encounter group

As part of the rapid social change of the late 1960s, idealists in rebellion against rat-race materialism joined communes and encounter groups.

Bell: I wear one in public whenever possible, in stores, office settings, if I encounter groups of people that I can’t distance myself from and during press conferences when I’m not speaking.

And when a scene requires more people than the cast can summon by itself — say, an encounter group — the performers enlist front-row audience members to fill in.

Back in the day, we used to do “encounter groups,” where people get together, share their experiences and reveal themselves.

They treat their community like an encounter group or Esalen workshop; often, they correspond with individual Hacker News readers over e-mail, coaching and encouraging them in long, heartfelt exchanges.