The Promise of Philosophy and the Landmark Forum by Steven R. McCarl, Steve Zaffron, Joyce McCarl Nielsen, Sally Lewis Kennedy :: SSRN [Skip to main content](#maincontent) ** ** [](#) [Download This Paper](Delivery.cfm/SSRN_ID278955_code170891.pdf?abstractid=278955&mirid=1) [Open PDF in Browser](Delivery.cfm/SSRN_ID278955_code170891.pdf?abstractid=278955&mirid=1&type=2) [**Add Paper to My Library](#) Share: * [**](#) * [**](#) * [**](#) * [**](#) Permalink Using these links will ensure access to this page indefinitely [Copy URL](#) [Copy DOI](#) # The Promise of Philosophy and the Landmark Forum [Contemporary Philosophy, Vol. XXIII, No. 1 & 2, Jan/Feb & Mar/Apr 2001](#) [Barbados Group Working Paper No. 01-01](#) 10 PagesPosted: 6 Aug 2001Last revised: 8 Jun 2008 [See all articles by Steven R. McCarl**](https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=279068)## [Steven R. McCarl](https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=279068) University of Denver - Political Science ## [Steve Zaffron](https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=279069) Landmark Worldwide LLC

Large-group awareness training Large-group awareness training (LGAT) is a type of personal development training claimed to increase self-awareness and facilitate constructive personal change. LGATs typically involve intensive group sessions, often lasting several consecutive days, with hundreds of participants led by facilitators. LGATs emerged from the encounter group and human potential movements of the 1960s and 1970s and include commercial self-improvement programs such as Erhard Seminars Training(EST), Landmark Forum, and Lifespring. Academic research has reached mixed conclusions regarding their effectiveness and psychological effects: some studies have reported positive outcomes, while others have raised concerns about psychological stress, adverse reactions, and the methods used in some programs. ## Definitions of LGAT In 2005 Rubinstein compared large-group awareness training to certain principles of cognitive therapy, such as the idea that people can change their lives by reinterpreting the way they view external circumstances. In the 1997 collection of essays Consumer Research: Postcards from the edge, discussing behavioral and economic studies, the authors contrast

Characteristics of participants in the Forum, psychotherapy clients, and control participants: A comparative study - Rubinstein - 2005 - Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice - Wiley Online Library Opens in a new windowOpens an external websiteOpens an external website in a new window Close this dialog This website utilizes technologies such as cookies to enable essential site functionality, as well as for analytics, personalization, and targeted advertising.To learn more, view the following link:[Privacy Policy](https://www.wiley.com/privacy) Close Cookie Preferences [](https://bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/) [](https://bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/) ** Search withinThis JournalBPS Psych Hub JournalsWiley Online Library * Search term [Advanced Search](https://bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/search/advanced?publication=20448341)[Citation Search](https://bpspsychub.onlinelib