Introduction of Group Work

1. Introduction of Group Work SW112. Spring 2013 Week 2.

2. Group Work is Everywhere.Group work can be used in a wide variety of settings and has relevance for many disciplines

3. Why Groups Work? Efficiency Save time and effort Experience of Communality Sense of “universality” Greater Variety of Resources and Viewpoints More viewpoints, resources, opinions, and ideas Sense of Belonging Addresses our human need to belong Experience of being accepted Vicarious Learning Insight as a result of hearing the experiences of others

4. Skills Practice Provides a safe/supportive milieu for practicing new skills and behaviors Feedback Offers individuals opportunity to hear perceptions, viewpoints of others Often must consider feedback, especially if given back as a group Can be powerful when heard from someone who has “been there”

5. 3. Basic Premises of Group Practice • Individual development occurs through group development • Group process, or group development, transacts with this individual development • Group process has its own “therapeutic factors.” The essence of these factors is the mutual aid system that evolves in the empowered group

6. Primary needs in group process are interpersonal, related to the growth of autonomy(“I”) and interdependence (“WE”) in relation to the purpose and content (IT”) of the group • The practitioner can either facilitate or obstruct this process • The process needs Trust, Autonomy, Closeness and Interdependence among group members

7. Effective Group Work – Three dimensions of group dynamics • Communication • Cohesion • Group culture • “I – We –It” Triangle/Ecosystem approach IT WE I

8. Comparison of Task and Treatment groups (Table 1.2, p.15) • Treatment group: 5 primary purposes Table 1.3 A typology of treatment groups (p.22) • Support: fostering mutual aid • Education: learning new skills and information • Growth: stressing self-improvement • Therapy: focusing on remediation and rehabilitation • Socialization: “learning through doing” -social skills (e.g. assertiveness training group), governance groups in residential settings, and recreational • Task group: 3 primary purposes Table 1.4 A typology of task groups • Meeting client needs • Meeting organizational needs • Meeting community needs

9. 3. Values and Ethics • Group Values • Respecting the worth and dignity • Respecting a person’s autonomy • Facilitating a person’s participation in the helping process • Maintaining a nonjudgmental attitude • Ensuring equal treatment • Practice Ethics • Orientation and Informed consent • Confidentiality • Leader competence and training • Are we doing each of the ethical principles discussed in the chapter?

10. 4. Basic knowledge of group work • Three Models of Social Group Work: Table 2.1 (p.49) • Social goals model – YMCA, Girls/Boys Scout • Remedial model – therapy focused • Reciprocal model – support and self-help • Mainstream model: doing “with” • Helping members develop a system of mutual aid • Respecting group processes as powerful dynamics for change • Helping members become empowered • Helping members interdependency

11. 5. Influential Theories and therapeutic approaches • System theory • Bales- instrumental problems and socioemotional problems • Group as a whole that arise from the interaction of individual members • Psychodynamic theory • Object relations – transference/countertransference • Here-and-now approach: common irrational beliefs  restructuring thinking • Learning theory • Clear/specific goal, evaluation (measureable outcomes), reinforcement  behavioral modification: psycho-educational groups • Field theory • Human interactions are driven by both the people involved and their environment [B = f (P, E)] • Force-field analysis: group dynamic “cohesion” • Social exchange theory • Rewards and costs: Outcomes = the rewards (from a relationship) – the costs (the energy invested in a relationship)

12. What theories influence your social work practice? • If you develop your own theory for group practice, what would the theory be like?