Intro to Group Work

1. Groups: Process
& Practice 8 ed. th
Marianne Schneider Corey, Gerald Corey,
and Cindy Corey
Brooks/Cole: A division of Cenage Learning

2. Groups: Process
& Practice 8 ed.
th
Chapter 1:
Introduction to Group Work

3. The Corey’s Perspective on
Groups
 Groups are not a second-rate approach to helping
people change
 Groups are the treatment of choice
 Groupsoffer a natural laboratory where people can
experiment with new ways of being
 Members’ interpersonal difficulties get played out in
the group

4. Group Process
 Group process – all the elements that are basic
to the unfolding of a group from beginning to end
 Examples:
 group norms
 generating trust
 level of cohesion
 how conflict emerges in a group
 patterns of resistance
 intermember feedback
 healing forces within the group
 stages of group development

5. Group Techniques
 Group techniques – leader interventions
aimed at facilitating movement within a group
 Examples:
 conducting initial interviews
 asking a member to role-play a conflict
 challenging a member’s belief system
 suggesting homework

6. Group Techniques
 Techniques should be:
 presented as a choice—members should be
invited to experiment with new behaviors
 introduced in a sensitive and timely fashion
 used with consideration for the member’s cultural
background and have a rationale
 should be abandoned if proven ineffective
 developed in response to what is happening in the
here-and-now

7. The Theory Behind the Practice
 An integrative conceptual framework --
involves the thinking, feeling, and behaving
dimensions and is a challenge to create and
implement
 Technical eclecticism – based on utilizing
techniques from a variety of theoretical models
 Theoretical integration – a conceptual and
theoretical creation beyond mere blending of
techniques

8. Various Types of Groups
 Task groups – aims to foster accomplishing identified
work goals
 Psychoeducational group – aims to educate well-
functioning group members who want to acquire
information and skills in an area of living
 Group counseling – aims at preventive and educational
purposes — utilizes methods of interactive feedback within
a here-and-now time framework
 Group psychotherapy – aims at remediation of in-depth
psychological problems — often focuses on past influences
of present difficulties

9. Brief Group Therapy
 BGT- time limited, structured, last 2 to 3 months, and
consist of 8 to 12 weekly sessions
 Facilitators of BGT-need training in group process and
brief therapy
 Advantages of BGT
 well suited to the needs of both clients and managed
care
 cost-effective
 widely applicable to diverse client populations and
problems
 can be used in different settings (e.g., school and
community agencies)

10. A Multicultural Perspective
on Group Work
 Achieving cultural competence is a lifelong journey
 Effective group work involves considering culture of
participants
 Group workers must have awareness, knowledge, and
skills to effectively deal with diverse membership
 Cultural similarities and differences need to be addressed
in a group

11. A Comprehensive Definition of
Multicultural Group Work
 “A helping process that includes screening, assessing,
and diagnosing dynamics of group social systems,
members, and leadership for the purpose of establishing
goals, outcomes, processes, and interventions that are
informed by multicultural counseling knowledge, skills
and abilities. It is a process of planning, implementing,
and evaluating group work strategies from a socio-
cultural context of human variability, group, and
individual identity, worldviews, statuses, power, and
other salient demographic factors to facilitate human and
organizational development…”

12. The Goals of Multicultural
Group Work
 “To promote human development and to
enhance interpersonal relationships, promote
task achievement, and prevent or identify and
remediate mental, emotional, or behavioral
disorders and associated distress that interfere
with mental health, and to lessen the risk of
distress, disability, or loss of human dignity,
autonomy, and freedom.”