The Helpfulness of Holistic Arts–Based Group Work with Children Living in Foster Care

This article discusses practice-based research that is exploring the helpfulness of holistic arts–based group work for the development of self-awareness and self-esteem in children living in foster care. The group program is arts based and encourages children to explore their beliefs, feelings, and behaviors. Examples of group exercises are provided, challenges in developing this group program are discussed, and qualitative research findings are presented, which are based on the analysis of fifteen 6-week groups. Findings indicate that children learned new skills, improved coping abilities, connected with feelings, and felt more positive. Practitioners are encouraged to consider how arts-based group work can help children in care.     

A Model for Group Work Practice with Ultra-Orthodox Jewish Victims of Domestic Violence: A Qualitative Study

ABSTRACT

The Orthodox Jewish community has only recently acknowledged that religious practice and commitment does not make one immune to suffering from domestic violence. Effective therapeutic techniques for working with battered Orthodox women have only recently begun to emerge.

This article focuses on the use of group work as an effective therapeutic modality for working with abused Orthodox Jewish women. This research highlights the insight, knowledge, and experience of practitioners who facilitate domestic violence groups, focusing on proficiencies and ethnic-sensitive practice strategies that are perceived to lead to successful outcomes.

The application of ethnic-sensitive strategies is discussed to illustrate viable therapeutic considerations for working with this population. Implications and issues for educators and practitioners will be addressed.     

An Evaluation of a Group Program for Men Who Batter

This article describes a research study which evaluated a group service for men who batter. Change was evaluated both by self report and as interpreted from the Hemler Scale of Social Functioning. It was demonstrated that male batterers who entered into the group treatment process showed significant change with respect to human social functioning and in the cessation of physical violence towards their partners. Although the personal journey along which a batterer takes responsibility for his actions and finds appropriate coping mechanisms is intensely individual, this study adds to the literature which confirms that a supportive group experience can facilitate this process.     

Spirituality in Social Work Groups: Practitioners Speak Out

ABSTRACT

The attitudes of experienced clinicians regarding the inclusion of spirituality in social group work practice and education are examined. Using a focus group format, practitioners concurred that wholistic treatment of clients must embody spiritual issues and that spiritual content should be covered in group work courses. Clinicians identified additional issues including: (a) need for spiritual assessment; (b) necessity of practitioner self-awareness; (c) usefulness of spiritual beliefs and communities as resources; (d) creation of a safe environment; (e) promotion of spiritual diversity in groups; and (f) collaboration with clergy and spiritual leaders. Implications for practice, research, and education are discussed.     

Social Group Work for Young Offenders with Learning Disabilities

ABSTRACT

Despite the high incidence of learning disabilities among young offenders, research suggests that young offenders with learning disabilities do not receive interventions that address their learning disabilities. Group treatment approaches for young offenders typically utilize a cognitive-behavioral orientation. Cognitive behavioral techniques have been found to be effective with the young offender population by targeting their faulty thinking. However, cognitive behavioral treatment is less effective with youth who have academic delays. Individuals with learning disabilities may have difficulties with the cognitive tasks used in cognitive behavioral treatment. This paper describes a treatment group, with illustrations, adapted for young offenders with learning disabilities, combining cognitive-behavioral and mutual-aid principles.     

Purpose: A Misunderstood and Misused Keystone of Group Work Practice

SUMMARY

This paper examines the use of Purpose in social group work practice. It identifies and discusses six common mistakes that practitioners often make in regard to this central concept. A group example is used to illustrate the paper's content. The paper's intent is to enhance workers' understanding of and ability to use Purpose skillfully in their work with groups.     

I'm Gone When You're Gone: How a Group Can Survive When Its Leader Takes a Leave of Absence

SUMMARY

As the roles and demands on social workers increase in their agencies and their personal lives, there is a greater chance that they will need to take a leave of absence. This is also true for social workers who lead groups. This article presents a process to allow the primary worker to take a leave of absence while the group continues with an interim worker. The author's personal experience of a leave of absence from a HIV+ adolescent support group will be used to illustrate this transfer process. In providing ample time and a thoughtful process of transfer, this leave of absence was successful in maintaining group attendance and participation.     

FILLING AN EMPTY UNIVERSE

This paper describes the way in which men who had previously experienced themselves as friendless and emotionally isolated, quickly became welded into a mutually supportive and helpful group. The force which hastened the normal group process to a marked degree was that of poetry. Poems were read and discussed which had as their themes many of the deepest concerns of the men. By sharing their responses to the poems, the members almost immediately began sharing some of their own most personal and meaningful life experiences and emotions. Being part of this short term group had a deep effect on each of the men in it.     

The Use of Purpose in On-Going Activity Groups: A Framework for Maximizing the Therapeutic Impact

ABSTRACT

This article explores the purposeful use of on-going activity in social group work. It examines the ways in which the group's purposes fluctuate over the group's life, with the activity-oriented purpose taking precedence in beginnings, the personal growth-oriented purpose taking precedence in the middle stage, and both purposes sharing importance in endings. Throughout the paper, illustrations from a co-ed teen ceramics group are provided.