As monolithic authority systems are increasingly challenged in the modern world, there is a growing demand from individuals to participate in shaping their own lives and the social milieu in which they find themselves. One response to this is the growth of the small group movement in areas such as sensitivity training, encounter groups. psychological and health self-help groups, therapeutic communities, social work groups and organization development. While impulse and spontaneity have provided much of the energy which developed the range of group-work methods available today, a knowledge of what has already been tried and why it does or does not work is essential to the coherent future development of this field. The essays in this book examine the question of what kinds of group work have been developed so far and how choices should be made as to their relative usefulness in different settings.