Chapter 1 Toseland and Rivas

The following lecture material is provided as an addition to the Ch. 1 PowerPoint presentation offered to you in class notes at the beginning of the semester. Having had the opportunity to experience a good number of the following theoretical dimensions, you will most likely be able to appreciate these elements in a much more powerful and meaningful way. I want to thank the class, and this includes everyone, for their tremendous investment in this teaching and learning experience. Dr. Wilfred Gallant

10/02/2008 1:35 PM

Chapter 1 Toseland and Rivas

Class Notes:Part I

Introduction

Group work entails the deliberate use of intervention strategies and group processes to accomplish individual, group, and community goals using the value base and ethical practice principles of the social work profession. The effect that groups have on people's lives is clearly demonstrated in the numerous types of Self-Help Groups

Brentwood Recovery Home

House of Sophresene

AA

Bereavement Groups

Overeaters Anonymous

Wellness Groups

Survivors of Sexual Abuse

Although it is possible to live in an isolated manner on the fringes of groups, our social nature makes this neither desirable nor healthy. This is equally true in the classroom with the emphasis on the importance of the learning process and not merely the teaching aspect…learning by doing.

Participation in family groups, peer groups, and classroom groups helps members learn acceptable norms of social behavior, engage in satisfying social relationships, identify personal goals, and derive a variety of other benefits that result from participating in closely knit social systems. (Being goodwill ambassadors wishing ourselves to be: “Well, happy and peaceful” and wishing others to be “Well, happy and peaceful”.)

ORGANIZATION OF THE TEXT

Group work can be understood as a series of activities carried out by the worker during the life of a group much aligned to the cognitive, affective, behavioral and experiential “teaching and learning” practice-process in the classroom. We have found that it is helpful to conceptualize these activities as being a part of six developmental stages:

1. Planning
2. Beginning
3. Assessment
4. Middle
5. Evaluation
6. Ending

Groups exhibit certain properties and processes during each stage of their development. The group worker's task and the teacher’s is to engage in activities that facilitate the growth and development of the group and each one of its members during each developmental stage.

THE FOCUS OF GROUP WORK PRACTICE

Group work involves the following aspects.

Group Work Practice

. Practice with a broad range of treatment and task groups

. Application of foundation knowledge and skills from generalist social work practice to a broad range of leadership and membership situations (Borrowing from the foundation of 304, 336 etc). (This is akin to the will to ones yearning and thirst for knowledge, comprehension, wisdom, accurate perception, astuteness and good judgment.)

. Integration and use of specialized knowledge and skills based on a comprehensive assessment of the needs of a particular group (cf. Corey & Corey)

. A recognition of the interactional and situational nature of leadership

To accomplish the broad mission and goals of the social work profession, generalist practitioners are expected to possess basic competencies that enable them to intervene effectively with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities. Unfortunately, less attention is paid to advocacy (thus the importance of sharing the published article on the Coal Mining Symposium) social action groups, coalitions, and other community groups. This work on mining in the province of Nova Scotia, not only demonstrated the integration of group work theory but the actually application of the Music Impact Inventory Scale (MIIS) at a micro, macro and mezzo level of intervention. One student in the “Every-two weeks evaluation” form suggested the possibility of using the MIIS as well as music based intervention as an integral aspect of the small group exercises as well as the final assignment. By allowing the 337 course to function as an actual group, we come to experience the very dynamics involved in group development. The professor functions as a facilitator and provides valuable practical and theoretical feedback to the small groups and to the class as a whole so as to achieve an optimal level of group functioning and to ensure that the small group and the class accomplishes its purposes.

The trade-off as mentioned before, though consistent with the U of Windsor emphasis on “less teaching” and more “student participation and involvement” means less emphasis on the actual theory being covered in class. It is for this reason that I am now going beyond the PowerPoint presentations I have offered to you at the beginning of the semester and providing you with more detail reflections on the various chapters of Toseland and Rivas so as to assist you in grasping the significant elements which integrate theory and practice and which is so effectively being witnessed in the small group experiences.

The purposeful theoretical base from which I am functioning is one that stems from the group work literature which deals with the importance of Sullivan’s concept of “consensual validation”, Schulman’s concept of a “` relationship” and the development among ourselves of “mutual aid” In effect, this all ties in to the very first PowerPoint presentation on “The Will to….”, the belief being that by trusting, willingness to take reasonable risks and a fully invested engagement in the teaching/learning process, one develops the capacity for the “will to caring and sharing, the will to self-actualization and the will to love and intimacy.” (The will to mutual vulnerability, to self-disclosure, self-exploration and self-discovery is at the hallmark of what we so deeply wish for ourselves and for our clients. Experiencing these dynamic elements in the classroom predisposes us to be sensitive to them in the needs of our clients).

Again, the Coal Mining presentation in class with the accompanying songs provided impetus for both the treatment group and the task group. In both groups, attention was given to the community in which the groups function and their respective roles. The thrust of the paper was to make community services more responsive to members of the coal mining group. This hopefully, might, in turn, lead to the development of a social action group to address the coal mining problems in a more strategic an aggressive manner, one that will reaps actual results. This in effect is what I attempted to do. What I neglected to do was to demonstrate the actual integration of theory and practice.

Having had an in-depth knowledge about human development and skill in my empathic response to this Cape Breton mining community was an essential foundation for effective work with individuals, families, groups, and communities. The closing of the coal mines has had an effect on children, adolescents, and older adults. What the classroom exercise on coal mining providing was an exposure to different approaches to group work at a broader level.

An integration of practice approaches is often preferable to using a single approach. Exclusive adherence to one approach may work well for a group with a particular set of needs, but it may not work well when leading a group with other needs. Rigid adherence to one approach tends to make a worker oblivious to other potentially useful methods and to distort a worker's assessment of a situation. A worker might mistakenly attempt to fit data from a situation to a particular practice approach rather than choosing the practice approach to fit the situation. For these reasons, group workers can be most effective when they are familiar with several approaches to group work and when they apply specialized knowledge and skills differentially depending on the particular group work endeavor. (Nonetheless, I will demonstrate a reflective, humanistic, existential approach which has proven effective in my own use of music based intervention in group work in an upcoming cd presentation to the class. Bring your own popcorn---SMILE!!!!)

A static, prescriptive approach to group work practice often appeals to novice practitioners because of its simplicity but does not match the complexity and diversity of the real world of group work practice.

VALUES AND ETHICS IN GROUP WORK PRACTICE

Practice Values

In social work, the focus of group work practice is influenced by a system of personal and professional values. These values affect workers' styles of intervention and the skills they use in working with clients. They also affect clients' reactions to the worker's efforts. The emphasis on ethics and values is of utmost importance.

American and Canadian Values

Based on:

. Judeo-Christian-Islamic doctrine with its emphasis on the dignity and worth of people and people’s responsibility for their neighbor

. Democratic values that emphasize equality and participation, including men's and women's rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

. The Puritan ethic, which emphasizes men's and women's responsibility for themselves, and the central role of work in a moral life

. Social Darwinism, which emphasizes the survival of the strongest and the fittest in a long-term evolutionary process

. Call for Charity and Social Justice where we are our sister’s and our bother’s keeper. We are called to be there for those in need, the poor, the oppressed, the marginalized, and the disenfranchised. (We are called to be here for one another in the “will to nurturance, goodwill, support and benevolence”).

Group Work Va1ues

. Participation of and positive relations among people of different color, creed, age, national origin, and social class in the group

. The value of cooperation and mutual decision making embodied in the principles of a participatory democracy. (This entails the will to bonding and connectedness, to unity and harmony----the will to community and open communication---the will to caring and sharing.) It is a tremendous feat that we have accomplished a good number of these “will to…” dimensions in the classroom up to this time. This is the marvel of the “will to creativity and aliveness, the will to growth and the expansion of our own budding and unlimited potential.) This is the joy, beauty and unrepeatable privilege of being a professor.

As one saying has it:

“I will never pass this way again, therefore, whatever good I can do, whatever gesture of kindness and love I can make, whatever sense

of joy, and celebration I can bring, or that I can

invite people to, let me do it now, for I will

never pass this way again.”

The importance of individual initiative within the group. (This is the opposite of the will to hiding behind a façade, a mask as if the event was just one big charade or make believe sham. It is the opposite of covering up, deception and game playing.) (The will to getting your feet wet and your hands dirty is the very challenge which you students have embraced. These were the very real concepts which I introduced at the very beginning of class and to which you collectively have said: “Yes” to. This is the quest in which you have chosen to embark. These are the positive, life-giving core group concepts, ideas and knowledge base which you as a class have chosen embrace on one hand and the negative, destructive forces you have chosen to shun on the other. This is the product of your collective investment which has made the group experience come alive. An over emphasis on content without the balance of process creates a void which is the antithesis of personal and professional growth and development.)

. The importance of freedom to participate, including expressing thoughts and feelings about matters of concern to individual members or the group as a whole, and having the right to be involved in the decision-making process of the group

. The value of high individualization in the group so that each member's unique concerns are addressed

These values are not absent in other aspects of social work practice, but in group work they are of central importance. In addition to these five core values, we have found four additional values to be fundamental to practice with any type of task or treatment group.

Four Key Values

. Respect and dignity - We value the worth and dignity of all group members no matter how devalued or stigmatized they may be by society. This includes valuing members' contributions to the life of the group and adhering to all aspects of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) code of ethics.

. Solidarity and mutual aid - We value the power and promise of relationships to help members grow and develop, to help them heal, to satisfy their needs for human contact and connectedness, and to promote a sense of unity and community.

. Empowerment - We value the power of the group to help members feel good about themselves and to enable them to use their abilities to help themselves and to make a difference in their communities. (The will to legitimate power and empowerment, influencing one another positively as opposed to the negative will to manipulation and exploitation and attention-getting). Show slide from desktop – i.e. Empowerment Title Shortcut to Empowerment

. Understanding, respect, and camaraderie among people

from diverse backgrounds--We value the ability of groups to help enrich members by acquainting them to people from other backgrounds. Members' respect and appreciation for each other grow as their relationships deepen over the life of a group. Thus, one powerful aspect of social group work is that it helps to decrease ignorance, misunderstanding, and prejudice among people from diverse backgrounds. (Through the will to reverence, amazement and astonishment to each other’s uniqueness, we constructively foster the will to security, comfort and consolation – essential elements of group cohesiveness, solidarity and unity). The will to move behind our comfort level and the willingness to take reasonable and responsible risks. The will to adventure, exploration and discovery is the wish we have for our clients and for ourselves).

Cultural Diversity - The worker should be especially sensitive to the effects that cultural diversity has on valued behavior in groups. For example, in Native American culture, although cooperation is an important value, it is considered impolite to offer advice, help, or opinion to someone unless it is solicited. Group members with Irish ethnic backgrounds often prefer not to express their feelings openly, whereas Italian Americans are more likely to express their feelings freely. (The will to Unity amidst Diversity

Part II(To be continued)

Ethical Principles

337Toselandch1PARTI08

10/02/2008 1:24 PM