Dr. István Tiringer, a university lecturer at the Department of Behavioral Sciences at the University of Pécs Medical School, a psychiatrist and psychotherapist, and Dr. Andrea Veres, a general practitioner and teacher at the Department of Primary Care and a Bálint group leader, won support with their Well-being project to start a Bálint group at the medical faculty. The program is aimed at the staff of the Psychological Counseling Service, the faculty's clinician teachers, and upper-year medical students.
The Bálint group method was developed by Dr. Mihály Bálint, a physician and psychoanalyst who was a world-renowned representative of the Budapest School of Psychoanalysis. Its goal was the psychotherapeutic training of a group of general practitioners and the deepening of psychosomatic thinking, making him considered one of the founders of psychosomatic medicine. Today, the method is widely applied, aiding the improvement of the relationship between helper and client.
Dr. Tiringer and Dr. Veres have reported positive experiences with the effectiveness of the method, which not only aids in professional but also in personal self-awareness development. The essence of the method is case discussion, where helpers share their own experiences and difficulties, facilitating a better understanding and treatment of problems. The effectiveness of the Bálint groups is also supported by positive feedback from participants, highlighting the importance of the method in the helping professions.
The leaders added that even after the project concludes, they remain open to organizing Bálint groups because they wish to spread the method's effectiveness as widely as possible and inform as many helpers as possible.
Photo:
Dávid VERÉBI