ABSTRACT
Writers on delinquency began to publish case-histories describing the story behind the crime, the home with its drunken or brutal parents, the poverty, the lack of possessions, and the absence of attractive recreational opportunities. Character-formation was attributed to the experiences of the first two to five years; and reformation was expected only from a return to childish relationships through the re-education offered in the seclusion of a psychoanalyst's consulting room. Meanwhile from psychological studies of morale in industry or the armed forces, from remedial procedures in educational and Child Guidance Clinics, and from inquiries into the relationships of pupils and teachers at all levels of school life, there had come an admission of the human need to participate in the affairs of some intimate and friendly group. Echoes of the therapeutic message of the Bible and of the organized mission of the Christian churches are to be heard in those developments of group therapy.
