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Preface vii
of New Orleans; Dennis Kivlighan, University of Missouri, Columbia; Brent Mallinckrodt, Uni-
versity of Oregon; Diana McDermott, University of Kansas; Bernard Nisenholz, private practice,
California; Susan Orr, California State University, Sacramento; John G. Pappas, Eastern Michi-
gan University; Sally E. Thigpen, Northeast Louisiana University; Charles Weiner, Henderson
State University; Fred Bemak, George Mason University; Brian J. Den, Georgia State University;
Jean E. Griffin, University of Nevada–Las Vegas; Susanna A. Hayes, Western Washington Uni-
versity; Barbara Couden Hernandez, Indiana State University; Kathleen M. May, University of
Virginia; J. J. McWhirter, Arizona State University; Steven Pfeiffer, Florida State University;
Daniel Eckstein, Sam Houston State University; Kathy Evans, University of South Carolina;
Walter Frazier, Mississippi College; and Elizabeth Sites, Liberty University.
I want to especially thank the following reviewers for their helpful comments and sugges-
tions for the seventh edition: Joel F. Diambra, University of Tennessee; Mary E. Dillon, Univer-
sity of Central Florida; Diane M. Waryold, Appalachian State University; Jonathan Ohrt,
University of North Texas; and Brian Wortham, Texas A&M University–Central Texas.
Others who have been of great assistance to me with this project are former graduate stu-
dents Jo Spradling (University of Alabama, Birmingham), Paul Myers (University of Alabama,
Birmingham), Regan Reding (Wake Forest), Beverly Huffstetler (Wake Forest), Erin Binkley
(Wake Forest), and Katie-Anne Burt (Wake Forest). All have been exemplary in helping me ferret
out original sources, in proofing pages, and in making changes at times in my sentence structure
to improve the clarity of this text. My youngest son, Tim, now in his early 20s, has also been very
helpful in making constructive suggestions, and my most recent graduate student, Derek Rutter
(Wake Forest), has been of assistance as well, in locating recent articles on groups. Then, of
course, the professionals at Merrill Education/Pearson—including my former editors, Vicki
Knight, Linda Sullivan, Meredith Fossel, and present editor, Kevin Davis—gave me much to
think about as well as encouragement.
My family group, to whom all editions of this book have been dedicated, has been patient
and supportive during my writing and rewritings. My wife, Claire, has given me encouragement,
support, and a healthy helping of humor throughout this process. My children—Ben, Nate, and
Tim—were 4, 2, and just born, respectively, when I began this project. They are now 28, 26, and
24. Time goes by quickly, and writing a revision of the book every four years has helped me keep
track of their lives and mine individually and collectively.
Conclusion
In concluding the seventh edition of Groups, I am more aware than ever of the importance of
collaboration in accomplishing goals and fulfilling dreams. The poet John Donne was correct in
reminding us that we are not isolated islands sufficient unto ourselves. We are connected to
humanity and have the power to help or hinder one another’s growth and development. It is in the
mixing of personalities and processes that the heart of group work lies, through which our past
gains meaning, and from which our present and future are created.
Samuel T. Gladding
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Brief Contents
PART 1 Group Development

Chapter 1 Types of Groups and Group Work 1
Chapter 2 Group Dynamics 25
Chapter 3 Effective Group Leadership 52
Chapter 4 Forming a Group 80
Chapter 5 The Transition Period in a Group: Storming and Norming 103
Chapter 6 The Working Stage in a Group: Performing 121
Chapter 7 Closing a Group 140
PART 2 Diversity, Social Justice, Creativity, and Ethical/

Legal Aspects of Groups
Chapter 8 Diversity and Social Justice in Group Work 163
Chapter 9 Specialty Groups and Creativity in Groups 186
Chapter 10 Ethical and Legal Aspects of Working with Groups 213
PART 3 Groups Throughout the Life Span

Chapter 11 Groups for Children 234
Chapter 12 Groups for Adolescents 255
Chapter 13 Groups for Adults 277
Chapter 14 Groups for Older Adults 300
PART 4 Theoretical Approaches to Groups

Chapter 15 Transactional Analysis, Reality Therapy, Adlerian,
and Person-Centered Groups 319
Chapter 16 Existential, Gestalt, Rational-Emotive Behavior Therapy,
and Psychodrama Groups 351
Appendix A History of Group Work 381

Appendix B History of Group Work Chart 392
Appendix C Some Prominent Self-Help Group Organizations 395
ix
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Contents
Part 1 Group Development
Chapter 1 Types of Groups and Group Work 1

Classifying Groups 3
Task/Work Groups 5
An Example of Task/Work Groups: Teams 6
Psychoeducational Groups 9
An Example of Psychoeducational Group Work: Life-Skills
Development Groups 11
Counseling Groups 13
An Example of a Counseling Group: A Counseling Group
for Counselors 14
Psychotherapy Groups 15
An Example of Group Psychotherapy: Group Work with Abusers and
the Abused 16
Mixed Groups and a Proposed Regrouping of Categories 18
An Example of a Mixed Group: A Consumer-Oriented Group 21
Summary and Conclusion 23 • Classroom Exercises 23
Chapter 2 Group Dynamics 25

Group Content and Group Process 27
Group Content 27
Group Process 28
Balance Between Content and Process 30
The Group as a System: A Way of Explaining Group Dynamics 32
Influencing Group Dynamics 34
Preplanning 34
Group Structure 35
Group Exercises and Activities 38
Group Interaction 40
Members’ Roles 43
The Effect of Positive and Negative Variables on Group Dynamics 45
Learning Group Dynamics 48
Group, Individual, and Family Dynamics 48
Persons 49
Processing 49
xi
xii Contents
Consequences 50
Chapter 3 Effective Group Leadership 52

Leadership: A Concept in Search of a Definition 53
Group Leadership Styles 54
Leadership Styles for Different Groups 57
Personal Qualities of Effective Group Leaders 59
The Trait Approach 59
Personality and Specific Groups 60
Theory and Effective Group Leaders 60
Knowledge and Skills of Effective Group Leaders 62
Core Group Knowledge and Skills 62
Specific Group Skills 63
Group Leadership Roles and Functions 67
Leaders and Group Conflict 68
Co-leaders in Groups 70
Advantages 70
Limitations 71
Group Leadership Training 72
Group Supervision 76
Chapter 4 Forming a Group 80

Steps in the Forming Stage 82
Step 1: Developing a Rationale for the Group 82
Step 2: Deciding on a Theoretical Format 83
Step 3: Weighing Practical Considerations 84
Step 4: Publicizing the Group 84
Step 5: Screening and Pretraining 86
Step 6: Selecting Group Members 88
Step 7: Selecting a Group Leader 89
Tasks of the Beginning Group 89
Dealing with Apprehension 89
Reviewing Goals and Contracts 89
Specifying Group Rules 90
Setting Limits 91
Promoting a Positive Interchange Among Members 91
Resolving Potential Group Problems in Forming 92
Contents xiii
People Problems 92
Group Procedural Problems 95
Useful Procedures for the Beginning Stage of a Group 99
Joining 100
Linking 100
Cutting Off 100
Drawing Out 101
Clarifying the Purpose 101
Chapter 5 The Transition Period in a Group:

Storming and Norming 103
Storming 105
Peer Relationships in Storming 106
Resistance During Storming 107
Task Processing in Storming 110
Working Through Storming 111
Results of Working Through Storming 112
Norms and Norming 113
Peer Relationships During Norming 114
Task Processing During Norming 117
Examining Aspects of Norming 117
Promoting Norming 118
Results of Norming 119
Chapter 6 The Working Stage in a Group: Performing 121

Peer Relationships 122
Task Processes During the Working Stage 125
Teamwork and Team Building During the Working Stage 126
Problems in the Working Stage of Groups 128
Racial and Gender Issues 128
Group Collusion 129
The Working Stage of the Group and Groups that Work 130
Strategies for Assisting Groups in the Working Stage 130
Modeling by the Leader 131
Exercises 131
Group Observing Group 132
Brainstorming 133
xiv Contents
Nominal-Group Technique 133

Synectics 134
Written Projections 134
Group Processing 134
Teaching of Skills 135
Outcomes of the Working Stage 136
Chapter 7 Closing a Group 140

Preparing for Closing a Group 142
Effects on Individuals of Ending a Group 144
Premature Closing of a Group 145
Premature Closing of the Group as a Whole 145
Premature Closing Initiated by Group Members 145
Preventing Premature Closing 146
Closing of Group Sessions 148
Member Summarization 148
Leader Summarization 148
Rounds 149
Dyads 150
Scaling Activities 150
Written Reactions 150
Rating Sheets 152
Homework 152
Final Closing of a Group 152
Capping Skills in Closings 153
Problems in Closings of Groups 157
Denial 157
Transference 157
Countertransference 158
Handling the Closing of a Group Correctly 159
Follow-Up Sessions 159
Part 2 Diversity, Social Justice, Creativity, and Ethical/

Legal Aspects of Groups
Chapter 8 Diversity and Social Justice in Group Work 163
A Brief Historical Overview of Diversity and Social Justice
in Groups 164
Contents xv
Stages of Social Justice 166

Challenges of Culturally Diverse Groups 167
Myths About Multicultural Groups 168
Goals of Diverse and Multicultural Groups 170
Assessing Cultural Diversity in a Group 171
Leadership in Culturally Diverse Groups 171
Working with Different Cultural Populations in Groups 174
African Americans 175
Hispanic/Latino/a Americans 176
Asian Americans 178
Native American Indians 179
Arab Americans 181
European Americans 182
Groups for Gays, Lesbians, Bisexuals, Transgenders, Queers,
and Questioning Individuals 183
Chapter 9 Specialty Groups and Creativity in Groups 186

Specialty Groups 187
Groups for Health Care Providers and Health Care Consumers 188
Groups for Military Personnel and Their Families 188
New Mothers’ Groups 189
Involuntary and Mandated Groups 189
Anger and Aggression Management Groups 190
Cancer Support Groups 191
Telephone Groups 191
Online Groups 192
Trauma Stress Groups 193
Disabled Persons Groups 194
Adventure Groups 195
Prevention Groups 195
Groups for Depression 196
Achievement Groups 196
Creativity in Groups 197
DeBono’s Six Hats Approach to Creativity 197
Eberle’s SCAMPER Model of Creativity 199
Sawyer’s Zig Zag Model of Creativity 201
The Six Hats, SCAMPER, and Zig Zag Ways of Working
with Groups as a Whole 201
xvi Contents
Creative Exercises for Different Group Stages 206

Chapter 10 Ethical and Legal Aspects of Working

with Groups 213
The Nature of Ethics and Ethical Codes 215
Major Ethical Issues in Group Work 217
Training of Group Leaders 217
Screening of Potential Group Members 218
Rights of Group Members 219
Confidentiality 219
Personal Relationships Between Group Members and Leaders 220
Dual/Multiple Relationships 220
Personal Relationships Among Group Members 221
Uses of Group Techniques 222
Leaders’ Values 223
Referrals 223
Records 223
Closings and Follow-Up 224
Making Ethical Decisions 225
Promoting Ethical Principles in Groups 226
Training Group Leaders 226
Continuing Education and Peer Supervision 227
Responding to Complaints of Unethical Behavior 228
Legal Issues in Groups 229
Community, State, and National Standards 229
Legal Action 230
Part 3 Groups Throughout the Life Span
Chapter 11 Groups for Children 234

Types of Groups for Children 236
Group Guidance for Elementary/Middle School Children 238
Group Counseling Within the Schools 240
Group Guidance and Counseling in Community Settings 242
Setting Up Groups for Children 243
Nonverbal Versus Verbal Communication 243
Group Structure and Materials 244
Recruiting Members and Screening 245
Contents xvii
Group Session Length and Number in Group 245

Gender and Age Issues 246
Role of the Leader in Children’s Groups 247
Studies on the Outcomes of Children’s Groups 249
Strengths and Limitations of Using Groups with Children 251
Chapter 12 Groups for Adolescents 255

Types of Groups for Adolescents 257
Developmental Psychoeducational Groups 258
Nondevelopmental Counseling/Psychotherapy Groups 260
Setting Up Groups for Adolescents 263
Nonverbal Versus Verbal Communication 263
Group Structure and Materials 264
Recruiting Members and Screening 266
Group Session Length and Number in Group 266
Gender and Age Issues 267
Role of the Leader in Adolescents’ Groups 268
Problems in Adolescents’ Groups 270
Outright Disruptiveness 270
Hesitancy to Engage with Others 270
Polarization 271
Monopolizing 271
Inappropriate Risk Taking 271
Overactivity or Giddiness 271
Studies on the Outcomes of Groups for Adolescents 272
Strengths and Limitations of Using Groups with Adolescents 274
Strengths 274
Limitations 274
Chapter 13 Groups for Adults 277

Types of Groups for Adults 278
Setting Up Groups for Adults 279
Role of the Leader in Groups for Adults 280
Studies on the Outcomes of Groups for Adults 280
Groups for College Students 281
Groups for Adults in Midlife 284
Groups for Men and Women 287
xviii Contents
Groups for Couples, Families, the Divorced, the Widowed,

and the Remarried 293
Groups for Adult Offenders and Persons with Life-Threatening
Illnesses 295
Strengths and Limitations of Using Groups with Adults 297
Strengths 297
Limitations 297
Chapter 14 Groups for Older Adults 300

Types of Groups for Older Adults 303
Psychoeducational and Task/Work Groups 303
Counseling and Psychotherapy Groups 304
Setting Up Groups for Older Adults 309
Role of the Leader in Groups for Older Adults 311
Studies on the Outcomes of Groups for Older Adults 313
Groups for Caregivers for Older Adults 314
Strengths and Limitations of Groups for Older Adults 315
Strengths 315
Limitations 316
Part 4 Theoretical Approaches to Groups
Chapter 15 Transactional Analysis, Reality Therapy,

Adlerian, and Person-Centered Groups 319
Transactional Analysis Groups 321
Premises of Transactional Analysis Groups 321
Practice of Transactional Analysis in a Group 325
Role of the Transactional Analysis Group Leader 327
Desired Outcome of Transactional Analysis Groups 328
Evaluation of Transactional Analysis Groups 328
Learning More 329
Reality Therapy Groups 330
Premises of Reality Therapy Groups 330
Practice of Reality Therapy in a Group 331
Role of the Reality Therapy Group Leader 333
Desired Outcome of Reality Therapy Groups 334
Evaluation of Reality Therapy Groups 334
Learning More 336
Contents xix
Adlerian Groups 336

Premises of Adlerian Groups 336
Practice of Adlerian Theory in a Group 337
Role of the Adlerian Group Leader 338
Desired Outcome of Adlerian Groups 339
Evaluation of Adlerian Groups 342
Learning More 343
Person-Centered Groups 343
Premises of Person-Centered Groups 343
Practice of Person-Centered Theory in a Group 344
Role of the Person-Centered Group Leader 346
Desired Outcome of Person-Centered Groups 347
Evaluation of Person-Centered Groups 347
Learning More 349
Chapter 16 Existential, Gestalt, Rational-Emotive Behavior

Therapy, and Psychodrama Groups 351
Existential Groups 354
Premises of Existential Groups 354
Practice of Existential Theory in a Group 354
Role of the Existential Group Leader 355
Desired Outcome of Existential Groups 355
Evaluation of Existential Groups 356
Learning More 357
Gestalt Groups 358
Premises of Gestalt Groups 358
Practice of Gestalt Theory in a Group 359
Role of the Gestalt Group Leader 362
Desired Outcome of Gestalt Groups 363
Evaluation of Gestalt Groups 363
Learning More 364
Rational-Emotive Behavior Therapy Groups 364
Premises of Rational-Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) Groups 364
Practice of Rational-Emotive Behavior Therapy in a Group 365
Role of the Rational-Emotive Behavior Therapy Group Leader 367
Desired Outcome of Rational-Emotive Behavior Therapy Groups 368
Evaluation of Rational-Emotive Behavior Therapy Groups 369
Learning More 370
xx Contents
Psychodrama Groups 370

Premises of Psychodrama Groups 370
Practice of Psychodrama in a Group 372
Role of the Psychodrama Group Leader 376
Desired Outcome of Psychodrama Groups 377
Evaluation of Psychodrama Groups 377
Learning More 379
Appendix A History of Group Work 381

Uses of Groups Before 1900 381
Growth of Work with Groups: 1900 to the Present 381
1900 to 1909 381
1910 to 1919 382
1920 to 1929 382
1930 to 1939 382
1940 to 1949 383
1950 to 1959 384
1960 to 1969 385
1970 to 1979 386
1980 to 1989 387
1990 to 1999 387
2000 to the Present: Group Work Now 388
Social Justice 388
Training and Education 389
Technology 389
Research 390
Brief Group Work 390
Standards 390
The Future of Group Work 391
Appendix B History of Group Work Chart 392

Appendix C Some Prominent Self-Help Group
Organizations 395
Glossary 406
References 428
Name Index 463
Subject Index 473
CHAPTER 1
Types of Groups
and Group Work
I live in a group
that contains many groups
all spinning in different cycles
Monkey Business/Fotolia
like planets around the sun.
In each I am me,
differently,
distinctively,
collectively,
and freely.*
*From “Planets” © 2010 by Samuel T.

Gladding. Reprinted by permission from
Samuel T. Gladding.
Chapter Overview
From reading this chapter, you will learn about
• Different classifications of groups and examples of each:
○○ task/work,
○○ psychoeducational,
○○ counseling,
○○ psychotherapy,
○○ mixed
As you read, consider

• The need for each type of group
• The intended outcomes of each type of group
• What types of groups you have been in or seen demonstrated and their effectiveness
1
2 Part 1 • Group Development
O
n April 11, 1970, Apollo 13, the third Apollo mission intended to land men on the moon,
was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida. As portrayed in the movie Apollo 13, a mid-
mission oxygen tank explosion not only aborted the goal of the mission but put the lives
of the astronauts aboard in jeopardy. To survive, the crew of the mission shut down the command
module and used the lunar module as a “lifeboat” during the return trip to Earth. Despite great
hardship caused by limited power, loss of cabin heat, and a shortage of potable water, the crew
returned safely to Earth on April 17, but only because a group of engineers devised a method to
help them meet their needs. The engineers took materials available within the spacecraft that had
been designed for one function and found ways to connect them to serve other functions so that
the astronauts could survive. If there ever was a time when the wisdom and power of a group
prevailed in the face of overwhelming odds, it was this mission, and the creativity that went on
within the engineering group behind the scenes after the astronauts sent back word to Mission
Control: “Houston, we’ve had a problem.”
Groups, whether on rescue or routine missions, are a part of everyday life and are defined
in many ways. Not every gathering or collection of people qualifies as a group, because they may
lack an awareness and purpose of seeing themselves as such (Meneses, Ortega, & Navarro, 2008).
The following definition, adapted and modified from Johnson and Johnson (2013), encompasses
the main qualities of groups. A group is a collection of two or more individuals who meet face
to face or virtually in an interactive, interdependent way, with the awareness that each belongs to
the group and for the purpose of achieving mutually agreed-on goals. From family councils to
town meetings, groups are an important component of everyday life. Healthy groups are contex-
tually unique, are complex in regard to their multiple transactions, and are open systems as well
(Conyne & Bemak, 2004).
Groups vary according to type and purpose. There are four distinct group specializations:
task/work, psychoeducational, counseling, and psychotherapy. The Association for Specialists in
Group Work (ASGW) (1991, 2000) has defined and developed standards for each. Within these
types of groups are multiple purposes—for example, remediation, development, prevention, skill
training, and problem solving. There may be several types of groups that meet the purpose of
individuals joining them. For example, a psychoeducational group may be preventive and skill
focused, whereas a task/work group may be remedial, preventive, and problem solving. Thus, it
is prudent to focus on types of groups initially, because a number of types of groups can be ben-
eficial to individuals seeking help.
That group work is effective has been established through multiple research-based studies
(Ward & Ward, 2014). Developing standards and competencies for group workers was a major
breakthrough complementing the evolution of the group work literature. Explicitly defining spe-
cific group types and establishing skills that need to be acquired and developed in each has fos-
tered evidence-based interventions (Ward, 2006). Furthermore, exemplary training models set up
in educational institutions for each type of group have promoted the growth of competent group
leaders. Having such models allows programs that prepare group specialists from a variety of
disciplines to point to examples of what should be done in the preparation process of forming a
group as well as in the implementation of groups (Conyne, Wilson, & Ward, 1997).
Groups, if run well, are dynamic. They include numerous activities, which are verbal and
nonverbal undertakings a group and its members participate in, such as expressing themselves in
different ways and interacting with others. Activities rarely produce meaningful learning in and
of themselves. “Rather, it is the carefully selected and planned use of an activity, targeted for a
specific purpose with a specific group,” that when processed effectively is likely to lead to or
promote change and understanding (Nitza, 2014, p. 95). For example, Jill may be asked to
Chapter 1 • Types of Groups and Group Work 3
describe herself in five words to other group members as the group begins. If Jill is not asked or
allowed to explain why she picked the words she did, the activity will soon be forgotten and use-
less. However, if Jill is given an opportunity to explore the words she picked and why, she and
other group members are likely to understand her better.
In human service occupations, groups have usually been thought of as dedicated to mental
health issues, but they may focus on task and education agendas as well. Today, the concept of
group work is broad. That is why the Association for Specialists in Group Work (2000) defines
group work as
a broad professional practice involving the application of knowledge and skill in
group facilitation to assist an interdependent collection of people to reach their
mutual goals, which may be intrapersonal, interpersonal, or work related. The goals
of the group may include the accomplishment of tasks related to work, education,
personal development, personal and interpersonal problem solving, or remediation of
mental and emotional disorders. (pp. 329–330)
This chapter explores each type of group that has been well defined and that has educational
standards to match (task/work, psychoeducational, counseling, and psychotherapy groups).
Group work in the context of its purpose, structure, and intended outcome is also covered. In
addition, other models, past and present, for classifying groups are discussed, especially the goals
and process (GAP) model. The ways in which group purposes and skills can be combined are
also illustrated through an examination of the ways in which self-help groups operate. By being
aware of different types of groups and their purposes and group work as an entity, you should
gain immediate knowledge and insight into a growing and essential field of working with people.
Classifying Groups
Before exploring the four different types of groups, it is important to briefly examine how they
came into being. In truth, there is no systematic way these groups came to be recognized. Rather,
the process was one that has developed over time and has come in spurts. In fact, the classifica-
tion system for categorizing group work is still being debated, as is discussed later in this chapter.
Need was part of the reason for the development of different types of groups. Group workers
needed a way to describe what they were doing and what could be expected. For example, contact-
focused group theory was an early forerunner of the group type model. The focus of this theory
was on the purpose of groups. Three primary contact groups described in this theory were group
guidance, group counseling, and group psychotherapy. Mahler (1971) differentiated among these
groups as follows: (a) the group’s initially defined purpose, (b) the group’s size, (c) the management
of the content, (d) the length of the group’s life, (e) the leader’s responsibility, (f) the severity of the
problem, and (g) the competency of the leader. To further distinguish among these three groups,
Gazda (1989) emphasized that guidance, counseling, and psychotherapy groups could be viewed
along a continuum with overlapping goals, professional competencies, and unique distinctions.
A model that was even more comprehensive and useful in conceptualizing groups was the
specialty/standards model pioneered by Saltmarsh, Jenkins, and Fisher (1986). This model
evolved out of the realization that groups differ in their purpose and functioning. Not all groups
are created equal, and to try to conduct them in similar ways is neither prudent nor possible.
Thus, Saltmarsh et al. set up a model of group work known by the acronym TRAC, with each
letter representing an area in the total picture of group work: tasking, relating, acquiring, and
contacting (see Figure 1.1).
Process Enhancement
Therapy Laboratory Resource Discovery
Group Group Group Group
CONTACTING GROUPS ACQUIRING GROUPS
Process Recognition and Access to and Expansion of

Catalytic Function Information and Awareness
Encounter Mutual Concern Discussion Education
Group Process
Facilitation Nature of Management Leadership

Nature of
Staff
Relationship Volunteer Mission
Development
Skills Group Group Group
Group
RELATING GROUPS TASKING GROUPS
Restructuring and Rehearsal Control, Efficiency, Achievement

of New Behavior
Task Achievement
Theme-Defined In-Service Goal Working

FIGURE 1.1 The TRAC map of group processes and management. Source: Robert E. Saltmarsh, Stephen J.
Jenkins, Gary L. Fisher, Figure 1.1: The TRAC map of group processes and management, “The TRAC Model: A
Practical Map for Group Processes and Management” Journal for Specialists in Group Work, 11, p. 32, Taylor &
Francis—US Journals, 1986, 32.
The main characteristic that distinguishes one type of group from another in this
model is the focus. Tasking groups are focused on task achievement. Relating groups
emphasize the options for movement within the life of each person. Acquiring groups
are directed toward learning outcomes that members can apply to others. In contrast,
contacting groups are focused on the individual growth of members. (Saltmarsh
et al., 1986, p. 34)
It is possible by using this model to explain how groups that start out in one major area
(e.g., tasking) may move into other areas (e.g., relating). For example, a group set up for a special
event, such as staging a race for a charity, may evolve into one where members simply enjoy get-
ting together and hold frequent “reunions.” The TRAC model of groups clearly delineates group
process and management and the types of specific groups found in each of four areas. It was the
forerunner of the ASGW (1991, 2000) Professional Standards for the Training of Group Workers,
which delineated the four types of groups that we now discuss: task/work, psychoeducational,
counseling, and psychotherapy.
Task/Work Groups
Task/work groups “promote efficient and effective accomplishment of group tasks among peo-
ple who are gathered to accomplish group task goals” (ASGW, 2000, p. 330). They are the “only
group type not inherently formed with personal psychological learning as a primary objective”
(Ward & Ward, 2014, p. 45). There are as many types of task/work groups as there are kinds of
everyday jobs and assignments. The major types of tasking groups, according to Saltmarsh et al.
(1986), are volunteer groups, mission groups, goal groups, and working groups. Task/work
groups also take the form of “task forces, committees, planning groups, community organiza-
tions, discussion groups, and learning groups” (ASGW, 1991, p. 14).
Regardless of type or form, all task/work groups emphasize accomplishment and efficiency
in successfully completing identified external work goals (a performance, an assignment, or a
finished product) through collaboration (Falco & Bauman, 2014; Stanley, 2006). Skillfully led
work groups engage workers in a process where problems are identified and explored and col-
laborative solutions are developed and implemented (Letendre, Gaillard, & Spath, 2008). Unlike
other groups, task/work groups do not focus on changing individuals. Whether the group is suc-
cessful depends on group dynamics—the interactions fostered through the relationships of
members and leaders in connection with the complexity of the task involved.
Because task/work groups run the gamut from informal subcommittee meetings to major
Hollywood productions or corporate transactions, the number of members within a task/work
group may be large, but this type of group usually works best with fewer as opposed to more
people. In an analysis of group size, development, and productivity, Wheelan (2009) examined
329 for-profit and nonprofit work groups in organizations across the United States. She found
that groups
containing 3 to 8 members were significantly more productive and more develop-
mentally advanced than groups with 9 members or more. Groups containing 3 to 6
members were significantly more productive and more developmentally advanced
than groups with 7 to 10 members or 11 members or more. The groups with 7 to 10
members or 11 members were not different from each other. Finally, groups contain-
ing 3 to 4 members were significantly more productive and more developmentally
advanced on a number of measures than groups with 5 to 6 members. (p. 247)
From her study Wheelan concluded that work-group size is a crucial factor in increasing or
decreasing both group development and productivity. In small groups, unintended subgrouping
does not occur and members may focus more on the tasks at hand.
The length of a task/work group varies, but most are similar to other groups in that they
have a beginning, a working period, and an ending. Total quality groups found in business set-
tings are a good example of task/work groups. These groups apply group methods “to solve
problems related to consumer satisfaction and quality” (Smaby, Peterson, & Hovland, 1994,
p. 217). Juries are another good example of task/work groups. The movie 12 Angry Men not only
illustrates how some task/work groups operate but shows the many facets of group process as
well (Armstrong & Berg, 2005).
Like other types of groups, task/work groups run best if the following assumptions are met:
• If the purpose of the group is clear to all participants,
• If process and content issues are balanced,
• If the systems of the group as a whole, leader, member, and subsets of members are recog-
nized and acknowledged,
• If time is taken for culture building and learning about each other,
• If the ethic of collaboration, cooperation, and mutual respect is developed and nurtured,
• If conflict is addressed,
• If feedback is exchanged,
• If leaders pay attention to the here-and-now,
• If members are active resources,
• If members learn to be effective and influential participants,
• If leaders exhibit a range of skills for helping members address task and human relations
issues,
• If members and leaders take time to reflect on what is happening. (Hulse-Killacky, Killacky,
& Donigian, 2001, pp. 21–22)
There are, however, at least two major differences between task/work groups and other
types of groups. First, these groups may disband abruptly after accomplishing their goal. In this
way they have the most similarity to psychoeducational groups that may end hurriedly because
of time constraints, especially in a school setting. If members or leaders pay little attention to the
termination stage in a task/work group, then members may feel incomplete when the group is
finished. A second difference between task/work groups and other types of groups is that task/
work group members and leaders may have considerable contact with others in an organization
in which the group is housed. The reason is that task/work groups need input and feedback from
people who are not group members.
Reflection
Task and work groups can either be rewarding or disappointing. What is the most satisfying
task/work group you were ever in? What made it so? What was the worst? What factors contrib-
uted to your being disappointed in the group?
An Example of Task/Work Groups: Teams

Task/work groups “have great importance for our everyday lives, our jobs, our government, and
our world” (Stanley, 2006, p. 27). A special type of a task/work group is a team. A team is a
group of “two or more people who interact dynamically, interdependently, and adaptively and
who share at least one common goal or purpose” (Azar, 1997, p. 14). In this respect, a team is
more than the sum of its parts. Just think of athletics teams, for instance, such as those in the
Olympics or at the college or professional level. There may be some players who are more skilled
than others, but if the team as a whole does not cooperate and work together to maximize strengths
and abilities, the team will fail to reach its potential.
Teams differ from other types of groups in four main ways (Kormanski, 1999; Reilly &
Jones, 1974): (a) They have shared goals, as opposed to individual goals, as in most groups; (b)
they stress interdependency more; (c) they require more of a commitment by members to a team
effort; and (d) they are by design accountable to a higher level within the organization. “A lack of
commitment to the team effort creates tension and reduces overall effectiveness” (Kormanski,
1999, p. 7).
Teams differ from task/work groups in at least a couple of ways. For one thing, more inter-
dependence and accountability are evident in a team than in a task/work group. In addition, in a
team effort, there is more sharing of information and work toward a common goal than in a task/
work group. The result is usually a greater bonding of members to one another and more coop-
eration and unity in achieving a common objective (Katzenbach & Smith, 1993). Table 1.1
describes other differences between teams and task/work groups.
Although teams can be classified in many ways, one of the more common is by setting.
From this perspective, teams are primarily found within work, sports, and learning situations
(Johnson & Johnson, 2013). Examples of teams can be found in environments in surgery (such
as the 4077th M*A*S*H medical unit of film and television notoriety), exploratory excision
Table 1.1 Task/work groups versus teams.

Working Groups Teams
A strong, clearly focused leader is Shared leadership responsibilities exist

appointed. among members.
The general organizational mission is the A specific, well-defined purpose is unique
group’s purpose. to the team.
Individual work provides the only products. Team and individual work develop products.
Effectiveness is measured indirectly by Effectiveness is measured directly by
group’s influence on others (e.g., financial assessing team work products.
performance of business, student scores on
standardized examination).
Individual accountability only is evident. Both team and individual accountability are
evident.
Individual accomplishments are recognized Team celebration. Individual efforts that
and rewarded. contribute to the team’s success are also
recognized and celebrated.
Meetings are efficiently run and last for Meetings with open-ended discussion and
short periods of time. include active problem solving.
In meetings members discuss, decide, and In meetings members discuss, decide, and
delegate. do real work together.
Source: From Johnson, David W.; Johnson, Frank P.; Joining Together: Group Therapy and Group Skills, 5th ed. © 1994.
Reprinted and Electronically produced by permission of Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, New Jersey.
(such as Lewis and Clark’s mapping of the Louisiana Territory), and flying (such as the miracle
landing on the Hudson River of a USAirways plane by its pilot, Captain Chesley “Sully” Sul-
lenberger). In a work team, the emphasis is on interpersonal interaction in which members’
proficiency and success in doing their jobs are maximized and their efforts are coordinated and
integrated with those of the other team members.
A second way to classify a team is by how it is used. Common uses include problem solv-
ing (e.g., ways to improve quality, efficiency, and the work environment), special purpose (e.g.,
facilitating collaboration between unions and management), and self-management (e.g., a small
group of employees who produce an entire product or service).
A final way teams can be classified is in regard to what they recommend, do, or run. Teams
that recommend include task forces that study and help find solutions for problems, whereas
teams that do focus on performance (Katzenbach & Smith, 1993). It is rare for a team to run some-
thing, such as an organization, especially a large and complex one such as Microsoft or AT&T.
A number of guidelines should be considered in establishing teams. First, it is important that
teams be kept small, half a dozen members or so at most, because large numbers of people gener-
ally have difficulty interacting constructively in a group. Second, team members should be selected
for their already-established expertise and skills as well as those they have the ability to master.
Therefore, effective teams are heterogeneous, and their members possess a variety of abilities. In
such groups, team members will often serve as “external memory aids” for one another and “divvy
up what needs to be remembered about a task, with individual members remembering different
aspects of the task and everyone knowing who knows what” (Azar, 1997, p. 14). A final necessity
for forming a team is to bring together the resources necessary to function, including both tangi-
bles and intangibles, such as materials, support personnel, space, and time.
Once a team has been established, it must be structured and nurtured. A crucial ingredient
in this process is giving the team a mission and the independence to operationalize the goals that
go with the mission. Teams function best when they have a meaningful and worthwhile purpose,
such as winning an athletic competition or finding a cure for a disease. A further necessity in
structuring and nurturing a team is to provide opportunities for team members to interact face to
face or virtually and promote one another’s success (Johnson & Johnson, 2013). Frequent and
regular meetings are one way this may be done in a face-to-face way, but electronic communica-
tion, such as e-mail, Skype, and phone time, can also be counted as time spent together.
Other matters that must be attended to in structuring and nurturing a team, according to
Johnson and Johnson (2013), include the following:
• Paying particular attention to first meetings, especially what those in authority do in such
meetings because they are the role models for the members
• Establishing clear rules of conduct, especially pertaining to attendance, discussion, confi-
dentiality, productivity of members, and constructive confrontation
• Ensuring accountability of the team as a whole and its members individually
• Showing progress, especially obtaining easy goals early in the life of the group
• Exposing the team to new information and facts that help them redefine and enrich their
understanding of their mission, purpose, and goals
• Providing training to enhance both task/work and teamwork skills
• Having frequent team celebrations and opportunities to recognize members’ contributions
to the team success
• Ensuring frequent team-processing sessions so the team can examine how effectively it is
working and discuss ways to improve
Overall, teams that function best emphasize continuous improvement of themselves on an

interpersonal, process, and product basis. They work as a group to create a culture that is sup-
portive for members—one that gives them a sense of identity. At the same time, team members
focus on specific goals and missions they wish to accomplish and make sure their energy is con-
stantly focused on outcomes that are directly related to their purpose. Effective teams also train
together, with the result being better performance over time, increased productivity, and fewer
mistakes (Azar, 1997). Teamwork is a set of skills that must be developed through practice and
feedback (Levi, 2014).
Case Example
Bradley at the Bat company. There seems to be a spillover effect,
and whether he is at the ballpark or at his com-
Bradley has always loved baseball. He was never a puter, Bradley is trying hard to do a good job. He
great player, but he has now joined the city recrea- notices that he and others now, regardless of
tion league and is a member of his company’s team. where they are, use phrases such as “Let’s have a
He plays second base, and his colleagues applaud winning attitude here” and “Let’s do this—for
him for both his effort and, at times, his efficiency. the team!”
Bradley is the lead-off batter. His job is to get
a hit and get on base. He finds that whenever he
comes to the plate his teammates cheer for him
Questions
whether he gets a hit or not. That makes him feel
good, and as a result he tries harder. When have you seen a team positively affecting one
Bradley has noticed recently that he is of its members? What do you think this says about
becoming closer to his fellow workers at his the power of teams and teamwork?
Psychoeducational Groups
Psychoeducational groups were originally developed for use in educational settings, specifi-
cally public schools. “The developmental nature of psychoeducational groups [proved] very use-
ful when working with children’s self-concepts and attitudes toward school” (Villalba, 2003,
p. 264). One of the first types of groups to evolve in the development of group work, psychoedu-
cational groups were premised on the idea that education is treatment not only because of the
knowledge acquired in the process but also because of the perceptions that may be changed as a
result (M. Young, 2013). Basically, psychoeducational groups, with well-organized and struc-
tured activities and exercises, help increase the self-worth of participants (Villalba, 2003).
Because of their structure, psychoeducational groups, in many instances, lend themselves to
work with cultural diverse populations (Champe & Rubel, 2012). Furthermore, drawing on
Yalom’s research on therapeutic factors, these groups provide information, socializing tech-
niques, hope, and modeling (Waldo, Kerne, & Kerne, 2007). Sometimes psychoeducational
groups are simply referred to as educational groups or guidance groups.
Regardless of the name, “psychoeducation group work emphasizes using education meth-
ods to acquire information and develop related meaning and skills” (Brown, 1997, p. 1). Thus,
psychoeducational groups are able to function on multiple levels and with a wide variety of cli-
ents. They can be preventive, growth oriented, or remedial in their purpose and focus. Because of
their versatility, psychoeducational groups are increasingly being used in various settings outside
of schools, including hospitals, mental health agencies, correctional institutions, social service
agencies, spiritual settings, and universities (Champe & Rubel, 2012; Christmas & Van Horn,
2012; Morgan, 2004). They include “discussion groups, guided group interactions, recovery
groups, support groups, orientation groups, educational groups, or student-centered learning
groups” (Rivera, Wilbur, Roberts-Wilbur, Phan, Garrett, & Betz, 2004, p. 391). Lefley (2009) has
found that psychoeducational groups help members who have serious mental illnesses “combat
social isolation, redeem self esteem and hope, and improve their life situation” (p. 369). Emotional
support and education rather than psychotherapy in many cases is what is needed and valued.
“The overarching goal in psychoeducational group work is to prevent future development
of debilitating dysfunctions while strengthening coping skills and self-esteem” (Conyne, 1996,
p. 157). For instance, Hage and Nosanow (2000) reported that an 8-week, 90-minute psychoedu-
cational group for young adults from divorced families helped participants “reduce isolation,
establish connectedness, and build a stronger sense of their own identity and empowerment”
(p. 64). In addition, Morgan (2004) states that cognitive-behavioral or behavioral approaches for
offenders and mandated clients work well, especially if the psychoeducational group is structured
on a topic such as stress management, problem solving, or life skills. Because of their flexibility
and efficiency, psychoeducational groups may even be preferred in counseling and psychother-
apy environments “when managed care policies demand brief and less expensive treatment”
(Brown, 1997, p. 1). They may also be preferred when the leader has less clinical experience and
wants the group members to realize immediately why they are in a group.
The size of psychoeducational groups will vary across settings (e.g., whether the activity is
in a self-contained classroom or in a public lecture hall), but a range from 20 to 40 individuals is
not unusual. In such large groups, discussion and skill practice can take place in subgroups. How-
ever, if subgroups are set up, they must be small enough to ensure that each member of the sub-
group is not seriously limited in the available airtime (“the amount of time available for
participation in the group”; Brown, 1997, p. 4). Therefore, subgroups should be limited to 10 to
12 adult members at most, and fewer if the members are children.
The leader of psychoeducational groups is in charge of managing the group as a whole,
disseminating information, and breaking groups into subgroups when necessary. “Effective lead-
ers are those who are skillful at managing time, are able to redirect the focus of the session when
appropriate, provide considerable structure for the group, and are competent at helping members
set clear, specific, and concrete goals” (Riva, 2014, p. 150). A leader who is not an expert in the
group’s focus area must bring in someone who is. The leader’s responsibilities then include man-
aging the expert’s presentation as well as the group’s activities. The juggling of data, along with
processes ensuring that group members benefit from the group experience, is demanding. Timing
is crucial, and the group leader must be cognizant of group members’ readiness to approach cer-
tain activities (Jones & Robinson, 2000). To do the job well, a psychoeducational group leader
should take preventive steps before the group’s first session. These include planning for session
length, session frequency, number of sessions, and what will occur within sessions (the curricu-
lum). Follow-up planning for subsequent sessions is crucial.
In the planning process, it is vital that the leader focus specifically on the design of the
group. Such attention to detail is a highly involved endeavor but has a tremendous payoff in keep-
ing the group focused and on course (Furr, 2000). In designing a group, Furr advocates a six-step
process: (1) stating the purpose, (2) establishing goals, (3) setting objectives, (4) selecting con-
tent, (5) designing experiential activities, and (6) evaluating. Such a procedure leads to purpose-
ful and meaningful outcomes.
Although the length, frequency, and number of sessions of psychoeducational groups will
differ according to the ages of the people involved and the stage of the group, these groups
u sually last from 50 minutes to 2 hours. In general, psychoeducational groups work best when
they have a regular meeting time, such as once a week. The number of sessions offered will
depend on the purpose, but the range varies from 4 to 20 or more sessions. The average number
of sessions is 8 to 10. Regardless of the number of sessions, psychoeducational groups should
have opening and termination sessions and at least one session dedicated to each of the goals of
the group (DeLucia-Waack & Nitza, 2014). However, all of these parameters are subject to
change as “emerging policies on parity for insurance coverage of mental health services . . . influ-
ence the length and focus of many psychoeducation groups, as part of the mental health care
system” (Brown, 1997, p. 13).
In general, psychoeducational groups stress growth through knowledge (ASGW, 1991,
2000). Summing up previous comments about such groups, Rivera et al. (2004) state that the
focus of psychoeducational groups is on transmitting, discussing, and integrating factual knowl-
edge. Because of this focus, psychoeducational groups are “amenable to certain technological
applications,” such as computer-assisted programs, video and audio transmissions, and com-
puter simulations (Bowman & Bowman, 1998, p. 434). Content includes, but is not limited to,
personal, social, vocational, and educational information. Activities in these groups can take
many forms but usually are presented in the form of nonthreatening exercises or group discus-
sions (Bates, Johnson, & Blaker, 1982). For instance, in working with individuals who have
undergone cardiac transplantation and their families in a psychoeducational short-term group,
Konstam (1995) found that framing anger in a positive way helped the group to discuss this
normally “taboo” emotion for heart patients. Furthermore, the group process helped members
realize they were not unique in their experiences of anger. By the end of the group, anger had
significantly decreased.
One way to improve psychoeducational groups is to give members out-of-group homework
exercises (Morgan, 2004). For instance, instead of just talking about the positive aspects of anger,
group members might be assigned a photo opportunity of taking pictures of anger at work in a
positive way. They might find that mild forms of anger or frustration can lead to people planting
gardens, paving roads, or clipping hedges, all of which have a positive outcome.
Reflection
When have you been a member of a psychoeducational group? What did you learn from the
experience? How did it help you or give you fresh insight or knowledge?
An Example of Psychoeducational Group Work: Life-Skills Development Groups

A special form of the psychoeducational group is the life-skills development group. The concept
of the life-skills group began to emerge in the 1970s when theorists such as Ivey (1973) and
Hopson and Hough (1976) started using terms such as psychoeducation and personal and social
education. In the 1980s, the momentum for this approach gained further impetus through the
social skills and life-skills training methods advocated by Gazda (1989). The emphasis on life-
skills training and its importance in society continues.
Life-skills training focuses on helping people identify and correct deficits in their life-
coping responses and learn new, appropriate behaviors. Sometimes these corrective measures are
achieved in individual counseling, but often they are carried out in a group setting. One example
is helping parents relate effectively to their children with disabilities (Seligman, 1993). The focus
of life-skills training is on immediate remediation and future prevention. The training itself is
primarily developmental, with the group emphasis being on “how to.” Activities within the group
may include the use of films, plays, demonstrations, role-plays, and guest speakers.
A life-skills emphasis is appropriate for individuals in schools, colleges, families, work
settings, clubs, and other natural group environments. Because many troubling situations arise in
groups, the group setting provides an excellent place in which to work on resolutions. Because of
the focus on life skills, such as increasing appropriate interpersonal communications or assertive-
ness abilities, “the growth process proceeds more comfortably, more observably, and with more
precise attention given to the specific ingredients that induce change” (Zimpfer, 1984, p. 204).
Through life-skills training, people can be taught on an intrapersonal level how to prevent
potential problems, such as depression, from occurring (Sommers-Flanagan, Barrett-Hakanson,
Clarke, & Sommers-Flanagan, 2000). They can also be reinforced for taking corrective measures
on behavioral and cognitive levels if difficulties arise. For example, Waldo and Harman (1999)
found that the communication and interpersonal relationships between state hospital patients and
staff improved and became more enjoyable when Bernard Guerney’s (1977) Relationship
Enhancement (RE) therapy approach was used in a group with both.
A number of steps are involved in learning life skills, many of which are the same as those
that Johnson and Johnson (2013) describe in learning group skills:
1. Understand why the skill is important and how it will be of value to you.
2. Understand what the skill is, what the component behaviors are that you have to engage in
to perform the skill, and when it should be used.
3. Find situations in which you can practice the skill over and over again while a “coach”
watches and evaluates how you are performing the skill.
4. Assess how well the . . . skill is being implemented.
5. Keep practicing until the skill feels real and it becomes an automatic habit pattern.
6. Load your practice toward success [set up practice units that can easily be mastered].
7. Get friends to encourage you to use the skill.
8. Help others learn the . . . skill. (pp. 53–54)
Through implementing these procedures, group members enable both themselves and oth-
ers. The result is a kind of snowball effect wherein skills continue to build on skills in an effective
and complementary way.
Life-skills development groups ideally offer both the opportunity to learn new ways of
behaving and the support necessary to continue to exercise them. Leaders and members can learn
through each other’s feedback and evaluations whether the strategies they employed have been
useful and thereby improve their mastery or delivery of skills for future situations. Participants
who profit most from these types of groups are those who have enough time and practice to fully
integrate what they have learned in the group into their real-life situations.
Case Example
Patrick Practices His Psychoeducational when he made his lesson plans for his four fifth-
Group Skills grade classes, he used different ways of presenting
the material: role-play, lecture, PowerPoint, and a
As a group leader, Patrick wanted to experiment in combination of these methods. He gave each class a
finding out what methods worked best in leading a pre- and posttest to see what they knew and what
psychoeducational group for preteens. Therefore,
they learned. He also measured how much they Questions

enjoyed the class.
Patrick was not surprised to find that the more Patrick’s results might be different from others
active role-play format received the highest rating. because of his circumstances. Therefore, think of
He was also not shocked to find that the lecture your own life experience and how you have learned
method was least well received. Interestingly, the best and with the most enjoyment when in a psy
classes learned about the same amount of informa- choeducational group. Were there methods used,
tion regardless of the method used, and in a follow- other than those just mentioned, that helped you
up test a few weeks later, Patrick found that the grasp or retain the material that was presented?
class that used a combination of methods had the What were they?
highest knowledge retention.
Counseling Groups
Counseling groups are preventive, growth oriented, and remedial. These groups are “generally
considered to be a treatment mode that is equal in effectiveness to individual counseling”
(Stockton, Morran, & Chang, 2014, p. 133). The focus of counseling groups, which are also
referred to as counseling/interpersonal problem-solving groups, is on the improvement of
interpersonal relationships and the intrapersonal growth of members through the help of the
group. Members are not in need of psychotherapy or remediation (Ward, 2010). Although goals
are personal, the group as a whole may share them. For instance, some counseling groups may
concentrate on ways for each individual in the group to deal with disabling emotions, such as
anger, whereas others may focus on disagreeable and crippling feelings, such as anxiety. Regard-
less, the interaction among people is highlighted, especially in problem solving. These groups
emphasize group dynamics and interpersonal relationships and tend to promote cohesion (Waldo
et al., 2007). Although psychoeducational groups are recommended for everyone on a continuous
basis, counseling groups are more selective. They “are generally for people who may be experi-
encing transitory maladjustment, who are at risk for the development of personal or interpersonal
problems, or who seek enhancement of personal qualities and abilities” (Merchant & Yozamp,
2014, p. 20). In other words, these groups are ideal for individuals experiencing usual, but often
difficult, problems of living that information alone will not solve.
The size of counseling groups varies with the ages of the individuals involved, ranging
from 3 or 4 in a children’s group to 8 to 12 in an adult group. The number of group meetings also
fluctuates but will generally be anywhere from 6 to 16 sessions. The leader is in charge of facili-
tating the group interaction but becomes less directly involved as the group develops.
Usually, the topics covered in counseling groups are developmental or situational, such as
educational, social, career, and personal. They also tend to be of short-term duration. Counseling
groups are a more direct approach to dealing with troublesome behaviors than are psychoeduca-
tional groups because they target specific behaviors and are focused on problem solving, instead
of being aimed at general difficulties that may or may not be pertinent to every member’s life. For
instance, Finn (2003) described a nine-session counseling group to help students cope with loss
in which members used artistic means, such as drawing, music, and drama, to access the underly-
ing feelings and thoughts common to grief and process what they were going through. The focus
in this counseling group was on a common experience, loss, that had taken many forms but that
was disruptive in these adolescents’ lives until dealt with openly.
A major advantage of counseling groups is the interpersonal interaction, feedback, and

contributions group members experience from one another over time. Certainly that was true in
the grief group just described.
One form a counseling group may take is adventure groups. This type of group was
originated by educator Kurt Hahn to enhance emotional and physical abilities in clients by hav-
ing them deal with safe but risk-taking events in the wilderness (Gillen & Balkin, 2006). Like
other groups, these groups go through a number of stages. They focus on the promotion of long-
term change and the opportunity to learn new coping skills. They may be used as adjuncts in
hospital and clinical settings. Fletcher and Hinkle (2002) found that integrating an adventure
component into an institutional setting produced positive results in participants, such as
enhanced self-confidence, self-concept, and well-being. Other findings support enhanced ben-
efits, such as more immediate insight and quicker movement through developmental stages
within the group.
Reflection
If you started a counseling group, do you think you would incorporate physical activities, such
as the arts or movement, into it, or do you think you would concentrate mainly on having mem-
bers talk about their concerns? Why would you do what you do, and how would it help the
group develop?
An Example of a Counseling Group: A Counseling Group for Counselors

Often counseling groups are conducted in schools or agencies with clients who want or need to
focus on a developmental or situational problematic aspect of their lives, such as making a career
decision or resolving negative feelings toward specific people or experiences. The purpose of the
group and its members is clear.
The counseling group chosen as an example here, a counseling group for counselors, can
be enhancing for several reasons. For example, it promotes a dialogue among members of a
profession who may otherwise not meet together at any other regular time. One of the most
important dimensions of this type of group, however, is to help counselors deal with what Kot-
tler (2010) describes as the “toxic effect” that comes from working with people in pain. The
toxic effect includes physical and psychic isolation, repeated feelings of loss in regard to client
termination, and interpersonal distancing from family and friends who may perceive counselors
as interpreting their words and actions. Thus, as Guy (1987) recommends, counselors need
periodic, regular counseling to keep themselves well and functioning in an adequate and effec-
tive manner.
A counseling group for counselors can be conducted in a number of ways, but Emerson
(1995) has set up an open-ended group model that appears to be most appropriate for practition-
ers in local communities. Her model is premised on Coche’s (1984) suggestion that experienced
group counselors reexperience participation in a counseling group. Specifically, Coche states that
this reexperience can help group workers go beyond blasé and stereotypical responses, make
them more aware of group participants’ feelings, and resensitize them professionally to their
power as group leaders.
In a counseling group for counselors, just as in other group counseling, self-disclosure and
exploration of one’s strengths and weaknesses are important for the development of the group
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DANCE ON STILTS AT THE GIRLS’ UNYAGO, NIUCHI
Newala, too, suffers from the distance of its water-supply—at least

the Newala of to-day does; there was once another Newala in a lovely
valley at the foot of the plateau. I visited it and found scarcely a trace
of houses, only a Christian cemetery, with the graves of several
missionaries and their converts, remaining as a monument of its
former glories. But the surroundings are wonderfully beautiful. A
thick grove of splendid mango-trees closes in the weather-worn
crosses and headstones; behind them, combining the useful and the
agreeable, is a whole plantation of lemon-trees covered with ripe
fruit; not the small African kind, but a much larger and also juicier
imported variety, which drops into the hands of the passing traveller,
without calling for any exertion on his part. Old Newala is now under
the jurisdiction of the native pastor, Daudi, at Chingulungulu, who,
as I am on very friendly terms with him, allows me, as a matter of
course, the use of this lemon-grove during my stay at Newala.
FEET MUTILATED BY THE RAVAGES OF THE “JIGGER”
(Sarcopsylla penetrans)
The water-supply of New Newala is in the bottom of the valley,

some 1,600 feet lower down. The way is not only long and fatiguing,
but the water, when we get it, is thoroughly bad. We are suffering not
only from this, but from the fact that the arrangements at Newala are
nothing short of luxurious. We have a separate kitchen—a hut built
against the boma palisade on the right of the baraza, the interior of
which is not visible from our usual position. Our two cooks were not
long in finding this out, and they consequently do—or rather neglect
to do—what they please. In any case they do not seem to be very
particular about the boiling of our drinking-water—at least I can
attribute to no other cause certain attacks of a dysenteric nature,
from which both Knudsen and I have suffered for some time. If a
man like Omari has to be left unwatched for a moment, he is capable
of anything. Besides this complaint, we are inconvenienced by the
state of our nails, which have become as hard as glass, and crack on
the slightest provocation, and I have the additional infliction of
pimples all over me. As if all this were not enough, we have also, for
the last week been waging war against the jigger, who has found his
Eldorado in the hot sand of the Makonde plateau. Our men are seen
all day long—whenever their chronic colds and the dysentery likewise
raging among them permit—occupied in removing this scourge of
Africa from their feet and trying to prevent the disastrous
consequences of its presence. It is quite common to see natives of
this place with one or two toes missing; many have lost all their toes,
or even the whole front part of the foot, so that a well-formed leg
ends in a shapeless stump. These ravages are caused by the female of
Sarcopsylla penetrans, which bores its way under the skin and there
develops an egg-sac the size of a pea. In all books on the subject, it is
stated that one’s attention is called to the presence of this parasite by
an intolerable itching. This agrees very well with my experience, so
far as the softer parts of the sole, the spaces between and under the
toes, and the side of the foot are concerned, but if the creature
penetrates through the harder parts of the heel or ball of the foot, it
may escape even the most careful search till it has reached maturity.
Then there is no time to be lost, if the horrible ulceration, of which
we see cases by the dozen every day, is to be prevented. It is much
easier, by the way, to discover the insect on the white skin of a
European than on that of a native, on which the dark speck scarcely
shows. The four or five jiggers which, in spite of the fact that I
constantly wore high laced boots, chose my feet to settle in, were
taken out for me by the all-accomplished Knudsen, after which I
thought it advisable to wash out the cavities with corrosive
sublimate. The natives have a different sort of disinfectant—they fill
the hole with scraped roots. In a tiny Makua village on the slope of
the plateau south of Newala, we saw an old woman who had filled all
the spaces under her toe-nails with powdered roots by way of
prophylactic treatment. What will be the result, if any, who can say?
The rest of the many trifling ills which trouble our existence are
really more comic than serious. In the absence of anything else to
smoke, Knudsen and I at last opened a box of cigars procured from
the Indian store-keeper at Lindi, and tried them, with the most
distressing results. Whether they contain opium or some other
narcotic, neither of us can say, but after the tenth puff we were both
“off,” three-quarters stupefied and unspeakably wretched. Slowly we
recovered—and what happened next? Half-an-hour later we were
once more smoking these poisonous concoctions—so insatiable is the
craving for tobacco in the tropics.
Even my present attacks of fever scarcely deserve to be taken
seriously. I have had no less than three here at Newala, all of which
have run their course in an incredibly short time. In the early
afternoon, I am busy with my old natives, asking questions and
making notes. The strong midday coffee has stimulated my spirits to
an extraordinary degree, the brain is active and vigorous, and work
progresses rapidly, while a pleasant warmth pervades the whole
body. Suddenly this gives place to a violent chill, forcing me to put on
my overcoat, though it is only half-past three and the afternoon sun
is at its hottest. Now the brain no longer works with such acuteness
and logical precision; more especially does it fail me in trying to
establish the syntax of the difficult Makua language on which I have
ventured, as if I had not enough to do without it. Under the
circumstances it seems advisable to take my temperature, and I do
so, to save trouble, without leaving my seat, and while going on with
my work. On examination, I find it to be 101·48°. My tutors are
abruptly dismissed and my bed set up in the baraza; a few minutes
later I am in it and treating myself internally with hot water and
lemon-juice.
Three hours later, the thermometer marks nearly 104°, and I make
them carry me back into the tent, bed and all, as I am now perspiring
heavily, and exposure to the cold wind just beginning to blow might
mean a fatal chill. I lie still for a little while, and then find, to my
great relief, that the temperature is not rising, but rather falling. This
is about 7.30 p.m. At 8 p.m. I find, to my unbounded astonishment,
that it has fallen below 98·6°, and I feel perfectly well. I read for an
hour or two, and could very well enjoy a smoke, if I had the
wherewithal—Indian cigars being out of the question.
Having no medical training, I am at a loss to account for this state
of things. It is impossible that these transitory attacks of high fever
should be malarial; it seems more probable that they are due to a
kind of sunstroke. On consulting my note-book, I become more and
more inclined to think this is the case, for these attacks regularly
follow extreme fatigue and long exposure to strong sunshine. They at
least have the advantage of being only short interruptions to my
work, as on the following morning I am always quite fresh and fit.
My treasure of a cook is suffering from an enormous hydrocele which
makes it difficult for him to get up, and Moritz is obliged to keep in
the dark on account of his inflamed eyes. Knudsen’s cook, a raw boy
from somewhere in the bush, knows still less of cooking than Omari;
consequently Nils Knudsen himself has been promoted to the vacant
post. Finding that we had come to the end of our supplies, he began
by sending to Chingulungulu for the four sucking-pigs which we had
bought from Matola and temporarily left in his charge; and when
they came up, neatly packed in a large crate, he callously slaughtered
the biggest of them. The first joint we were thoughtless enough to
entrust for roasting to Knudsen’s mshenzi cook, and it was
consequently uneatable; but we made the rest of the animal into a
jelly which we ate with great relish after weeks of underfeeding,
consuming incredible helpings of it at both midday and evening
meals. The only drawback is a certain want of variety in the tinned
vegetables. Dr. Jäger, to whom the Geographical Commission
entrusted the provisioning of the expeditions—mine as well as his
own—because he had more time on his hands than the rest of us,
seems to have laid in a huge stock of Teltow turnips,[46] an article of
food which is all very well for occasional use, but which quickly palls
when set before one every day; and we seem to have no other tins
left. There is no help for it—we must put up with the turnips; but I
am certain that, once I am home again, I shall not touch them for ten
years to come.
Amid all these minor evils, which, after all, go to make up the
genuine flavour of Africa, there is at least one cheering touch:
Knudsen has, with the dexterity of a skilled mechanic, repaired my 9
× 12 cm. camera, at least so far that I can use it with a little care.
How, in the absence of finger-nails, he was able to accomplish such a
ticklish piece of work, having no tool but a clumsy screw-driver for
taking to pieces and putting together again the complicated
mechanism of the instantaneous shutter, is still a mystery to me; but
he did it successfully. The loss of his finger-nails shows him in a light
contrasting curiously enough with the intelligence evinced by the
above operation; though, after all, it is scarcely surprising after his
ten years’ residence in the bush. One day, at Lindi, he had occasion
to wash a dog, which must have been in need of very thorough
cleansing, for the bottle handed to our friend for the purpose had an
extremely strong smell. Having performed his task in the most
conscientious manner, he perceived with some surprise that the dog
did not appear much the better for it, and was further surprised by
finding his own nails ulcerating away in the course of the next few
days. “How was I to know that carbolic acid has to be diluted?” he
mutters indignantly, from time to time, with a troubled gaze at his
mutilated finger-tips.
Since we came to Newala we have been making excursions in all
directions through the surrounding country, in accordance with old
habit, and also because the akida Sefu did not get together the tribal
elders from whom I wanted information so speedily as he had
promised. There is, however, no harm done, as, even if seen only
from the outside, the country and people are interesting enough.
The Makonde plateau is like a large rectangular table rounded off
at the corners. Measured from the Indian Ocean to Newala, it is
about seventy-five miles long, and between the Rovuma and the
Lukuledi it averages fifty miles in breadth, so that its superficial area
is about two-thirds of that of the kingdom of Saxony. The surface,
however, is not level, but uniformly inclined from its south-western
edge to the ocean. From the upper edge, on which Newala lies, the
eye ranges for many miles east and north-east, without encountering
any obstacle, over the Makonde bush. It is a green sea, from which
here and there thick clouds of smoke rise, to show that it, too, is
inhabited by men who carry on their tillage like so many other
primitive peoples, by cutting down and burning the bush, and
manuring with the ashes. Even in the radiant light of a tropical day
such a fire is a grand sight.
Much less effective is the impression produced just now by the
great western plain as seen from the edge of the plateau. As often as
time permits, I stroll along this edge, sometimes in one direction,
sometimes in another, in the hope of finding the air clear enough to
let me enjoy the view; but I have always been disappointed.
Wherever one looks, clouds of smoke rise from the burning bush,
and the air is full of smoke and vapour. It is a pity, for under more
favourable circumstances the panorama of the whole country up to
the distant Majeje hills must be truly magnificent. It is of little use
taking photographs now, and an outline sketch gives a very poor idea
of the scenery. In one of these excursions I went out of my way to
make a personal attempt on the Makonde bush. The present edge of
the plateau is the result of a far-reaching process of destruction
through erosion and denudation. The Makonde strata are
everywhere cut into by ravines, which, though short, are hundreds of
yards in depth. In consequence of the loose stratification of these
beds, not only are the walls of these ravines nearly vertical, but their
upper end is closed by an equally steep escarpment, so that the
western edge of the Makonde plateau is hemmed in by a series of
deep, basin-like valleys. In order to get from one side of such a ravine
to the other, I cut my way through the bush with a dozen of my men.
It was a very open part, with more grass than scrub, but even so the
short stretch of less than two hundred yards was very hard work; at
the end of it the men’s calicoes were in rags and they themselves
bleeding from hundreds of scratches, while even our strong khaki
suits had not escaped scatheless.
NATIVE PATH THROUGH THE MAKONDE BUSH, NEAR

MAHUTA
I see increasing reason to believe that the view formed some time
back as to the origin of the Makonde bush is the correct one. I have
no doubt that it is not a natural product, but the result of human
occupation. Those parts of the high country where man—as a very
slight amount of practice enables the eye to perceive at once—has not
yet penetrated with axe and hoe, are still occupied by a splendid
timber forest quite able to sustain a comparison with our mixed
forests in Germany. But wherever man has once built his hut or tilled
his field, this horrible bush springs up. Every phase of this process
may be seen in the course of a couple of hours’ walk along the main
road. From the bush to right or left, one hears the sound of the axe—
not from one spot only, but from several directions at once. A few
steps further on, we can see what is taking place. The brush has been
cut down and piled up in heaps to the height of a yard or more,
between which the trunks of the large trees stand up like the last
pillars of a magnificent ruined building. These, too, present a
melancholy spectacle: the destructive Makonde have ringed them—
cut a broad strip of bark all round to ensure their dying off—and also
piled up pyramids of brush round them. Father and son, mother and
son-in-law, are chopping away perseveringly in the background—too
busy, almost, to look round at the white stranger, who usually excites
so much interest. If you pass by the same place a week later, the piles
of brushwood have disappeared and a thick layer of ashes has taken
the place of the green forest. The large trees stretch their
smouldering trunks and branches in dumb accusation to heaven—if
they have not already fallen and been more or less reduced to ashes,
perhaps only showing as a white stripe on the dark ground.
This work of destruction is carried out by the Makonde alike on the
virgin forest and on the bush which has sprung up on sites already
cultivated and deserted. In the second case they are saved the trouble
of burning the large trees, these being entirely absent in the
secondary bush.
After burning this piece of forest ground and loosening it with the
hoe, the native sows his corn and plants his vegetables. All over the
country, he goes in for bed-culture, which requires, and, in fact,
receives, the most careful attention. Weeds are nowhere tolerated in
the south of German East Africa. The crops may fail on the plains,
where droughts are frequent, but never on the plateau with its
abundant rains and heavy dews. Its fortunate inhabitants even have
the satisfaction of seeing the proud Wayao and Wamakua working
for them as labourers, driven by hunger to serve where they were
accustomed to rule.
But the light, sandy soil is soon exhausted, and would yield no
harvest the second year if cultivated twice running. This fact has
been familiar to the native for ages; consequently he provides in
time, and, while his crop is growing, prepares the next plot with axe
and firebrand. Next year he plants this with his various crops and
lets the first piece lie fallow. For a short time it remains waste and
desolate; then nature steps in to repair the destruction wrought by
man; a thousand new growths spring out of the exhausted soil, and
even the old stumps put forth fresh shoots. Next year the new growth
is up to one’s knees, and in a few years more it is that terrible,
impenetrable bush, which maintains its position till the black
occupier of the land has made the round of all the available sites and
come back to his starting point.
The Makonde are, body and soul, so to speak, one with this bush.
According to my Yao informants, indeed, their name means nothing
else but “bush people.” Their own tradition says that they have been
settled up here for a very long time, but to my surprise they laid great
stress on an original immigration. Their old homes were in the
south-east, near Mikindani and the mouth of the Rovuma, whence
their peaceful forefathers were driven by the continual raids of the
Sakalavas from Madagascar and the warlike Shirazis[47] of the coast,
to take refuge on the almost inaccessible plateau. I have studied
African ethnology for twenty years, but the fact that changes of
population in this apparently quiet and peaceable corner of the earth
could have been occasioned by outside enterprises taking place on
the high seas, was completely new to me. It is, no doubt, however,
correct.
The charming tribal legend of the Makonde—besides informing us
of other interesting matters—explains why they have to live in the
thickest of the bush and a long way from the edge of the plateau,
instead of making their permanent homes beside the purling brooks
and springs of the low country.
“The place where the tribe originated is Mahuta, on the southern
side of the plateau towards the Rovuma, where of old time there was
nothing but thick bush. Out of this bush came a man who never
washed himself or shaved his head, and who ate and drank but little.
He went out and made a human figure from the wood of a tree
growing in the open country, which he took home to his abode in the
bush and there set it upright. In the night this image came to life and
was a woman. The man and woman went down together to the
Rovuma to wash themselves. Here the woman gave birth to a still-
born child. They left that place and passed over the high land into the
valley of the Mbemkuru, where the woman had another child, which
was also born dead. Then they returned to the high bush country of
Mahuta, where the third child was born, which lived and grew up. In
course of time, the couple had many more children, and called
themselves Wamatanda. These were the ancestral stock of the
Makonde, also called Wamakonde,[48] i.e., aborigines. Their
forefather, the man from the bush, gave his children the command to
bury their dead upright, in memory of the mother of their race who
was cut out of wood and awoke to life when standing upright. He also
warned them against settling in the valleys and near large streams,
for sickness and death dwelt there. They were to make it a rule to
have their huts at least an hour’s walk from the nearest watering-
place; then their children would thrive and escape illness.”
The explanation of the name Makonde given by my informants is
somewhat different from that contained in the above legend, which I
extract from a little book (small, but packed with information), by
Pater Adams, entitled Lindi und sein Hinterland. Otherwise, my
results agree exactly with the statements of the legend. Washing?
Hapana—there is no such thing. Why should they do so? As it is, the
supply of water scarcely suffices for cooking and drinking; other
people do not wash, so why should the Makonde distinguish himself
by such needless eccentricity? As for shaving the head, the short,
woolly crop scarcely needs it,[49] so the second ancestral precept is
likewise easy enough to follow. Beyond this, however, there is
nothing ridiculous in the ancestor’s advice. I have obtained from
various local artists a fairly large number of figures carved in wood,
ranging from fifteen to twenty-three inches in height, and
representing women belonging to the great group of the Mavia,
Makonde, and Matambwe tribes. The carving is remarkably well
done and renders the female type with great accuracy, especially the
keloid ornamentation, to be described later on. As to the object and
meaning of their works the sculptors either could or (more probably)
would tell me nothing, and I was forced to content myself with the
scanty information vouchsafed by one man, who said that the figures
were merely intended to represent the nembo—the artificial
deformations of pelele, ear-discs, and keloids. The legend recorded
by Pater Adams places these figures in a new light. They must surely
be more than mere dolls; and we may even venture to assume that
they are—though the majority of present-day Makonde are probably
unaware of the fact—representations of the tribal ancestress.
The references in the legend to the descent from Mahuta to the
Rovuma, and to a journey across the highlands into the Mbekuru
valley, undoubtedly indicate the previous history of the tribe, the
travels of the ancestral pair typifying the migrations of their
descendants. The descent to the neighbouring Rovuma valley, with
its extraordinary fertility and great abundance of game, is intelligible
at a glance—but the crossing of the Lukuledi depression, the ascent
to the Rondo Plateau and the descent to the Mbemkuru, also lie
within the bounds of probability, for all these districts have exactly
the same character as the extreme south. Now, however, comes a
point of especial interest for our bacteriological age. The primitive
Makonde did not enjoy their lives in the marshy river-valleys.
Disease raged among them, and many died. It was only after they
had returned to their original home near Mahuta, that the health
conditions of these people improved. We are very apt to think of the
African as a stupid person whose ignorance of nature is only equalled
by his fear of it, and who looks on all mishaps as caused by evil
spirits and malignant natural powers. It is much more correct to
assume in this case that the people very early learnt to distinguish
districts infested with malaria from those where it is absent.
This knowledge is crystallized in the
ancestral warning against settling in the
valleys and near the great waters, the
dwelling-places of disease and death. At the
same time, for security against the hostile
Mavia south of the Rovuma, it was enacted
that every settlement must be not less than a
certain distance from the southern edge of the
plateau. Such in fact is their mode of life at the
present day. It is not such a bad one, and
certainly they are both safer and more
comfortable than the Makua, the recent
intruders from the south, who have made USUAL METHOD OF
good their footing on the western edge of the CLOSING HUT-DOOR
plateau, extending over a fairly wide belt of
country. Neither Makua nor Makonde show in their dwellings
anything of the size and comeliness of the Yao houses in the plain,
especially at Masasi, Chingulungulu and Zuza’s. Jumbe Chauro, a
Makonde hamlet not far from Newala, on the road to Mahuta, is the
most important settlement of the tribe I have yet seen, and has fairly
spacious huts. But how slovenly is their construction compared with
the palatial residences of the elephant-hunters living in the plain.
The roofs are still more untidy than in the general run of huts during
the dry season, the walls show here and there the scanty beginnings
or the lamentable remains of the mud plastering, and the interior is a
veritable dog-kennel; dirt, dust and disorder everywhere. A few huts
only show any attempt at division into rooms, and this consists
merely of very roughly-made bamboo partitions. In one point alone
have I noticed any indication of progress—in the method of fastening
the door. Houses all over the south are secured in a simple but
ingenious manner. The door consists of a set of stout pieces of wood
or bamboo, tied with bark-string to two cross-pieces, and moving in
two grooves round one of the door-posts, so as to open inwards. If
the owner wishes to leave home, he takes two logs as thick as a man’s
upper arm and about a yard long. One of these is placed obliquely
against the middle of the door from the inside, so as to form an angle
of from 60° to 75° with the ground. He then places the second piece
horizontally across the first, pressing it downward with all his might.
It is kept in place by two strong posts planted in the ground a few
inches inside the door. This fastening is absolutely safe, but of course
cannot be applied to both doors at once, otherwise how could the
owner leave or enter his house? I have not yet succeeded in finding
out how the back door is fastened.
MAKONDE LOCK AND KEY AT JUMBE CHAURO

This is the general way of closing a house. The Makonde at Jumbe
Chauro, however, have a much more complicated, solid and original
one. Here, too, the door is as already described, except that there is
only one post on the inside, standing by itself about six inches from
one side of the doorway. Opposite this post is a hole in the wall just
large enough to admit a man’s arm. The door is closed inside by a
large wooden bolt passing through a hole in this post and pressing
with its free end against the door. The other end has three holes into
which fit three pegs running in vertical grooves inside the post. The
door is opened with a wooden key about a foot long, somewhat
curved and sloped off at the butt; the other end has three pegs
corresponding to the holes, in the bolt, so that, when it is thrust
through the hole in the wall and inserted into the rectangular
opening in the post, the pegs can be lifted and the bolt drawn out.[50]
MODE OF INSERTING THE KEY
With no small pride first one householder and then a second

showed me on the spot the action of this greatest invention of the
Makonde Highlands. To both with an admiring exclamation of
“Vizuri sana!” (“Very fine!”). I expressed the wish to take back these
marvels with me to Ulaya, to show the Wazungu what clever fellows
the Makonde are. Scarcely five minutes after my return to camp at
Newala, the two men came up sweating under the weight of two
heavy logs which they laid down at my feet, handing over at the same
time the keys of the fallen fortress. Arguing, logically enough, that if
the key was wanted, the lock would be wanted with it, they had taken
their axes and chopped down the posts—as it never occurred to them
to dig them out of the ground and so bring them intact. Thus I have
two badly damaged specimens, and the owners, instead of praise,
come in for a blowing-up.
The Makua huts in the environs of Newala are especially
miserable; their more than slovenly construction reminds one of the
temporary erections of the Makua at Hatia’s, though the people here
have not been concerned in a war. It must therefore be due to
congenital idleness, or else to the absence of a powerful chief. Even
the baraza at Mlipa’s, a short hour’s walk south-east of Newala,
shares in this general neglect. While public buildings in this country
are usually looked after more or less carefully, this is in evident
danger of being blown over by the first strong easterly gale. The only
attractive object in this whole district is the grave of the late chief
Mlipa. I visited it in the morning, while the sun was still trying with
partial success to break through the rolling mists, and the circular
grove of tall euphorbias, which, with a broken pot, is all that marks
the old king’s resting-place, impressed one with a touch of pathos.
Even my very materially-minded carriers seemed to feel something
of the sort, for instead of their usual ribald songs, they chanted
solemnly, as we marched on through the dense green of the Makonde
bush:—
“We shall arrive with the great master; we stand in a row and have
no fear about getting our food and our money from the Serkali (the
Government). We are not afraid; we are going along with the great
master, the lion; we are going down to the coast and back.”
With regard to the characteristic features of the various tribes here
on the western edge of the plateau, I can arrive at no other
conclusion than the one already come to in the plain, viz., that it is
impossible for anyone but a trained anthropologist to assign any
given individual at once to his proper tribe. In fact, I think that even
an anthropological specialist, after the most careful examination,
might find it a difficult task to decide. The whole congeries of peoples
collected in the region bounded on the west by the great Central
African rift, Tanganyika and Nyasa, and on the east by the Indian
Ocean, are closely related to each other—some of their languages are
only distinguished from one another as dialects of the same speech,
and no doubt all the tribes present the same shape of skull and
structure of skeleton. Thus, surely, there can be no very striking
differences in outward appearance.
Even did such exist, I should have no time
to concern myself with them, for day after day,
I have to see or hear, as the case may be—in
any case to grasp and record—an
extraordinary number of ethnographic
phenomena. I am almost disposed to think it
fortunate that some departments of inquiry, at
least, are barred by external circumstances.
Chief among these is the subject of iron-
working. We are apt to think of Africa as a
country where iron ore is everywhere, so to
speak, to be picked up by the roadside, and
where it would be quite surprising if the
inhabitants had not learnt to smelt the
material ready to their hand. In fact, the
knowledge of this art ranges all over the
continent, from the Kabyles in the north to the
Kafirs in the south. Here between the Rovuma
and the Lukuledi the conditions are not so
favourable. According to the statements of the
Makonde, neither ironstone nor any other
form of iron ore is known to them. They have
not therefore advanced to the art of smelting
the metal, but have hitherto bought all their
THE ANCESTRESS OF
THE MAKONDE
iron implements from neighbouring tribes.
Even in the plain the inhabitants are not much
better off. Only one man now living is said to
understand the art of smelting iron. This old fundi lives close to
Huwe, that isolated, steep-sided block of granite which rises out of
the green solitude between Masasi and Chingulungulu, and whose
jagged and splintered top meets the traveller’s eye everywhere. While
still at Masasi I wished to see this man at work, but was told that,
frightened by the rising, he had retired across the Rovuma, though
he would soon return. All subsequent inquiries as to whether the
fundi had come back met with the genuine African answer, “Bado”
(“Not yet”).
BRAZIER
Some consolation was afforded me by a brassfounder, whom I

came across in the bush near Akundonde’s. This man is the favourite
of women, and therefore no doubt of the gods; he welds the glittering
brass rods purchased at the coast into those massive, heavy rings
which, on the wrists and ankles of the local fair ones, continually give
me fresh food for admiration. Like every decent master-craftsman he
had all his tools with him, consisting of a pair of bellows, three
crucibles and a hammer—nothing more, apparently. He was quite
willing to show his skill, and in a twinkling had fixed his bellows on
the ground. They are simply two goat-skins, taken off whole, the four
legs being closed by knots, while the upper opening, intended to
admit the air, is kept stretched by two pieces of wood. At the lower
end of the skin a smaller opening is left into which a wooden tube is
stuck. The fundi has quickly borrowed a heap of wood-embers from
the nearest hut; he then fixes the free ends of the two tubes into an
earthen pipe, and clamps them to the ground by means of a bent
piece of wood. Now he fills one of his small clay crucibles, the dross
on which shows that they have been long in use, with the yellow
material, places it in the midst of the embers, which, at present are
only faintly glimmering, and begins his work. In quick alternation
the smith’s two hands move up and down with the open ends of the
bellows; as he raises his hand he holds the slit wide open, so as to let
the air enter the skin bag unhindered. In pressing it down he closes
the bag, and the air puffs through the bamboo tube and clay pipe into
the fire, which quickly burns up. The smith, however, does not keep
on with this work, but beckons to another man, who relieves him at
the bellows, while he takes some more tools out of a large skin pouch
carried on his back. I look on in wonder as, with a smooth round
stick about the thickness of a finger, he bores a few vertical holes into
the clean sand of the soil. This should not be difficult, yet the man
seems to be taking great pains over it. Then he fastens down to the
ground, with a couple of wooden clamps, a neat little trough made by
splitting a joint of bamboo in half, so that the ends are closed by the
two knots. At last the yellow metal has attained the right consistency,
and the fundi lifts the crucible from the fire by means of two sticks
split at the end to serve as tongs. A short swift turn to the left—a
tilting of the crucible—and the molten brass, hissing and giving forth
clouds of smoke, flows first into the bamboo mould and then into the
holes in the ground.
The technique of this backwoods craftsman may not be very far
advanced, but it cannot be denied that he knows how to obtain an
adequate result by the simplest means. The ladies of highest rank in
this country—that is to say, those who can afford it, wear two kinds
of these massive brass rings, one cylindrical, the other semicircular
in section. The latter are cast in the most ingenious way in the
bamboo mould, the former in the circular hole in the sand. It is quite
a simple matter for the fundi to fit these bars to the limbs of his fair
customers; with a few light strokes of his hammer he bends the
pliable brass round arm or ankle without further inconvenience to
the wearer.
SHAPING THE POT
SMOOTHING WITH MAIZE-COB
CUTTING THE EDGE

FINISHING THE BOTTOM
LAST SMOOTHING BEFORE

BURNING
FIRING THE BRUSH-PILE

LIGHTING THE FARTHER SIDE OF
THE PILE
TURNING THE RED-HOT VESSEL
NYASA WOMAN MAKING POTS AT MASASI

Pottery is an art which must always and everywhere excite the
interest of the student, just because it is so intimately connected with
the development of human culture, and because its relics are one of
the principal factors in the reconstruction of our own condition in
prehistoric times. I shall always remember with pleasure the two or
three afternoons at Masasi when Salim Matola’s mother, a slightly-
built, graceful, pleasant-looking woman, explained to me with
touching patience, by means of concrete illustrations, the ceramic art
of her people. The only implements for this primitive process were a
lump of clay in her left hand, and in the right a calabash containing
the following valuables: the fragment of a maize-cob stripped of all
its grains, a smooth, oval pebble, about the size of a pigeon’s egg, a
few chips of gourd-shell, a bamboo splinter about the length of one’s
hand, a small shell, and a bunch of some herb resembling spinach.
Nothing more. The woman scraped with the
shell a round, shallow hole in the soft, fine
sand of the soil, and, when an active young
girl had filled the calabash with water for her,
she began to knead the clay. As if by magic it
gradually assumed the shape of a rough but
already well-shaped vessel, which only wanted
a little touching up with the instruments
before mentioned. I looked out with the
MAKUA WOMAN closest attention for any indication of the use
MAKING A POT. of the potter’s wheel, in however rudimentary
SHOWS THE a form, but no—hapana (there is none). The
BEGINNINGS OF THE embryo pot stood firmly in its little
POTTER’S WHEEL
depression, and the woman walked round it in
a stooping posture, whether she was removing
small stones or similar foreign bodies with the maize-cob, smoothing
the inner or outer surface with the splinter of bamboo, or later, after
letting it dry for a day, pricking in the ornamentation with a pointed
bit of gourd-shell, or working out the bottom, or cutting the edge
with a sharp bamboo knife, or giving the last touches to the finished
vessel. This occupation of the women is infinitely toilsome, but it is
without doubt an accurate reproduction of the process in use among
our ancestors of the Neolithic and Bronze ages.
There is no doubt that the invention of pottery, an item in human
progress whose importance cannot be over-estimated, is due to
women. Rough, coarse and unfeeling, the men of the horde range
over the countryside. When the united cunning of the hunters has
succeeded in killing the game; not one of them thinks of carrying
home the spoil. A bright fire, kindled by a vigorous wielding of the
drill, is crackling beside them; the animal has been cleaned and cut
up secundum artem, and, after a slight singeing, will soon disappear
under their sharp teeth; no one all this time giving a single thought
to wife or child.
To what shifts, on the other hand, the primitive wife, and still more
the primitive mother, was put! Not even prehistoric stomachs could
endure an unvarying diet of raw food. Something or other suggested
the beneficial effect of hot water on the majority of approved but
indigestible dishes. Perhaps a neighbour had tried holding the hard
roots or tubers over the fire in a calabash filled with water—or maybe
an ostrich-egg-shell, or a hastily improvised vessel of bark. They
became much softer and more palatable than they had previously
been; but, unfortunately, the vessel could not stand the fire and got
charred on the outside. That can be remedied, thought our
ancestress, and plastered a layer of wet clay round a similar vessel.
This is an improvement; the cooking utensil remains uninjured, but
the heat of the fire has shrunk it, so that it is loose in its shell. The
next step is to detach it, so, with a firm grip and a jerk, shell and
kernel are separated, and pottery is invented. Perhaps, however, the
discovery which led to an intelligent use of the burnt-clay shell, was
made in a slightly different way. Ostrich-eggs and calabashes are not
to be found in every part of the world, but everywhere mankind has
arrived at the art of making baskets out of pliant materials, such as
bark, bast, strips of palm-leaf, supple twigs, etc. Our inventor has no
water-tight vessel provided by nature. “Never mind, let us line the
basket with clay.” This answers the purpose, but alas! the basket gets
burnt over the blazing fire, the woman watches the process of
cooking with increasing uneasiness, fearing a leak, but no leak
appears. The food, done to a turn, is eaten with peculiar relish; and
the cooking-vessel is examined, half in curiosity, half in satisfaction
at the result. The plastic clay is now hard as stone, and at the same
time looks exceedingly well, for the neat plaiting of the burnt basket
is traced all over it in a pretty pattern. Thus, simultaneously with
pottery, its ornamentation was invented.
Primitive woman has another claim to respect. It was the man,
roving abroad, who invented the art of producing fire at will, but the
woman, unable to imitate him in this, has been a Vestal from the
earliest times. Nothing gives so much trouble as the keeping alight of
the smouldering brand, and, above all, when all the men are absent
from the camp. Heavy rain-clouds gather, already the first large
drops are falling, the first gusts of the storm rage over the plain. The
little flame, a greater anxiety to the woman than her own children,
flickers unsteadily in the blast. What is to be done? A sudden thought
occurs to her, and in an instant she has constructed a primitive hut
out of strips of bark, to protect the flame against rain and wind.
This, or something very like it, was the way in which the principle
of the house was discovered; and even the most hardened misogynist
cannot fairly refuse a woman the credit of it. The protection of the
hearth-fire from the weather is the germ from which the human
dwelling was evolved. Men had little, if any share, in this forward
step, and that only at a late stage. Even at the present day, the
plastering of the housewall with clay and the manufacture of pottery
are exclusively the women’s business. These are two very significant
survivals. Our European kitchen-garden, too, is originally a woman’s
invention, and the hoe, the primitive instrument of agriculture, is,
characteristically enough, still used in this department. But the
noblest achievement which we owe to the other sex is unquestionably
the art of cookery. Roasting alone—the oldest process—is one for
which men took the hint (a very obvious one) from nature. It must
have been suggested by the scorched carcase of some animal
overtaken by the destructive forest-fires. But boiling—the process of
improving organic substances by the help of water heated to boiling-
point—is a much later discovery. It is so recent that it has not even
yet penetrated to all parts of the world. The Polynesians understand
how to steam food, that is, to cook it, neatly wrapped in leaves, in a
hole in the earth between hot stones, the air being excluded, and
(sometimes) a few drops of water sprinkled on the stones; but they
do not understand boiling.
To come back from this digression, we find that the slender Nyasa
woman has, after once more carefully examining the finished pot,
put it aside in the shade to dry. On the following day she sends me
word by her son, Salim Matola, who is always on hand, that she is
going to do the burning, and, on coming out of my house, I find her
already hard at work. She has spread on the ground a layer of very
dry sticks, about as thick as one’s thumb, has laid the pot (now of a
yellowish-grey colour) on them, and is piling brushwood round it.
My faithful Pesa mbili, the mnyampara, who has been standing by,
most obligingly, with a lighted stick, now hands it to her. Both of
them, blowing steadily, light the pile on the lee side, and, when the
flame begins to catch, on the weather side also. Soon the whole is in a
blaze, but the dry fuel is quickly consumed and the fire dies down, so
that we see the red-hot vessel rising from the ashes. The woman
turns it continually with a long stick, sometimes one way and
sometimes another, so that it may be evenly heated all over. In
twenty minutes she rolls it out of the ash-heap, takes up the bundle
of spinach, which has been lying for two days in a jar of water, and
sprinkles the red-hot clay with it. The places where the drops fall are
marked by black spots on the uniform reddish-brown surface. With a
sigh of relief, and with visible satisfaction, the woman rises to an
erect position; she is standing just in a line between me and the fire,
from which a cloud of smoke is just rising: I press the ball of my
camera, the shutter clicks—the apotheosis is achieved! Like a
priestess, representative of her inventive sex, the graceful woman
stands: at her feet the hearth-fire she has given us beside her the
invention she has devised for us, in the background the home she has
built for us.
At Newala, also, I have had the manufacture of pottery carried on
in my presence. Technically the process is better than that already
described, for here we find the beginnings of the potter’s wheel,
which does not seem to exist in the plains; at least I have seen
nothing of the sort. The artist, a frightfully stupid Makua woman, did
not make a depression in the ground to receive the pot she was about
to shape, but used instead a large potsherd. Otherwise, she went to
work in much the same way as Salim’s mother, except that she saved
herself the trouble of walking round and round her work by squatting
at her ease and letting the pot and potsherd rotate round her; this is
surely the first step towards a machine. But it does not follow that
the pot was improved by the process. It is true that it was beautifully
rounded and presented a very creditable appearance when finished,
but the numerous large and small vessels which I have seen, and, in
part, collected, in the “less advanced” districts, are no less so. We
moderns imagine that instruments of precision are necessary to
produce excellent results. Go to the prehistoric collections of our
museums and look at the pots, urns and bowls of our ancestors in the
dim ages of the past, and you will at once perceive your error.
MAKING LONGITUDINAL CUT IN
BARK
DRAWING THE BARK OFF THE LOG
REMOVING THE OUTER BARK

BEATING THE BARK
WORKING THE BARK-CLOTH AFTER BEATING, TO MAKE IT

SOFT
MANUFACTURE OF BARK-CLOTH AT NEWALA

To-day, nearly the whole population of German East Africa is
clothed in imported calico. This was not always the case; even now in
some parts of the north dressed skins are still the prevailing wear,
and in the north-western districts—east and north of Lake
Tanganyika—lies a zone where bark-cloth has not yet been
superseded. Probably not many generations have passed since such
bark fabrics and kilts of skins were the only clothing even in the
south. Even to-day, large quantities of this bright-red or drab
material are still to be found; but if we wish to see it, we must look in
the granaries and on the drying stages inside the native huts, where
it serves less ambitious uses as wrappings for those seeds and fruits
which require to be packed with special care. The salt produced at
Masasi, too, is packed for transport to a distance in large sheets of
bark-cloth. Wherever I found it in any degree possible, I studied the
process of making this cloth. The native requisitioned for the
purpose arrived, carrying a log between two and three yards long and
as thick as his thigh, and nothing else except a curiously-shaped
mallet and the usual long, sharp and pointed knife which all men and
boys wear in a belt at their backs without a sheath—horribile dictu!
[51]
Silently he squats down before me, and with two rapid cuts has
drawn a couple of circles round the log some two yards apart, and
slits the bark lengthwise between them with the point of his knife.
With evident care, he then scrapes off the outer rind all round the
log, so that in a quarter of an hour the inner red layer of the bark
shows up brightly-coloured between the two untouched ends. With
some trouble and much caution, he now loosens the bark at one end,
and opens the cylinder. He then stands up, takes hold of the free
edge with both hands, and turning it inside out, slowly but steadily
pulls it off in one piece. Now comes the troublesome work of
scraping all superfluous particles of outer bark from the outside of
the long, narrow piece of material, while the inner side is carefully
scrutinised for defective spots. At last it is ready for beating. Having
signalled to a friend, who immediately places a bowl of water beside
him, the artificer damps his sheet of bark all over, seizes his mallet,
lays one end of the stuff on the smoothest spot of the log, and
hammers away slowly but continuously. “Very simple!” I think to
myself. “Why, I could do that, too!”—but I am forced to change my
opinions a little later on; for the beating is quite an art, if the fabric is
not to be beaten to pieces. To prevent the breaking of the fibres, the
stuff is several times folded across, so as to interpose several
thicknesses between the mallet and the block. At last the required
state is reached, and the fundi seizes the sheet, still folded, by both
ends, and wrings it out, or calls an assistant to take one end while he
holds the other. The cloth produced in this way is not nearly so fine
and uniform in texture as the famous Uganda bark-cloth, but it is
quite soft, and, above all, cheap.
Now, too, I examine the mallet. My craftsman has been using the
simpler but better form of this implement, a conical block of some
hard wood, its base—the striking surface—being scored across and
across with more or less deeply-cut grooves, and the handle stuck
into a hole in the middle. The other and earlier form of mallet is
shaped in the same way, but the head is fastened by an ingenious
network of bark strips into the split bamboo serving as a handle. The
observation so often made, that ancient customs persist longest in
connection with religious ceremonies and in the life of children, here
finds confirmation. As we shall soon see, bark-cloth is still worn
during the unyago,[52] having been prepared with special solemn
ceremonies; and many a mother, if she has no other garment handy,
will still put her little one into a kilt of bark-cloth, which, after all,
looks better, besides being more in keeping with its African
surroundings, than the ridiculous bit of print from Ulaya.
MAKUA WOMEN

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Groups: A Counseling Specialty 7th

Edition, (Ebook PDF)

PART 1 Group Development

PART 2 Diversity, Social Justice, Creativity, and Ethical/

PART 3 Groups Throughout the Life Span

PART 4 Theoretical Approaches to Groups

Appendix A History of Group Work 381

Part 1 Group Development

Chapter 1 Types of Groups and Group Work 1

Chapter 2 Group Dynamics 25

Chapter 3 Effective Group Leadership 52

Chapter 4 Forming a Group 80

Chapter 5 The Transition Period in a Group:

Chapter 6 The Working Stage in a Group: Performing 121

Nominal-Group Technique 133

Chapter 7 Closing a Group 140

Part 2 Diversity, Social Justice, Creativity, and Ethical/

Stages of Social Justice 166

Chapter 9 Specialty Groups and Creativity in Groups 186

Creative Exercises for Different Group Stages 206

Chapter 10 Ethical and Legal Aspects of Working

Part 3 Groups Throughout the Life Span

Chapter 11 Groups for Children 234

Group Session Length and Number in Group 245

Chapter 12 Groups for Adolescents 255

Chapter 13 Groups for Adults 277

Groups for Couples, Families, the Divorced, the Widowed,

Chapter 14 Groups for Older Adults 300

Part 4 Theoretical Approaches to Groups

Chapter 15 Transactional Analysis, Reality Therapy,

Adlerian Groups 336

Chapter 16 Existential, Gestalt, Rational-Emotive Behavior

Psychodrama Groups 370

Appendix A History of Group Work 381

Appendix B History of Group Work Chart 392

*From “Planets” © 2010 by Samuel T.

As you read, consider

CONTACTING GROUPS ACQUIRING GROUPS

Process Recognition and Access to and Expansion of

Encounter Mutual Concern Discussion Education

Facilitation Nature of Management Leadership

RELATING GROUPS TASKING GROUPS

Restructuring and Rehearsal Control, Efficiency, Achievement

Theme-Defined In-Service Goal Working

An Example of Task/Work Groups: Teams

Table 1.1 Task/work groups versus teams.

A strong, clearly focused leader is Shared leadership responsibilities exist

Overall, teams that function best emphasize continuous improvement of themselves on an

An Example of Psychoeducational Group Work: Life-Skills Development Groups

they learned. He also measured how much they Questions

A major advantage of counseling groups is the interpersonal interaction, feedback, and

An Example of a Counseling Group: A Counseling Group for Counselors

Newala, too, suffers from the distance of its water-supply—at least

The water-supply of New Newala is in the bottom of the valley,

NATIVE PATH THROUGH THE MAKONDE BUSH, NEAR

MAKONDE LOCK AND KEY AT JUMBE CHAURO

MODE OF INSERTING THE KEY

With no small pride first one householder and then a second

Some consolation was afforded me by a brassfounder, whom I

SMOOTHING WITH MAIZE-COB

CUTTING THE EDGE

LAST SMOOTHING BEFORE

FIRING THE BRUSH-PILE