Transcript Group Work Practice

GROUP WORK PRACTICE
Week Two
Administrative Business
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Revised course syllabus
 Mid-term
is a take home exam and group lab practice starts
week 4
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Groups
 Need
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names for each group: group lab/guest speaker
Readings
 Nuggets
 Additional
reading
Historical Evolution of Group Work
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Started British and American Settlement houses
Jane Addams founded first settlement house in Chicago
1955 Emergence of NASW
 Rooted
in social reform, social responsibility, democratic ideas,
social action
 The Rebirth of Group Work-1970s
 Casework
vs Group work
~Andrews, J 2001
Differences in History
Casework
Psychodynamic Approaches
Concrete Resources
Problem Solving
Rehabilitation
Sought out most underprivileged victims
Diagnosed and Treated
Improving Outcomes through Careful Study,
Dx, & Tx
p49
Group Work
Program Activities
Used for Enjoyment & Problem Solving
Preferred “members rather than clients”
Focused on Strengths
Helping Seen as a Shared Relationship
Shared Interactions, Shared Power, Shared
Decision Making
Current Practice Trends
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Social Goals Model
 What
type of agencies or groups would use this model?
 What do you think are the methods used in the group?
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Remedial Model
 What
is the goal/purpose of this type of model?
 What type of agencies or groups would use this model?
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Reciprocal Model
 What
is the goal/purpose of this type of model?
 What agencies come to mind that use this model?
Theories
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Systems Theory
Psychodynamic Theory
Learning Theory
Social Exchange Theory
Solution Focused Theory
Narrative and Constructivist Theories
Systems Theory
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Most widely used and broadly applied theory of group
functioning (Anderson 1979, Olsen 1968)
Four Major Functional Tasks (Parsons, et al, 1953):
1. Integration (insuring members fit together/why important)
2. Adaptation (groups cope with demands of their environment)
3. Pattern Maintenance (groups define and sustain their basic
purposes, identities, and procedures)
4. Goal Attainment (group pursue and accomplish their tasks)
Examples: Personnel Committee (Work Group)
Can anyone think of other examples?
Psychodynamic Theory
Influence by Freud's ideas about psychosexual development,
defense mechanisms, free association as the method of
recall, and the therapeutic techniques of interpretation,
including that of transference, defenses and dreams.
~www.depression-guide.com
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Unresolved conflicts from early life experiences
Reenactment of family situation
Transference reactions between leader/members
members to members page 71 Parenting group/handout
 Nursing article
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May emphasize the here and now experience
Learning Theory
(Focus on Individual behavior rather then Group
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LT is responsible for: clear specific goal setting;
contracting; environmental influences, step-step treatment
planning, measureable treatment outcomes, and
evaluation.
Classical Approach (Bandura, 1977): behavior associated with a
stimulus Example:
Operant Conditioning: behaviors of group members and
worker are governed by the consequences of their actions
Social Learning Theory (Bandura, 1977): most learning takes
place through observation and reinforcement or
punishment
CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Theory) underpinning in LT
Social Exchange Theory
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All relationships have give and take, although the balance
of this exchange is not always equal.
Explains how we feel about a relationship with another
person as depending on our perceptions of:
The balance between what we put into the relationship and
what we get out of it.
 The kind of relationship we deserve.
 The chances of having a better relationship with someone else.
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Examples????
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~changingminds.org
Solution-Focused Groupwork
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Origins in Family theory/systemic tradition
Why is solution focused Group work attractive to the
following:
 SW
practitioners
 Managed care
 Clients
Narrative and Constructivist Theories
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Group members create and maintain their realities through
life stories and subjective experiences.
Newer approaches to clinical work
Acceptance and Commitment Theory (ACT) and Dialectical
behavior therapy (DBT) is informed by these theories in
works in clients.
Break from Lecture:
Group Assignment with Partner
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Selection of a group partner
Meet with partner
 Decide
on group type, subject, and population
**Turn in names and tentative topics to Kim