The author shows that a clinical approach has existed in Western Europe, and in particular in France, since the beginning of sociology. This can be shown in the works of Tarde, Le Bon, Mauss, Simmel, Weber and the members of the College of Sociology of the Sacred (G. Bataille, R. Caillois, M. Leiris and others). The author then examines the characteristics of the main trends in contemporary clinical sociology and the basic principles which underlie it.
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