SOWK 550 SOCIAL WORK WITH GROUPS

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1 Eastern Washington University Golie Jansen School of Social Work Mon. 1-5, CS credits Ph /4382 (office); (home) Winter gjansen@mail.ewu.edu ice hours: 12-1 class days & by appt. SOWK 550 SOCIAL WORK WITH GROUPS Course Description This course develops knowledge and skills for social work practice with groups in agency and community systems. The course prepares students to use different types of groups as a helping resource for clients, and to effectively participate as a member of committees, interagency teams, and other task groups. The practice of work with groups and natural helping systems will be presented through role-plays, lecture and discussion, readings, and other assignments. Course Rationale Social work with groups and natural helping systems has a long and rich history originating in the settlement house movement in the late 19 th century and has developed to the present diversity of setting, membership, process and technique. Social work practice requires skills for work with groups to facilitate and promote growth and treatment of individual clients. It also requires skills for task groups and planning groups to plan and coordinate the delivery of human services and engage in social justice and social change activities. This course provides understanding of the processes of group development and skills for carrying out leadership and membership roles in different types of groups. Course Objectives By the end of the course, students will: Understand the legacy of group work as a movement to advance social justice. Demonstrate knowledge of different types of groups and related ethical concerns. Know the stages of group development and how to facilitate these stages. Understand, observe and evaluate group dynamics. Be able to select approaches that emphasize strength and empowerment practices. Adapt group process and skills to work with diverse and/or devalued populations. Develop skills in the use of structure and member initiated activities in groups. Be able to assess the benefit of natural helping networks and community partnerships for work with diverse populations. Understand and be able to implement the range of roles of a social worker in different types of groups (task, treatment, and support groups). Be familiar with theories and research on promising practices concerning the impact of group participation on individuals, families, organizations, and communities. Learn to evaluate one s own effectiveness as a group leader and a group participant. Content Areas The tradition of social group work in the settlement house movement and developing typologies, mutual help, social goals and treatment groups. Current typologies of groups; task groups, treatment groups, psycho-educational groups, and socialization groups. 1

2 Civic involvement groups; for advocacy, policy development, community and political organization, local and global social justice efforts. Becoming a group leader/facilitator; personal professional qualities, ethical conduct, theoretical perspectives and diversity competence. Beginning the group; contracting, building relationships, tasks and process, worker role options, structured activities for beginning, agenda setting, and the process. Working on process; stages of group development, emerging and changing roles and dynamics, measuring progress. The group and its environment; the agency, the community, and relationships between professional and natural helping systems. Application of strengths perspective; resiliency, empowerment and support for atrisk and devalued persons. Ending the group experience; measuring change, socio-emotional aspects of termination. Evaluation of the efficacy of group to members, agency or community goals. Course Format The format for the course will include lectures, small and large group discussion, group exercises and activities, role-plays, and student presentations. The class will be developed and processed as a group and a cooperative learning community, including the development of group norms. An experiential component will be included as part of each class. The focus of these experiences will be on: building skills for observing group process, effectively participating as a group member and facilitating group process, and discussion of and reflection on group processes. Required Texts and Readings Sharry, J. (2001). Solution focused groupwork. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Toseland, R. & Rivas R. (2005). An introduction to group work practice. Boston: Pearson Education, Inc. Additional Readings: Online: Social Work with Groups #1: Newman, E.W (2002). Bell choir, somersaults, and cucumber sandwiches: A journey to understanding the importance of positive group norms. Social Work with Groups, 25(1/2) #2: Wright, W. (2002). But I want to do a real group: A personal journey from snubbing to loving to theorizing to demanding activity based group work. Social Work with Groups, 25(1), #3: Breton, M. (1999). The relevance of the structural approach to group work with immigrant and refugee women. Social Work with Groups, 22(2/3), #4: Northern, H. (1998). Ethical dilemmas in work with groups. Social Work with Groups, 21(1/2), To access online journals: From the Online Library Catalog webpage click on Periodicals On the Library Journals page click on Journal Title. This takes you to the search page. Enter journal title on search page and select the journal Click on link for online access Select article 2

3 Web sources: www: //infed.org/association/b-settl.htm www://groupwork/socgrwk.htm Read: Standards for social work practice with groups Assignments and expectations A. Participation (10 points) This course requires diligence in participation. Criteria include: presence in class, contributions to class discussions and activities, demonstrated evidence of being engaged with the reading, willingness to risk sharing reflections and challenging one s own behavior, and willingness to support others in the learning process. A group is impacted when a member is absent from it or uninvolved in the activities/process. Therefore, participation points will be deducted for missing class. Students who miss more than two classes can not earn more than 2.7 for their final grade. (Serious situations can be discussed with the instructor and extra work may be involved). B. Assignment 1: Group work with a particular population (due Feb. 6) (15 points) The purpose of this assignment is to become more familiar with the use of groups with/by a population of interest to you. Review two journal articles that discuss group work with a selected population from the perspective of the group leader leading the group. Pick articles that are congruent with a strengths perspective or share a distinct theoretical perspective. Write a summary page with an evaluative paragraph of each article (1 page). Discuss the articles in terms of their implications for social work practice with groups. Compare/contrast previous knowledge about working with people. Identify at least two practice guideline suggested by each article that you would use when developing a group for this population and explain why. (1 page). Identify one issue or question that each article raised for you. (1/2-1 page) C. Take home exam (due February 27) (25 points). The exam will test for knowledge and application. True/False, multiple choice and short answer questions will be included. D. Assignment 2: Group Preplanning and Development (in pairs) (due Mar. 6, 13, 20) (30 points) The purpose of this assignment is both to develop skills to facilitate a group, as well as hone skills to be a group member. You should see this group as an opportunity to apply what you learn in class in terms of group dynamics and focus on task. The guidelines below are from the text, Toseland, R. W. and Rivas, R. F. (2005), pp The group could be a: 3

4 1) Treatment group (see T/R: table 1.3) support group: help members cope with stressful life events (group at school for children who experienced divorce; a cancer support group for patients and their families, a group for discharged psychiatric patients discussing adjustment issues; a single parent group, etc.) educational group: learning new information and skills (adolescent sexuality group, wellness-in the workplace group, prospective foster parent group, a leadership development group for board members; etc) growth group: offer members to become aware of, expand, and change their thoughts, feelings and behaviors regarding themselves and others (a group for married couples, a values clarification group for adolescents, a consciousness raising group for women overcoming domestic violence, a gay-pride group etc.) therapy group: help members change their behavior, cope with and ameliorate personalproblems, or rehabilitate themselves after physical, psychological, or social trauma (psycho-therapy group for outpatients at a community mental health center, smoking cessation group, first offenders group in a juvenile diversion program, a group for people addicted to drugs; etc) socialization group: help members learn social skills and socially accepted behavior patterns so that they can function effectively in the community (an after-school social club for 7th graders, a social club for outpatients of a psychiatric center, Vietnam Veterans, homebound elderly; parents without partners, etc) 2). Task group (see T/R table 1.4) to find solutions to organizational problems; to generate new ideas; to make decisions. Primary purpose: Serving client needs teams, treatment conferences; staff development groups Serving organizational needs - committees, cabinets and board of directors Serving community needs social action groups, coalitions and delegate councils. Task: 1. Select a specific type of group and research it. Interview professionals, talk to participants, observe if you can, and read the literature about this type of group. Summarize what your findings in 3 pages, from at least 6 sources. Your summary will include the application of the theoretical perspective that you will use in your group. 2. Develop a plan for the formation of this group and outline three sessions for this proposed group. Start with an overview including overall goals, major topics for discussions, questions you would ask or tasks assigned, activities to be facilitated and ways to evaluate the effectiveness/success of the group. Make sure that you address the particular uniqueness of the population that will be group members. (Read Ch. 4 in Solution Focused Group Work and Toseland and Riva s appendices c,d,e,& f.) The assignment will be written in three parts: a) summary overview from the literature, including a description of the population and a distinct theoretical perspective, (3 pages) 4

5 b) general overview of the group: overall goal, major topics to be covered pertaining to the particular population and type of group, and recruitment, composition, size, duration, open/closed, frequency and duration, agency or community setting; leadership etc. (1 page) c) outline for three sessions: state the purpose for each session, structure, simulations/activities, questions and hoped for outcome. At the end you will include an evaluation form. This assignment will be written and presented orally in class. 3. Class presentation: (15 minutes per pair) shortly present type of group, the setting in which it is held and the theoretical perspective. At least ten minutes of the presentation involve the demonstration of a particular skill or technique. Distribute handouts to class. Each pair will consult with the instructor during the process of creating the presentation. E. Assignment 3: Analysis and Evaluation of Group Participation (due Mar. 20) (15 points) For each in-class group experience, keep notes that allow you to prepare the following evaluation: Analyze your strengths and areas for professional development as a group leader, based on your participation in group activities during class. Analyze the groups in which you participated, identifying the strengths of the group and areas for ongoing group development. This should include observations about group tasks and process (group analysis); observations about your role in the group (self-analysis) and reflective comments and insights about what you learned. Separate description from reactions (interpretive thoughts and feelings). Evaluation: Evidence of familiarity with the readings and discussions about how to assess group process. Note on Plagiarism Plagiarism (from the Latin word for kidnapper) is the presentation of some else s ideas or words as your own. You plagiarize deliberately when you copy a sentence from a book or article and pass it off as your writing, if you summarize or paraphrase someone else s ideas without acknowledging your debt, or if you buy or borrow a term paper to hand in as your own. You plagiarize accidentally if you carelessly forget quotation marks around another writer s words or mistakenly omit a source citation for another s idea because you are unaware of the need to acknowledge the idea. Whether deliberate or accidental, plagiarism is a serious and often punishable offense (H. Ramsey Fowler, Little Brown Handbook, 3 rd Edition, Boston: Little, 1986, p.570). As per the student conduct code, Penalties for a first offense of plagiarism in can include automatic failure of the paper, and the option of the instructor to automatically fail the student for the course. Grading: Participation 10% Paper: group work with a particular population 15% Take home exam 25% Group facilitation planning+ presentation (30 + 5) 35% Analysis and Evaluation of learning 15% 100% 5

6 Grading point scale: Percentage Numerical grade Letter grade A A B B B C C C D D D- Less than 0.7 F 6

7 Tentative Course Outline Week 1 January 9 Introduction and Overview of Course Conceptualization of Social Work History and use of groups in social work practice Definitions of group work and types of groups (overview) Group exercise: What is a good group? Activities: a) Self assessment of group leadership skills b) Questionnaire on group membership T& R :Chapter 1+2 Week 2 January 16 Holiday: Martin Luther Kind Day Keep the dream alive! Join the March! Week 3 January 23 Understanding group dynamics Aspects of group dynamics Stages of group development Group work from a solution focused perspective Group exercise: Establishing group norms Work in Groups: Practicing and observing group roles. T& R: Ch 3 Sharry: Ch 1,2, 5. Article: # 1. www:aaswg.org/: Standards for social work practice with groups Week 4 January 30 Leadership and power Theories of group leadership Effective leadership Understanding setting, group issues influencing leadership Group leadership skills Issues of co-leadership Work in Groups: Facilitating skills: applying solutions focused principles (Sharry, Ch 2). Paper # 1 due T& R: Ch. 4 Sharry: Ch 3 Article: # 2 7

8 Week 5 February 6 Week 6 February 13 Week 7 February 20 Week 8 February 27 Week 9 March 6 Week 10 March 13 Week 11 March 20 Planning the group: design, preparation, motivation Purpose and membership, recruitment Group composition, selecting, assessing members Engaging and motivating members Preparing members for membership Contracting Logistics in developing groups Values and ethics unique to group work Work in Groups: Process of a beginning group Groups at work: middle stage Assessment of group members, Assessment of the group Assessment of the environment Prepare for meetings Structure the work Involving and empowering group members Managing difficult group members Work in Groups: Middle stage issues Holiday: President s Day Use of groups to build cultural connectedness and empowerment. Principles of social justice and empowerment Leadership issues Task groups for community meetings Engaging community members Work in groups: Task groups: (class choice) Committees, Boards, Interagency groups Class presentation/skill demonstration (4) Task groups: (class choice) Teams, Coalitions, Social Action groups Class presentation/skill demonstration (4) Evaluation and Termination Class presentation/skill demonstration (3) T & R: Ch. 6+7 Sharry: Ch 4 Article # 4 T & R: Ch. 8+9 Sharry: Ch 6,7 Take home exam due. T & R: Ch 5, Ch 11 Article #3 T& R: Ch 12 T.B.A. Assignment #2 due T.B.A. Assignment #2 due T & R: Ch 13, 14 Assignment #2 due Course evaluation. Assignment #3 8

9 Selected Bibliography Alissi, A., and Mergins, C.G.C. (Eds.) (1997). Voices from the field: Group work responds. Binghamton, NY: Haworth Press. Andronico, M. P. (Ed.) (1996). Men in groups: Insights, interventions, and psychoeducational work. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Becvar, R.J., Canfield, B.S. & Becvar, D.S.(1997) Groupwork, cybernetic, constructivist, and social constructivist perspectives. Denver, CO: Love Publishing Company. Bertcher, H. (1994). Group Participation: Techniques for Leaders and Members. Second Edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications Inc. Brandler, S., & Roman, C.P. (1991). Group work: Skills and strategies for effective interventions. Binghamton, NY: Haworth Press. Brown, A. (1994). Groupwork. Great Yarmouth, Norfolk: Galliard Printers, Ltd Burn, S.M. (2004). Groups: Theory and Practice. Thompson, Wadsworth. Day, R.H., and Day, K.L. (1997). Group work with the elderly: An annotated bibliography. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. Dennison, S.T. (1998). Activities for adolescent therapy: A handbook for facilitation guidelines and planning ideas for group work with troubled adolescents. Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas. Farris Kurtz, L. (1997). Self-help and support groups: A handbook for practitioners. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Forsyth, D. (1999). Group dynamics. Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole Wadsworth. Freeman, E. M., & McRoy, R. (1986). Group counseling program for unemployed Black teenagers. Social Work With Groups, 9(1), Fujishin, R. (1997). Discovering the leader within: Running small groups successfully. San Francisco, CA: Acada Books. Fujishin, R. (2001). Creating effective groups. The art of small group communication. San Francisco, CA: Acada Books. Gitterman, A. & Shulman, L. (1994). Mutual aid groups, Vulnerable populations and the life cycle. Second Edition. New York, NY: Columbia University Press. Grief, G. L., and Ephross, P. H. (1997). Group work with populations at-risk. New York: Oxford University Press. Gumpert, J., and Saltman, J.E. (1998). Social group work practice in rural areas. Social Work with Groups, 21(3), Henry, S., East, J,& Smith, K. (Eds.)(2002). Social work with groups: Mining the gold. Binghamtom, New York: Haworth Press. Kelly, T.B., Berman-Rossi, T., Palombo, S., (Eds) (2001). Groupwork: Strategies for strengthening resiliency. New York: the Haworth Press. Konopka, G. (1972). Social group work: A helping process. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall. Kottler, J.A. (2001). Learning group leadership. An experiential approach. Boston: Allyn & Bacon. Kurland, R., & Salmon, R. (1995). Group work practice in a troubled society: Problems and opportunities. Binghamton, NY: Haworth Press. Kurland, R., & Salmon, R. (1999). Teaching a methods course in social work with groups. Alexandria, VA: Council of Social Work Education. Laurel Fischer, K., and McGrane, M.F. (1997). Journey beyond abuse: A step-by-step guide to facilitating women s domestic abuse groups. Saint Paul, MN: Amherst H. Wilder Foundation. Lee, J. (Ed.). (1989). Group work with the poor and oppressed. New York: Haworth Press. Metcalf, L. (1999). Solution-focused group therapy. New York: The Free Press. Payne, M. (2000) Teamwork in multiprofessional care. Chicago, IL: Lyceum Books, Inc. Rose, S. (1998). Group therapy with troubled youth: A cognitive-behavioral approach. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Schopler, J.H., Galinsky, M.J., and Abell, M. (1997). Creating community through telephone and computer groups: Theoretical and practice perspectives. Social Work with Groups, 20(4), Skromme Granrose, C., and Oskamp, S.(Eds.) (1997). Cross-cultural work groups. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Vinik, A., & Levin, M.(Eds) (1991). Social action in group work. Binghamton, N.Y. : Haworth Press. 9

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