A Balint group is a group of clinicians who meet regularly in a leader-facilitated group to present and discuss clinical cases in order to better understand and utilize the clinician-patient relationship in a therapeutic, professional way .

Balint Groups currently serve as a core training modality for professionalism, and are used in training programs in medical, psychological, and caring professions.

Balint groups help clinicians:
  • Recognize they are not alone in having challenging interactions with patients
  • Develop increased understanding and empathy for patients
  • Explore how feelings and thoughts affect the clinician-patient relationship
  • Expand their capacity and repertoire for handling difficult situations with patients
Our Society's Mission and History...

Podcast of interest!
Cortney Haynes, MD, a third year resident at the Brown Family Medicine Residency, is serving as the ABS resident fellow for 2012-2013.

As a medical student, she created an audio podcast about patient-doctor communication. Through sharing stories about communication, the podcast attempts to focus on the patient-doctor encounter as a relationship and encourage empathy. It was intended for rising third year medical students entering clinical training but is relevant for healthcare providers at any stage of their career. You can listen at: http://icortney.podbean.com

Read our 2011 Annual President's Report.


Purchase a copy of the Proceedings of the 17th International Balint Congress in Philadelphia for $20 plus shipping.








Please use the links to the left to explore and learn more about our Society!

Our current upcoming events:

Pittsburgh Balint Leadership Training Intensive - November 8-11, 2012

Santa Rosa Balint Leadership Training Intensive - March 21-24, 2013




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