This exciting book captures the rich heritage of social group work and links the origin of social group work to its present and future frontiers. The first 100 years of social group work are celebrated in this volume as social workers address a wide range and diversity of group work, practice, theory, research, and education, with information on health and mental health institutions, substance abuse programs, rehabilitation centers, the correctional system, family service agencies, nursing homes, and other specialized areas including industry, child and spouse abuse, and incest. Roots and New Frontiers in Social Group Work consists of selected proceedings from the Seventh Consecutive Symposium of the Committee for the Advancement of Social Work With Groups sponsored by Rutgers University School of Social Work.

Here is an important look at creative ways to successfully blend theoretical knowledge with skillful intervention in social group work. Theory and Practice in Social Group Work represents leading works in conceptual development that creatively connect practice with theory and also reflect the current diversity of interventions in group work practice. The book calls for more carefully articulated connections between knowledge and action and maps a strategy for strengthening social work curriculum and expanding group work practice. Some of the areas discussed include group work in medical and health settings, group work with people undergoing life cycle transitions, and group work interventions with vulnerable populations. A wide range of possibilities for applying theories in group work situations are presented in this thought-provoking volume. Some specific examples discussed include group work interventions with persons affected by the AIDS crisis and persons at high risk of contracting HIV, a group model for the management of chronic pain, group intervention services for the homeless mentally ill delivered through a mobile outreach team, a bingo group in an SRO hotel, group work with adults molested as children, and a model of practice for work with minority populations and communities.

A comprehensive introduction to policy and planning approaches, methods, models, ways of thinking, and techniques, Social Group Work Today and Tomorrow is presented in a reader-friendly fashion for persons with no prior formal training in this area. The book teaches social workers, group counselors, educators and students, and practitioners how to apply group work theory to practice in an increasingly time-limited and managed-care-oriented society. Social Group Work Today and Tomorrow converts sophisticated policy and planning concepts and techniques into a form which even non-experts can understand, relate to, and apply in their own practice. Chapters reflect the work of the “giants” of social group work and also recognize contributions being made by the current generation of educators and practitioners. The contributors’chapters span many topical areas, among them: an interactionist theoretical perspective on creative uses of groups a moving look at the second decade of the AIDS epidemic creative use of dance with group work creative group work with ill elderly practice groups for students to prepare them for professional work with groups women’s issues and empowerment creative ways to use groups to educate among homosexual men on safe sexual practices the use of one-session groups to respond to job-related trauma Chapters strike a strong note for social group work’s base in an interactionist perspective and for the overall efficacy and uniqueness of the method. Throughout the text, readers learn and explore group types and formats ranging from verbal to activity; from one session to beyond a year; from education to support; and from developmental to rehabilitation. Ethics, self-esteem, identity, and empowerment themes are prominent throughout this work’s pages. Social Group Work Today and Tomorrow is an accurate reflection of the quality, creativity, and energy that made up the Fourteenth Annual Symposium on Social Work With Groups. The creativity and innovativeness reflected in these pages offers new ideas and direction to all of social workers, counselors, and educators who choose the experience of working with groups.

This comprehensive handbook presents major theories of social work practice with groups and explores contemporary issues in designing and evaluating interventions. Students and practitioners gain an in-depth view of the many ways that groups are used to help people address personal problems, cope with disabilities, strengthen families and communities, resolve conflict, achieve social change, and more. Offering authoritative coverage of theoretical, practical, and methodological concerns--coupled with a clear focus on empowerment and diversity--this is an outstanding text for group work and direct practice courses.

This book presents the wide range and diversity of effective group work practice in today’s troubled society. Representing the best in current practice, chapters discuss modern group work and contain rich examples of practice and theory. Group Work Practice in a Troubled Society examines the social realities in which group work is now practiced and addresses present-day social issues and problems.Contributing authors to Group Work Practice in a Troubled Society discuss innovations in practice, programs, and theory, and a wide variety of work with clients in many different settings. There is a breadth and strength and diversity in contemporary group work practice, and the authors--practitioners and educators from the United States, Canada, and Hong Kong--represent the vitality of current practice and theory. Among the many topics they discuss are: contextual group work practice latent content in work with groups group work in administration cultural sensitivity and diversity in small-group practice group work in other cultures and with immigrant populations feminist group work and unique considerations in work with women’s groups group work with sexually abused children, with incest survivors, and with sexual offenders group work in community centers group work with mentally ill chemical abusers group work use in an innovative 12-step modalityGroup Work Practice in a Troubled Society provides a wealth of information and ideas for social workers and students of social work who are interested or involved in group work and who wish to learn more about current practice and developments in the field.

Stories Celebrating Group Work: It’s Not Always Easy to Sit on Your Mouth celebrates the 25th anniversary of the esteemed journal Social Work with Groups with a collection of 21 narratives from group work practitioners and educators. These highly personal stories from a range of social workers—young and old, “famous” and not so famous—reflect each author's development and experience, serving as both instruction and inspiration for practitioners and educators. This unique collection—by turns humorous, moving, profound, and down-to-earth—gets to the heart of what it means to be a member of the social work community. Each chapter of Stories Celebrating Group Work draws on its contributor’s area of expertise and interest in a specific topic, chronicling the development of the author's understanding, appreciation, and skill. Authors address the everyday concerns of social work professionals, such as maximizing mutual aid, promoting positive norms, maintaining authority in group work, managing conflict, dealing with taboo subjects, building a group work culture in a human services organization, working with a co-leader, tapping the strengths of group members, and addressing social change. The individual stories of working with men, women, and children suffering through abuse, homelessness, addiction, and teenage pregnancy, in places as diverse as East Harlem, Maine, Canada, Nebraska, Long Island, Haiti, Uruguay, help form a collegial spirit as group workers gain insight from the theory and practice of those who went before. The personal stories you’ll find in Stories Celebrating Group Work include: “How I Became a Social Worker” “The Power of Group Work with Kids” “How the Relational Model of Group Work Developed” “My Love Affair with Stages of Group Development” “But I Want to Do a Real Group” “Racial Difference and Human Commonality: The Worker-Client Relationship” and many more! Stories Celebrating Group Work: It’s Not Always Easy to Sit on Your Mouth is a one-of-a-kind collection of stories, at once entertaining and educational. It's an essential read for beginning and seasoned human services practitioners, and educators involved with, or interested in, working with groups.

And social workers