is carried out much too casually. Many things would have to be organised more tightly.' 1 Another patient reported: 'Afternoon: Club afternoon (organised by us, worked out because there was a lot of laughter). Lots of good-looking therapists in the afternoon in the corridor! It's great that they showed themselves from a very natural side (no need for a supervisor's facial expression).' 2These excerpts are taken from medical records, in which patients documented their stay in a psychotherapeutic ward themselves. In the evening, these patients were expected to note what concerned them during the day. They handed over their writings via a postbox next to the therapists' office by the following day. The therapists read and stored the reports. Sometimes the addressees changed, suggesting monthly reading shifts. The writing practice was part of the therapeutic concept of what was termed dynamic group psychotherapy, which was introduced at the psychiatric hospital of the Charité in the early 1970s. The reports' therapeutic aim was to encourage patients' self-reflection and understanding of transference phenomena in the group. This therapeutic method was developed especially for the treatment of neurotic disorders and was one of