Abstract
There are many dimensions to the application of laboratory training in our work and in our personal lives. Many of the articles that have appeared in this journal have explored the improvement of individual skills and abilities in work roles. This article explores a deeply personal side of the application of laboratory training. It is a frequent occurrence that individuals have intense and moving experiences in laboratory T Groups composed of persons who have never met one another before and who have no reason to believe that their paths will cross again. There is also the persistent dilemma of learning how to build into the enduring and significant relationships of our lives the same elements of openness, honesty, closeness, and caring that emerge in the T Group.
This article-or perhaps what might better be described as an autobiographical essay-is published with the hope that it illustrates both the possibilities and the dilemmas of using the momentary laboratory training experiences as a springboard for enriching our more enduring relationships. Carl Rogers describes it this way:
I have learned that if I can be close to what's going on in me and can communicate that to the other person, it is very likely to strike some deep note in him and to advance our relationship.... One of the things I have gradually learned is that what is most private to me is also most universal.
The Editor
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