Restoring the Core of Clinical Practice: What is a Balint group and how does it help?

Human relationships and the desire to make a difference motivate people to go into health care professions. When those motivations get swamped by the requirements of practice, the ground is laid for burnout. Trainees may become less empathic or even develop rigid habits of self-protection instead of professionalism. Balint groups are one answer. They focus on practitioner-patient relationships, and restore empathy for both people, helping with self-care and care of others. Whether you think in terms of left-brain/right brain, convergent and divergent thinking, or fast thinking and slow, Balint groups restore what's missing. By describing Balint groups and their effects this volume provides a smart look at how crucial it is to practice with one's full mind and how to make room for that in the culture of health care.