ABSTRACT
Group centered thinking has become an increasingly prominent force in group psychotherapy writings during the past few decades. Many group therapists nowadays agree that common group themes develop in relation to significant group events, such as the entry of a new member, departure of an old member, vacation interruptions, etc. Interactional theorists, like Aaron Stein, criticize group centered thinking, and especially technical approaches that emphasize interpretations to the group-as-a whole, on the grounds that it tends to diminish peer interaction. Their critique is based mainly upon their examination of the work of Wilfred Bion and Henry Ezriel, and their reservations about these writers seem quite valid since Bion's iatrogenic personal style and Ezriel's long silences combined with oracular interventions made from a position of high authority indeed lent themselves to a preoccupation with the leader.
