Treatment Purpose of Social Group Work

The social work profession is best known for its focus on the individual's ability to function within the community. The field itself originated from the need for social reform during difficult periods within United States history. Social group work emerged to address both individual and group treatment needs within the community setting.

Identification

• Social group work is a form a social work in which the principles of one-on-one casework and community organizing are combined. Through a group-centered process, facilitators (or workers) work to meet the social dilemmas faced by the group, as well as tend to the psychological issues surrounding the conflict. Oftentimes, the facilitators either work or live inside the community and, thereby, experience the conditions which prompt the problematic issue. Facilitators typically work as a network within the group process, and share the leadership and support roles.

Social Group Work's Beginnings

• Social group work became a field in its own right when the National Conference on Social Work acknowledged the practice in 1935. By the mid-1950's, the field merged with the National Association of Social Workers, however its underlying principles of individual and social reform became lost within the traditional social worker role. And while treatment purposes were directed on an individual level, group practices were rooted inside the need for social reform and social responsibility.

Function

• The treatment purpose of social group work is intended to affect multiple levels within the group process. The process itself involves the creation of group norms, and culture. Groups are typically small, face-to-face settings that take place within the context of the community. Facilitators encourage communication of personal experiences among the participants that relate to the issues at hand. Any situation in which one-on-one casework is applicable is also a context in which social group work can be administered. The overall goal of the process is to empower the group and its members to function as a unifying force in dealing with the issue at hand, as well as future issues as they arise.

Group Proces

• The treatment purpose within social group work relies on mutual inclusion and mutual respect as members share, problem-solve and gain strength from the sense that no one has to tackle the problem alone. As members share and assist one another with problems, they learn how to communicate about difficult issues while being supportive for those going through the same challenges. Issues surrounding alcoholism, depression, sexual dysfunction, bereavement and schizophrenia are all contexts in which the social group process can be applied.

Facilitator Methods

• The treatment purpose of social group work relies on the stages a group goes through as it evolves into a unit. Forming, storming, norming and performing are the four stages in group development. Forming takes place as members become comfortable inside the group setting. Storming is where individual problems, and member conflicts come to the surface. Norming is where the group's culture and member roles become established. This paves the way for the group to perform ("performing") as a cohesive unit. Facilitators use these stages as a way to direct the group toward productive interactions and outcomes. Conflict issues are used as a means to point the group toward a conscious development of the purpose at hand rather than as a source of division. Stages can move in a cyclic fashion or evolve in a linear pattern from group beginning to group end depending on individual personalities and expectations.