A Model for Social Work with Involuntary Applicants in Groups

Labeled "hard-to-reach," "resistant," or "unmotivated," involuntary applicants are referred to social workers by coercion and for reasons not of their own choosing (Goldstein, 1986). Although the number of involuntary applicants has been growing in recent years (Cingolani, 1984; Murdach, 1980), the literature reflects only limited attention to working with them. In spite of the special potential of the social work group for helping such applicants, scarcity of knowledge in this area is striking. This limited attention is curious in a society that values democracy and individual freedom (Harris and Watkins, 1987:16). It is particularly serious for social work because of the profession's special concern for clients' self-determination. It has contributed to social workers' frustration and their loss of credibility in working with involuntary applicants. This paper proposes a general model for social work with involuntary applicants in groups. The paper includes a discussion of the problem and issues, a theoretical perspective, several principles for practice, and application of the perspective and principles to social work with groups.     

Promoting Individual and Social Changes: A Hybrid Model of Social Work with Groups

Taking as a starting point two influential, yet different approaches in group work, that is, the self-directed group work and mutual aid models, this article examines a possible alternative for conducting social work with groups. Drawing from structuration theory, which makes a strong dialectical relation between agency and structure possible, this article highlights how our alternative model could lead to a greater integration of the micro- and macrodimensions in group-work practice. The Discussion section proposes three key principles for group work, namely, a belief in people’s strengths and capacities, a focus on critical thinking, and a concern for the development of a democratic culture in groups. These principles are conveyed through the group worker’s roles as consciousness raiser and process facilitator and provide a flexible and participatory process that can be used with a broad range of service-user groups. The article concludes with a discussion on the strengths and limitations of the model.     

Some Conditions for Effective Work with Groups

Summary The principal point being made in this article is that a groupleader or therapist, by his own decisions and actions, can substantiallyinfluence (though not absolutely control) the likelihood ofthe group's success and effectiveness. Some facilitating decisionscan be made and some activities undertaken before a group begins.These include deciding whether or not to conduct a group ina particular setting; exploring the attitudes of one's colleagues;conducting preparatory discussions with potential group members;deciding how many staff will be present; deciding at what intervalsto introduce new members; etc. Other decisions cannot be made,or actions taken, until after the group is under way; or theymust be undertaken after the group has started because theywere overlooked beforehand. These include helping a group toestablish a consensus by encouraging the expression of expectations,reservations, and underlying concerns; reassessing a group whichseems to have gone stale; initiating discussions with colleagueswhen covert resistances on their part become apparent. The four issues discussed here set the stage and constitutethe context for the group's work. Appropriate attention to them,and management of them, will facilitate but not guarantee thegroup's success. Many further situations arise in the courseof the group's life which may alter its character and course. Nevertheless, many groups which provide a disappointing experiencefor both group members and leaders could be retrieved if theseissues were kept in mind. To summarize: A group is more likely to be successful if it is conducted inan organizational or institutional context in which other personnel,not directly involved with the group, nevertheless accept andsupport its aims and general procedures, and value its potentialcontribution to the shared goals of the organization or institution. A group is more likely to be effective if a consensus—whichmay be implicit—can be established within the group aboutits aims and procedures. Lack of clarity, persistent splitswithin the group, or identification of the leader as adversary,all work against the best interests of the group. Structuralfactors such as size, duration, composition, constancy of membership,and ratio of staff to members, influence the character and effectivenessof the group. A group which has lost its usefulness can and should be terminatedor reconstituted with a different mandate     

Ethical Decision Making in Social Work with Groups

This paper reports on a study of decision-making among group work practitioneers in group situations where ethical dilemmas exist and choices must be made between two or more contradictory alternatives. The study investigated the bases upon which social workers with groups make ethical decisions and the actions they select when confronted by contradictory choices. Results indicated that practice wisdom is the primary basis for ethical decision-making by social workers with groups.     

History of the Standards for Social Work Practice with Groups: A Partial View

This article provides a historical and first-person narrative about the development of the IASWG Standards for Social Work with Groups by someone intimately involved in their germination and development. Beginning with review of early roots of standards for social work with groups, this article presents a journey through the formation of the Committee for the Advancement of Social Work with Groups in 1979, framing ideas that found their way into the first edition of the AASWG Standards of 1998, and the process of developing the second, current edition. It provides a rare look into how a professional organization struggled to create a seminal document.     

学校社会工作：一种专业的高校学生工作模式

学校社会工作是专业化的社会工作服务，若将其工作理念、原则、方法运用到高校学生工作中，可以有效促进大学生的成长，并且使传统学生工作系统实现突破。     

Social Work Practice with Groups in the Church Context

No abstract available for this article.     

Training for Empirical Group Work

Empirical group work practice utilizes systematic and ongoing collection of data as means of making decisions and evaluating short and long term shifts in individual and group phenonema. Guidelines for practical and theoretical learning and supervision are presented.     

The Use of IASWG Standards for Social Work Practice with Groups in Supervision of Group Work Practitioners

This article describes a model for supervision for practicing group leaders. The content and process of the model is participant driven, with the International Association for Social Work with Groups Standards for Social Work Practice with Groups used as a core element to guide development of the model as well as the support offered by the supervisor and participants.     

Resistance and Work in Adolescent Groups

This paper examines the nature and function of resistance in adolescent groups and suggests that resistance can be better understood in the context of (a) stages of group development, and (b) work/resistance cycles which are the central mechanism of tension regulation in the group.     

A Social Group Work Model for Latency-Aged Children

No abstract available for this article.     

A Different Kind of Holding Environment: A Case Study of Group Work with Pediatric Staff

ABSTRACT

This paper reports a nearly two-year intervention with staff at a major urban pediatric facility. The authors worked as trainers and consultants for two groups–the Emergency Department (ED) and Chronic Care units (CC). Following two days of training about grief and loss, highlighting skill building for work with traumatized and grieving children and parents, the consultants worked to develop teams which could provide a Winnicottian holding environment for staff. The efficacy of this staff training is analyzed and support needs of staff members are identified. Findings include varied willingness to make use of group support. Chronic care participants are more likely to express willingness to engage in on-going support for one another, while ED staff members seem to prefer structured, educational training and episodic support. The holding environment of the processing groups must be adapted to fit the needs of the medical sub-culture.     

Selecting Students for Social Work Training

Summary Research into the interview as an instrument of selection isconsidered and its use in relation to selection for social worktraining examined. An account is given of a research projectundertaken to compare selection decisions made on the basisof written applications with those reached after additionalinterviews. It was found that in the majority of cases the additionalinformation from interviews did not materially affect the decisionsmade. The implications of these findings are discussed     

The Professional Standing of Work with Elderly Persons among Social Work Trainees

Correspondence to Dr Howard Litwin, Paul Baerwald School of Social Work, The Hebrew University, Mount Scopus, 91905, Jerusalem, Israel. Summary A random sample of 93 students of social work in Israel werequeried regarding their perception of the professional standingof work with older people. The general ranking given by traineesto this field of practice was moderate to low. Relatively positiveevaluation of the status of gerontological practice, however,was found to be explained by: (1) a traditional view of therole of the elder in society; (2) the perception that peersattribute prestige to such work; and (3) having had a fieldpracticum in the area of ageing; and was inversely related tounderstanding of work with elderly persons as mainly indirectintervention. The implications of these findings for the promotionof social work practice with elderly people in an ageing societyare discussed.     

Differential Models of Social Work Groups with Family Violence

This paper examines the research literature on multiple forms of family violence and proposes three social work group models to apply to this widespread phenomenon. The models proposed are group work with wife abusers, groups of reciprocated violent marital dyads and multiple violent family unit groups. The theoretical approach of each model is discussed as well as group composition, goals, tasks, structure, relational-interactional systems, worker role and means of service delivery. Important problems in group development of each model are identified and suggestions for worker intervention are outlined.     

Evaluating Social Work and Medical Practice with Black and Ethnic Minority Groups Using the Clinical Audit Model

Correspondence to Kish Bhatti-Sinclair, Department of Social Work Studies, University of Southampton, Highfield, Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK. Summary This paper is based on the External Audit-Ethnically SensitivePractice (EA-ESP) project which was undertaken within six primaryand secondary health care settings. This project is used asan example of how the clinical audit model can be used to monitorand review health and social work practice in the UK. The paperexamines quality, compares approaches to evaluation, and suggeststhat audit can be a useful tool for agencies in obtaining userand staff views on many areas of practice but in particularon equal opportunities, anti-racism and anti-oppression. Attentionis drawn to audit within broader evaluative and review approachesalready employed by social work academics and practitioners.The issue of quality and how it can be measured is consideredthrough an analytical comparison with approaches which employaction research and other evaluative means in the process ofreview. Audit is explored in the context of a growing need for the developmentof monitoring and review systems which provide evidence to supportand develop professionalism within social work. External auditis explored and compared to internal audit. Finally, the needfor the development of quality services in anti-racist and anti-oppressivework is highlighted and it is suggested that audit can be acost-effective and efficient way of achieving this.