Training groups · Encounter groups · Here & now
A facilitated practice of relating in the here-and-now.
Build community, deepen self-awareness, and learn to connect with more honesty and ease — in person in San Francisco or online across California.
As Featured In
T for trainingTraining group lineage
Encounter rootsAuthentic contact in community
Here & nowPresence over performance
SF & onlineIntimate circles · wider community
What is a T-Group?
Before apps and endless scroll, there was a living laboratory for human connection. T-Group is that laboratory — still.
T-Group stands for training group. It grew out of Kurt Lewin’s work in the mid-20th century: people learning about themselves and groups by studying what happens between them in real time — not only by reading about relationships afterward.
T-Groups sit in the same family as encounter groups — spaces built for honest contact, feedback, and presence. The spirit is simple and rare: meet each other as you are, notice what arises, and stay with it together.
Training groups and encounter groups became a major force in psychology, education, and organizational life — a movement that treated relating as something you can practice, not only endure. That lineage still shapes how we understand group dynamics and interpersonal growth today.
Interpersonal mindfulness
Most mindfulness is solitary. T-Group is interpersonal mindfulness: awareness practiced inside relationship. You notice your body, feelings, and impulses while you are actually with others — and you get to see how those moments land in the room.
In a supportive circle at Bay Area CBT Center, you explore the patterns that guide your relationships and try new ways of being seen, heard, and connected — with a facilitator who keeps the field present and kind.
Why this still matters
Kurt Lewin’s training groups treated the group itself as the curriculum. Participants studied status, belonging, leadership, feedback, and conflict as they unfolded — a radical idea that helped launch modern group dynamics.
Later, encounter groups carried that hunger for authentic contact into a wider cultural wave: people gathering to practice honesty, presence, and mutual recognition. The formats evolved. The need did not.
Today’s T-Group at Bay Area CBT Center keeps that living tradition close — integrating mindfulness-based therapy tools and a here-and-now focus so insight becomes something you can feel in your body and relationships, not only understand intellectually.
What happens in the circle
T-Groups offer a journey of self-discovery that can change how you show up in every relationship. You develop a clearer sense of yourself and others, learn to communicate more authentically, and practice navigating status, power, belonging, and care with more skill.
You notice habitual patterns of relating and gently experiment with alternatives — a laboratory for growth, and a community where belonging and honesty can grow side by side.
Our approach
Our format draws on approaches used at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and integrates tools from mindfulness-based therapies. Participants learn to understand group dynamics, stay self-aware, and work skillfully with emotion as it arises.
We cultivate authentic encounters inspired by Martin Buber’s I-Thou relationship — presence, transparency, and mutual recognition — so a deeper connection (“the between”) can emerge in the room or on screen.
What you will learn
Skills you can carry into friendships, partnerships, work, and community — whether you join a small intimate circle or a larger online group.
Receive real-time feedback on how you impact others and see yourself more clearly — with transparency, authenticity, and vulnerability.
Practice "I statements" to express thoughts and feelings without blame. Own your emotions and perceptions with clarity.
Observe yourself in relation to the collective. Notice how thoughts, emotions, and behaviors interact and affect others.
Stay present during interactions. Discuss what is happening in the room — feelings, dynamics, and responses as they unfold.
Name your internal experience — feelings, sensations, and urges — so emotional intelligence and empathy can grow.
Explore the narratives you build around experience and the needs underneath — for deeper self-understanding.
In person & online
Join us in person in San Francisco for a grounded, intimate circle — or online for the same interpersonal mindfulness practice from home. Both formats prioritize safety, confidentiality, and a facilitator who keeps the group present and kind.
Closeness and depth when you want a more contained, personal practice of relating.
A wider community of practice — still guided, still here-and-now, still focused on how we meet one another.
Personal growth
A journey of self-discovery, interpersonal growth, and belonging — a place to practice being human together.
Explore schemas — core beliefs that shape relationships — by observing how you show up in the group.
Become attuned to moments that spark strong emotion, and practice responding with more choice.
Reflect on whether your relating matches who you want to be — then practice closing the gap.
Use the circle as a safe lab to try new ways of expressing yourself and connecting with others.
What people often find
Deepen self-awareness and build authentic connection in a living community where you can challenge limiting beliefs and practice new ways of relating.
Experiential learning
You observe your own behavior and others' in a facilitated group — living practice that offers insight into communication, social interaction, and true community.
Express feelings and sensations in the here-and-now. The focus stays on immediate experience — not free-floating thoughts.
Brief stories are welcome, then we return to present feelings and sensations so insight stays embodied.
Name underlying needs and desires. Deepen self-awareness inside the living group dynamic.
Our publications
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy in the Bay Area — you could say we wrote the books on it.
Whether you prefer a small in-person circle or a larger online community of practice, T-Group offers interpersonal mindfulness, authentic feedback, and the feeling of belonging.
