Objective. The article traces and analyzes the way of development of the method of socio-psychological training in Russia. Background. The author studies the prerequisites for the emergence of the method, its place in group psychological work, as well as the psychological principles of constructing the program proposed by the famous German psychologist Manfred Vorwerg (1933-1989). It outlines the basic psychological theories that underlie it, as well as the scope of application of the method, target audiences and stages of development over the 50 years of its existence.Results. The article analyzes the way the method has spread in its modifications in our country over 40 years of its application. Socio-psychological training is allocated to a separate category of interactive teaching methods in various fields of professional activity and education.Main conclusions. The vast accumulated experience of using the training in our country allows us to formulate the strengths of its methodology, as well as the existing obvious limitations, to outline the discussion points for its discussion in the professional community.