“But I'm Too Stressed to Learn About Groups!:” Using Stress-Management Groups to Teach Group Work Skills

Abstract

Rural BSW students are facing additional stressors today than in previous years. At the same time, group work advocates are fighting for the group work method to remain an integral part of the social work curriculum. Group work educators have long known that a combination of classroom and experiential exercises is important to student learning. The findings of a preexperimental, mixed-methods research design showed that mutual aid–based stress-management groups for rural BSW students can reduce stress, teach self-care techniques, and simultaneously exhibit core group work skills.