ABSTRACT
Freud considered the analyst the arbiter of truth. The therapeutic task was to reveal the repressed: "discover the unconscious material that was concealed from the patient, put it together, and, at the right moment, communicate it to him". The group therapist has the special role of managing truth: evaluating and responding to the truth needs of the various individuals and the group itself. Diplomacy is concerned with the uses and allocations of power, in establishing and maintaining relationships and alliances. Power needs to be shared; else there would never be a need to be diplomatic. In psychotherapy groups, diplomacy relates to the clinician as leader, exercising authority and power, in regard to the group structure, process, and culture. In the diplomatic mode, the therapist may situate certain truths and not others as primary or ideal. The interests and goals of the group may not be entirely congruent with those of some or even all of the constituencies.
