The Ebony Project- Bicultural Group Work with Transracial Foster Parents

The project encompassed groups for black children in white foster homes and also a group for the white carers, which forms the main topic of this paper. The group aimed to assist the carers to consider what special needs their foster children had, as well as challenging their understanding of the impact of racism in society and of their own assumptions. The ethnicity of group workers, the consultant and of other agency staff were all highly relevant to the success of the group and to the particular difficulties it encountered. The bicultural worker team was especially valuable in confronting the defensive attitudes which prevailed amongst group members. The Ebony project demonstrates the potential for innovative group work practitioners to redress the failings of a past era when ethnicity was frequently simply ignored and when the needs of service users were consequently not appropriately met.     

Parents Beyond Oceans: A Social Group Work Curriculum for Chinese Immigrant Parents

ABSTRACT

Parents Beyond Oceans is a unique curriculum that was first implemented in 2011 as part of The Center for Family Life’s efforts to work with Chinese immigrant parents in Brooklyn, New York. Drawing on best practices in social group work and culturally competent social work, the curriculum creates a space where parents can share and process their immigration stories and traumas. Pre- and posttesting show that after participating in the program, parents felt less isolated, more a part of community that treated them like equals, and more accepting of cultural differences in parenting practices.     

Permanency Planning: New Name for an Old Concept

In this article the author examines the concept of permanency planning, and the development of that concept in child welfare practice in Australia and overseas. The Paper examines the philosophical and ethical dilemmas associated with the concept, given the often-competing rights of parent and child.     

Parents Beyond Borders: A Social Group Work Curriculum for Supporting Immigrant Parents and Building Solidarity

Parents Beyond Borders, a curriculum first implemented in 2008 as part of The Center for Family Life's ParentShip Program, encourages group members to create a shared narrative about their traumatic immigration experiences. The result is twofold. First, immigrant parents gain a more assertive and poignant voice to communicate with family and others in their lives when sharing their family's acculturation experience. Second, because social group work promotes recognition of collective trauma due to the community's experience of marginalization, it improves members' group self-concept and empowers them to take action and advocate for themselves.     

精神病患陪护小组工作的本土化探索

随着中国社会的急剧变迁,精神疾病已经在全国疾病总负担中占据第一位。在精神疾病治疗和服务供求关系严重失衡的情况下,中国政府倡导了以家庭为依托、以社区和医院为支持系统的精神康复模式,精神病患家属在其中起着至关重要的作用。因此,研究和探索本土化的精神病患陪护小组工作成为迫切的任务。本文通过小组成员问题描述,分析他们的需要,以情感表达理论为分析框架,设计了小组的介入策略与工作内容,透过小组评估,检验了小组效率。最后,通过小组过程反思探索了精神病患陪护小组的本土化。     

Group Work with Families

Family practice is a special case of social work with groups. This practice especially requires an ethnic and multicultural perspective. Such a framework is presented in this paper with focus on group work with families in Singapore. Singapore is an economically developed East Asian nation populated predominately by three ethnic groups: Chinese, Malay, and Indian. These groups have experienced a wider culture in transition, affecting their family group culture. Through use of the sensitizing conceptual frameworks of family cultural reality and value orientation theory, this paper presents a multicultural perspective and applies it to group work with families in Singapore. The framework used is deemed applicable to practice with the family and other small groups in similar multicultural contexts wherein members experience the effects of swift social change.     

Single Parents and Paid Work

Radical social changes in household formation over the past three decades have given rise to the single parent family. In spite of the level of public assistance, which is among the most generous in the OECD, research has shown that single parents (usually mothers) are among the most impoverished members of society. Recent legislation is moving toward mandating single parents off public assistance and into paid work in order for them to achieve more sustainable futures. In this paper we argue that this strategy is unlikely to succeed unless the particular needs of single parents are understood and addressed within a broader debate concerning women, care, and paid work. Family‐friendly workplace practices, more extensive publicly funded childcare, and better opportunities for lifelong learning are some of the changes that are urgently needed to assist not only single parents but all who try to combine the dual roles of working and caring.     

Group Work with Hard-to-Reach Adolescents

Treatment of the adolescent population, especially delinquent and predelinquent youth, has been a difficult challenge in the mental health field. Traditional treatment modalities not suited to unmotivated, verbally unsophisticated teenagers have generally bypassed them. We describe here the adaptation of streetwork and therapeutic activity group practice to this population. Focus is on the flexible use of member initiated program selection as a dynamic group work tool.     

Social Group Work with Elders

No abstract available for this article.     

Group Work with Low-Income Black Youths

Low-income Black youths face problems which negatively impact on their self-concepts and educational achievement. Without an education, the opportunities for social mobility for them are severely decreased. The small group is suggested as a medium of intervention in the public schools by which large numbers of low-income Black youths can be reached and assisted with problems which interfere with their cducation. This paper discusses group work with this population, the theoretical framework utilized, and the applicability of some of the insights gained from working with this population to group work wilh Blacks in general.     

Group Work with Black Adoptive Applicants

The variety of uses of groups in the field of adoptions is traced historically and the group process is presented as an effective approach to studying prospective adoptive families. A case study of a culturally specific group of prospective black adoptive applicants is described and analyzed. Special emphasis is placed on the unique skills and knowledge needed by adoption workers in establishing trust and relationships with groups of black families who are interested in adopting.     

Group Work Practice with American Indians

This paper discusses ways in which social group work can be implemented in behalf of American Indian clientele. Social workers should be aware of the value that American Indians have placed on the use of groups within their own culture, and the importance of understanding the impact of American Indian culture on each individual Amcrican Indian client and tribal group. A number of current issues facing American Indian people are identified. Suggestions are offered for consideration in planning specific group experiences.     

Group Work with the Deinstitutionalized Elderly

Two series of group sessions were conducted with elderly residents of a group home for deinstitutionalized mental hospital residents. Entitled, "Improving Communication Skills," the sessions were designed to enhance the residents' verbal and non-verbal communication skills and to lay the foundation for greater interpersonal contacts. An evaluation of this pilot program suggests that it did, in fact, help participants improve their interpersonal skills. The paper concludes with suggestions for the establishment of similar groups.     

Group Work Practice with Asian Clients

While considerable interest has been given to the social work with Asian-Americans, little attention has been paid to the Asian group work practice. This article suggests a sociocultural approach in working with Asian groups, including a knowledge of the sociocultural heritage of the Asian clients, the proper respect for the members of the family on group process, and the group worker's, awareness of the significance of role expectation and its meaning for clients. In dealing with these sociocultural aspects, the social worker's role in Asian group treatment is that of a culture broker and enabler.     

Exploring Group Dynamics in Activity-Based Group Work with Young People Experiencing Homelessness

This article explores the development of group dynamics in an activity-based group comprising four young people experiencing homelessness and one group facilitator. Over the course of 12 sessions, the group produced a coconstructed audio documentary. Nine group sessions were recorded, transcribed, coded, and analyzed for patterns of group dynamics, including communication and interaction patterns, cohesion, social integration and influence, and culture. Findings suggest that the task-oriented nature of coproducing the audio documentary facilitated the development of interpersonal dynamics, provided young people with opportunities for personal growth, and provided them with opportunities to engage their strengths as well.     

Group Work with Inner City Persons with AIDS

A model for serving inner city poor persons with AIDS through a medical facility is described. The mixed factors of ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, race and modes of transmission are examined as influences on the group process. Objectives, pre-group planning, formation guidelines, and presenting problems of members are identified. Through case illustrations group issues are used to point out interventive strategies. Because of the shifting demographics of people with AIDS and their families, the group modality provides a vital educative and supportive vehicle to highly disadvantaged persons affected by the disease.     

Multi-Family Group Work

A comprehensive review of the literature on dropout revealed 37 studies involving group treatment. Although these studies represent less than 10% of the work done on premature termination, the problem of dropout is just as prevalent in group work as it is in any other form of treatment. The purpose of this paper is to (1) review the empirical evidence on group treatment dropout, (2) suggest directions for future research, and (3) set forth guidelines which may help practitioners decrease the likelihood of dropout.     

Group Work with First Episode Schizophrenia Clients

ABSTRACT

Group work with first episode schizophrenia clients is an effective way of improving ego functioning, building adaptive coping skills, and addressing the painful feelings associated with learning of this diagnosis. First episode schizophrenia clients are typically in their late teens to late twenties, and confront the cognitive disability, the stigma and the loss of social roles and statuses at a developmentally difficult stage of emotional growth. The dynamic processes by which cohesive groups reduce isolation, build self-esteem, and provide peer support are illustrated with case material. The group work consists of integrating psychoeducation with clients' concerns in order to provide optimal adjustment to the disease. The groups described in this article are structured within a continuing care team treatment model in a medical facility, but the group work discussed may be utilized in a variety of settings.     

Social Group Work with Asian/Pacific-Americans

This paper discusses the Asian/Pacific clients and the group practice modality. Specific suggestion are offered to help group workers better understand Asian/Pacific-American clients, capitalize on their unique strengths, and minimize their limitations. Part I of this paper addresses practical group work considerations for the Pre-Group Phase; Part II addresses practical group work considerations for the Group Interaction phase.