Group Work in Different

Social Work Setting

MSW 202 - S O C I A L W O R K I N T E RV E N T I O N S

UNIT 7

ILESH DHAREK
Contents
 Introduction
 Social Group work in Community Development
Settings
 Social Group work in Institutional Settings
 Social Group work in Psychiatric/Clinical
Settings
 Social Group work in Services of the Aged
 Social Group work in Hospitals
 Conclusion
 Introduction
 Social work professionals in India work with community, groups, families and
individuals who are elderly, delinquent, unemployed, or who have disabilities.
 The services of social workers are grouped within various fields of practice as they
relate to addressing specific social problems, meeting the needs of client groups,
or reflecting particular settings.
 The prominent settings include family and child welfare, health and rehabilitation,
mental health, occupational social work, community development, education or
school social work, social work in corrections, and aging or gerontological services.
 Social group work practice is possible in almost all the settings. The models may
vary according to the needs and the nature of the setting. Similarly the role of the
social group worker also will vary in different setting.
 Group work method is used in numerous settings like – Community, Correctional,
Institutional, Psychiatric, Clinical, School/Institutions for Children and Adolescents,
Service for the aged, etc.
 Group work, if effectively used can alleviate the problems and reduce its
psychosocial effects.
 Social Group Work in Community
Development Setting
 The primary objectives of social group work in community setting include:
1. Social integration of the community on a local neighbourhood basis through
participation in self-help and mutual-aid programmes;
2. Motivating people to improve their living conditions especially those adversely
affecting their physical and social development;
3. Creation of opportunities for undertaking programmes of economic betterment
based on the maximum use of community resources and local initiative;
4. Identification and development of local leaders with emphasis on providing them
organisational skills and enabling them to locate and fully utilize various
technical, social and welfare services; and
5. Development of a sense of belonging to the community. The group work in
community setting is in the form of self-help groups, recreational groups, action
groups, etc.
 Social Group Work in Institutional
Setting
 According to Kirby (quoted in Trecker, 1972) the major areas in which the group work
performs in an institutional setting are as follows :
1. The direct practice of social group work with small groups of clients and patients.
2. Working with other staff members toward helping them understand the group process in
the institution.
3. Sharing with other staff members the group worker’s observation and recommendations
with reference to individual and group behaviour in the agency.
4. Sharing with other staff members the group worker’s observation and recommendations
with regard to social climate and group living factors in the institution.
5. Analyzing the need for and recommending the formation of various kinds of groups to
meet the needs of the individual clients of the agency.
6. Assuming the responsibility for coordinating and enriching the recreational program
along with supervising and training recreational staff and students.
7. Assuming the responsibility as a professional group worker for helping in maintaining the
limits and standards of the agency.
8. Interpreting the agency programme to the community through contacts with volunteer
groups, community agencies, service clubs and similar organizations.
 Social Group Work in Institutional
Setting (1)
A. Child Welfare Agencies :
1. Training them in alternate behaviour patterns. Many children are from dysfunctional
families and lack appropriate role models in the family. Handling frustration, anger, and
disappointment becomes difficult for these children leading to harmful reactions.
2. Training in survival skills-maintaining relationships, seeking assistance, keeping jobs etc.
3. Treatment for symptoms related to anxiety, depression, posttraumatic stress disorder,
substance abuse and poor interpersonal relations. Many children in the street are
addicted to fluids (mainly whiteners) and drugs, which need cure. Incidence of
Psychiatric problems is also high.
4. Training in personality development especially building self-confidence and self esteem,
public speaking and ability to face personal interviews.
5. Recreational activities in their free time- play groups etc
 Social Group Work in Institutional
Setting (2)
B. Juvenile Delinquents Centers:
i. It seeks to facilitate adjustment in the center : Group can be used to develop a
positive attitude in the inmates about the agency. The inmate will learn to accept the
unavoidable strains of life there and make use of the opportunities available.
ii. It seeks to further diagnostic understanding : Individual’s behaviour in a group
situation helps the social worker in getting data about the inmate. This data is useful to
understand his present situation and to plan his future.
iii. It sought to contribute to the beginning of the treatment process : Again it is in the
group situation that the nature of the inmate relationship with others can be assessed. The
value systems that the inmates have are understood and its consequences are known.
Through the group process the inmates receives feedback about his behaviour and gains
insight into his behaviour. Greater self-awareness could be the beginning of the treatment for
the inmates.
iv. It sought to meet normal growth needs : The inmates are experiencing a crucial
developmental phase in their lives and confinement to the agency can be frustrating.
Opportunities for making choices, self-expression, exhibiting leadership and participating in
activities could help them develop healthier personalities.
v. It seeks to influence the institutional milieu : Obtaining opinions. feedback and views
of the inmates improves the agency climate.(quoted in Trecker, 1972)
 Social Group Work in Institutional
Setting (3)
C. Street Children :
 An important element in the education of street children is organising an annual camp. The annual
camp is held for three days in a location away from the city. The location has an informal situation
again with minimum restrictions- only time for various activities are fixed and children are not
allowed to hurt each other.
 Learning sessions are organised where information about various issues are given. Issues are directly
related to the life of a street child. Issues like HIV/AIDS, substance abuse and vocational trainings are
discussed. Animators who can communicate skillfully with the target group conduct these sessions.
 Subjects are presented in very simple and informal way. Question regarding the subject is thrown
open to the audience and they are encouraged to try answer them. Clarifications are given when
necessary. The sessions prove to be beneficial to the campers.
 In between the sessions camper spend their time watching movies and playing games. Some climb
the coconut trees and pluck coconuts. Others even indulge in habit of inhaling whiteners and smoke.
 The agency has adopted this strategy to reach to the most vulnerable and at the same time the most
unreachable section of children. Street children for all the trauma they experience in the street still
prefer to be free and away from the fetters of the institution. Thus the agency has modified its
institutional approach to the open approach.
 Self-help and mutual aid are stressed. Members are encouraged to help and learn from each other.
Networks among the children are encouraged to substitute for families as a support system.
mentoring by ‘senior’ street children of the younger children is done purposefully.
 Social Group Work in Institutional
Setting (4)
D. School Settings:
1. Promotes group adjustment through group work activities :
 In the form of recreation, roleplays, story telling, group exercises, etc. to increase the
capacity of social participation and constructive group interaction in the school children
Through guided group interaction the worker promote relatedness, belongingness and the
feeling of identification among children. This also helps in the improvement of their social
adjustment and the development of their personality.
2. Working with special student groups :
 Expand practice with specially formed groups of children and teen-agers experiencing
difficulties in social and academic adjustment. special attention to students who
underachieve, disrupt, drop out, or are withdrawn from meaningful peer involvement.
Ensures that lonely, isolated, and handicapped children have an opportunity for
constructive participation in special interest or recreational groups.
3. Value education classes and leadership development programmes
 Through the group work activities. orient the children about cooperation, teamwork, role
taking, etc. The school social worker uses the group work method while assisting or leading
special interest groups in activities such as dramatics, puppet-making, other hobbies, or
community service projects. He performs important role in motivating students to
participate in varied activities that broaden horizons and expand relationships with peers
and adults.
 Social Group Work in Institutional
Setting (5)
E. Parents of Mentally Challenged Children :
 An NGO work with Spastics children organizes support group for the parents of
the children of mentally challenged. A staff member of the agency says that
the parents of these children need treatment as much as the children do.
 Newly enrolled parents are encouraged to join existing groups. These groups
are meant for sharing and learning session.
 Parents are often in the state of denial about the condition of their children.
They cannot see why this should happen to them and their children.
 Parents are depressed and anxious about the future of the children. They do
not know how to react when their children are unable perform the actions that
other children are able to do.
 Answers to most of the problems are found in the group shared knowledge
and from the experiences of other parents. The group facilitates the process
of universalization of experience and the installation of hope.
 Social Group Work in Institutional
Setting (6)
F. Old Age Home/Institutions related to Aged:
I. Direct work with formed groups for the purpose of specific help to those
who cannot easily enter the group life of the institution;
II. Responsibility for the stimulation of a rich and varied programme in the
institution designed to allow for satisfaction of individual needs and to
counteract the feeling of segregation from the community which may
appear in an institution. This is usually done by either being a consultant
to the staff of one or several institutions.
 Social Group Work in Psychiatric/Clinical
Setting
I. To socialize including forming satisfying social relations, establishing an awareness of others,
learning and relearning social skills
II. To offer ego supports and develop ego strengths as well as broadening interest and scope of
activities, building self confidence, self esteem, self worth, achieving tangible things, acceptance..
III. To test and see cause-and-effect relationship
IV. To increase responsibility, develop good judgments and self control and handle group living
problems
V. To influence one another in a positive way, develop better morale , and challenge group hostility
VI. To feel and exert some control over one’s future
VII. To adjust to a new mode of living and interrupt the deterioration process and counteract the
regression of institutional living.
VIII. To prepare and test for discharge and return to community life
IX. To promote insights, develop the proper perspective on problems and feelings, release and drain
off tensions
X. To accept one’s illness and prepare for and use the individual and other therapies more positively
XI. To increase the opportunities for observation and diagnosis by the staff. (Quoted in trecker,1972;
178)
 Social Group Work in Services for the
Aged
 The purposes of group work with the aged are usually:
1. to raise the self -esteem of the participants.
2. to give an opportunity for planning.
3. to become a part of their own small community and, if possible, a part of a larger community.
4. to establish a group bond that may replace the warmth of family relationships.

 The functions of the social group worker in community based agencies giving service to the aged
are:

i) Working out a program for different kinds of groups as per the needs with this age group.
ii) Direct work with certain groups of the aged, especially those who present problems in
relationships.
iii) As in all group work, some contact with individuals outside of the group, but more intensively in
the particular age group.
iv) Training, coordination and supervision of volunteers or part time workers in programs for the aged.
v) Consultant to committees of older citizens in relation to social action in their own behalf, if
requested to do so.
 Social Group Work in Hospitals
 Hospitals are important settings for social work practice. Psychological factors and physical
health are related. Getzel notes an increase in the interest in group work practice and
corresponding increase in the health system ‘s efforts to make group work more responsive to
the clients need.(Getzel in Garvin ;2004;196).
 Type of groups that are used in the hospital are:
1. Educational Groups –
 Educational groups disseminate information about the disease and its effects on the patients.
They educate the person about the causes of diseases, its effects on the body, its pattern of
progression and its debilitating effects. They are trained to avoid those behaviour patterns
that will worsen the conditions.
 Adherence to the treatment process like taking medicines and taking the necessary tests are
taught. For example, cancer affected individuals are told about the cancer and its treatment.
In the sessions the group members are educated about the various aspects of cancers- its
causes and its effects. Fears about early death, pain and disfigurement are discussed.
 Patients fear about the effects of chemotherapy on the body and hair are discussed.
Clarifications and doubts are removed. Often it is the members themselves rather than the
group worker who provides knowledge to the group members. Experiences are shared in the
group to help others.
 The free sharing of experiences and information is more an effective tool for educating the
patients rather than through other methods.
 Social Group Work in Hospitals
(Contd..1)
2. Support groups –
 These groups provide the necessary social and emotional support to the patients. Often
the experience of knowing that a potentially life threatening illness is shocking to the
patient.
 Group work can enable the patients to have an appropriate coping mechanisms such as
rationalization; seeking of additional information; sharing concerns with others;
Displacement; confrontation; Fatalism Acting out ; repeating previous behaviour; Tension
reducing behaviour like taking alcohol ; social isolation; blaming othersfor keeping in
mind the individual’s needs and her environment.
 It will result in better quality of life and better adherence to treatment programme.

3. Training groups –
 Training groups focus on teaching new social skills to the patients which would help
them after they are discharged from the hospitals.
 Conclusion
 These are some of the important institutions that group work is practiced.
The practice of social work in different settings has been described briefly
and important practice principles have been highlighted. The list is not
comprehensive and as group work in its generic form can be practiced
almost anywhere. Also institutions differ in many ways even when they are
dealing with the similar problems.
 The group worker would therefore be flexible in his approach. Group work
practice has to adapt to the institutional requirement and clients need.
 Group work is certainly being practiced in many institutions in India. But
as mentioned earlier mostly non-professionals are practicing it in a generic
form and in majority of the cases no particular theory seems to guide the
practice. More importantly, no efforts are made to evaluate the process.
 Records maintained convey bare minimum from which nothing very
significant can be learnt. The benefits of group work are evident. But there
is need for evidence to show the importance of group work in these
settings. Professional social workers have to work towards that goal.