Introducing diversity to Balint Groups: Leadership challenges

In an effort to more fully integrate Michael Balint's vision of Patient Centered Medicine with the explosive emergence in the United States of issues of diversity and social determinants of health, the American Balint Society has placed a high priority to develop an explicit initiative designed to emphasize the importance of diversity issues in patient care. This initiative began with the discernment of a policy statement and has continued with interactive exercises at National meetings, first designed to create an understanding of the impact of marginalization and next to explore the responsibility and options for Balint Group leaders to guide their groups in considering the impact of diversity in the challenging doctor-patient relationships frequently presented to their groups. This article is a description of such an effort, including results and discussion of continued development of Balint Group leadership.