Topic 1: Introduction

• Definition and classification of

group and group work
• Focus of group work practice
• Values and ethics of group work

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 What is a group?

• Goals - A number of individuals who join together to achieve a goal –

two or more persons who come into contact for a purpose and who
consider the contact meaningful

• Interdependence - A collection of individuals who have relations to

one another that make them interdependent to some significant
degree

• Interpersonal Interaction – A number of individuals who are

interacting with one another, and it is this interaction process that
distinguishes the group from an aggregate

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 What is a group?

• Perception of Membership - Two or more individuals in face-to

face interaction, each aware of his or her membership in the
group, each aware of the others who belong to the group, and
each aware of positive interdependence as they strive to achieve
mutual goals
• Structured Relationships – A collection of individuals whose
interactions are structured by a set of roles and norms (regulating
the behavior of individual members)
• Mutual Influence – A Collection of individuals who influence each
other – affecting and being affected by each other (interpersonal
influence)
• Motivation – A collection of individuals who are trying to satisfy
some personal need through their joint association

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 Definition of Group Work

• Goal-directed activity with small treatment and task groups aimed at

meeting socioemotional needs and accomplishing tasks. This activity is
directed to individual members of a group and to the group as a whole
within a system of service delivery

• Social group work is a method of social work that aims, in an informal

ways, through purposeful group experiences, to help individuals and
groups to meet individual and group needs, and to influence and change
personal, group, organizational and community problems.

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 Definition of Group Work

• As educational process emphasizing : The development and social

adjustment of an individual through voluntary group association

• A series of activities carried out by the worker during the life of a

group – empathic responding, confrontation

• Practice of group work consist; planning, beginning, assessment,

middle, evaluation and ending

• Social work practitioners – to help meet the needs of individual

group members, the group as a whole, and the community

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 Classifying Groups

Variety of groups in practice settings

• Formed and natural groups
• Purpose and group work
• Treatment and task groups

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 Formed and natural groups

Formed Groups :
• Come together through some outside influence or
intervention
• Have some sponsorship or affiliation and are convened for a
particular purpose
• i.e therapy groups, educational groups, committees, teams
Natural Groups :
• Come together spontaneously on the basis of naturally
occurring events, interpersonal attraction, or the mutually
perceived needs of members.
• Lack formal sponsorship
• i.e family groups, peer groups, friendship networks, street
gangs

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 Purpose and group work

Purpose :
• The general aims of a group
• The reasons for bringing members together
• Guides group composition, selection of goal-directed activities,
and define the broad parameters of the services to be delivered
Group Work :
• The nature of the framework for the practice of group work
depends on the purpose of the group served

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 Treatment and task groups

Selected Treatment group Task group

characteristics
Bond Members’ personal needs Task to be completed

Roles Develop through Develop through

interaction interaction or are
assigned
Communications Open Focused on discussion of
patterns a particular task
Procedures Flexible or formal, Formal agenda and rules
depending on the group

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 Cont….

Selected Treatment group Task group

characteristics
Composition Based on common Based on needed talents,
concerns, problems, or expertise, or division of
characteristics labor
Self-disclosure Expected to be high Expected to be low
Confidentiality Proceedings usually Proceedings may be
private and kept within private but are sometimes
the group open to the public
Evaluation Success based on Success based on
members’ meeting members’ accomplishing
treatment goals task or mandate, or
producing a product

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 Focus of Group Work Practice

Social work practitioners use group work skills to help meet the
needs of individual group members, the group as a whole, and the
community
• A generalist practice approach focused on the core competencies
in the education policy and accreditation standards
• Practice with a broad range of treatment and task groups
• Critical thinking and evidence-based practice
• A focus on individual group members, the group as a whole, and
the group’s environmental

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 Cont…..

• Application of foundation knowledge and skills form generalist

social work practice to a broad range of leadership and
membership situations
• Integration and use of specialized knowledge and skills based
on a comprehensive assessment of the needs of a particular
group
• Recognition of the interactional and situational nature of
leadership

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 Values and Ethics in Group Work Practice

Practice Values : Value are beliefs that delineate preference about

how one ought to behave.

Practice Ethics : To guide the practice of its members

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 Group Work Values :
• Participation of and positive relations among people of different color, creed,
age, national origin, and social class in the group
• Cooperation and mutual decision making embodied in the principles of
participatory democracy
• The importance of individual initiative within the group
• The importance of freedom to participate, expressing thoughts, feelings about
matters of concern to individual members or the group as a whole, and having
a right to be involved in the decision-making process of the group
• The value of high individualization in the group – each member’s unique
concerns are addressed

Four additional values

• Respect and dignity
• Solidarity and mutual aid
• Empowerment
• Understanding, respect and camaraderie among people from diverse
backgrounds
Toseland, 2012; pg 7

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 Practice Ethics :

• Screening procedures lead to the selection of members whose need

and goals can be met by the group
• Workers help members develop and pursue therapeutic goals
• Workers discuss whether the proceedings of the group are
confidential and make provisions so that they are kept confidential
• Members are protected from physical threats, intimidation, the
imposition of worker and member values, and other forms of coercion
and peer pressure that are not therapeutic
• Members are treated fairly and equitably
• Workers avoid exploiting members for their own gain
• Appropriate referrals are made when the needs of a particular
member cannot be met in the group
• The worker engages in ongoing assessment, evaluation, and follow-up
of members to ensure that the group meets their needs
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