Group members find a mother image in the group itself rather than in an individual. The more integrated the group becomes, the more its members use it to correct wrong images of their mothers which they have projected onto society. The father, at first a transference figure, through therapy becomes an example of a more rational relationship to the world, an ego strengthening authority who permits growth until finally he appears on the same level as the members themselves. Clinical examples support the author's contention that empathy with and in a group is the principal therapeutic factor. Schindler comments on the great need for psychiatric help among 'the masses in communities challenged by economic, social and psychological pathology', and the difficulty of getting involved in treatment with a middle-class therapist.