Group Work Program Research Articles

Threads across the world: sewing resilience into the fabric of children’s lives

ABSTRACTStrengthening the ecological resilience factors in the lives of children that have been abused can help them to navigate the healing process. It is through group work that children can share their “resilience wisdom” with one another as a healing community. There is a dearth of research on cross-cultural resilience programs for children who have been abused. This article explores a group work program that was conducted for one year in Bolivia and Australia. The results from each group reveal the similarities and the differences in outcomes between children from different cultural backgrounds that participated in a resilience group work program.

Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse within the Family System: Guidelines for an Educational Social Group Work Program

ABSTRACTChildren have the right to be brought up in safe environments. However, this right is often infringed by people who are supposed to provide love, care, and protection to children. These people can include biological fathers, step-fathers, brothers, cousins, aunts, mothers, and uncles. Violation of children takes place in a variety of ways, however, for the purpose of this paper, the focus is on child sexual abuse within the family system. A literature review is adopted as the methodology for the discussions in this paper. The purpose of this paper is firstly to demonstrate that child sexual abuse happens within the family system in South Africa, and secondly, to argue that the prevention of child sexual abuse should start within the family system and this can be achieved by conducting educational social group work sessions on child sexual abuse with the family members.

ソリューション・フォーカスト・アプローチに基づくグループワークの実践とその影響 ―大学生への発達支援に関する質的研究―

ソリューション・フォーカスト・アプローチに基づくグループワークの実践とその影響 ―大学生への発達支援に関する質的研究―

Video interaction guidance in collaborative group work: impact on primary school pupils’ self-esteem and behaviours

Video interaction guidance (VIG) is an increasingly recognised evidence-based intervention. VIG was used to enhance pupil responses during a group work programme. Fifteen primary-aged classes across a range of socio-economic status received regular group work over a year. A mixed methods repeated measures design involved nine experimental classes receiving intervention of three cycles of VIG. Six control classes did not receive the VIG intervention. Pre-to-post-test measures included: pupils’ self-esteem in relation to learning, using the Myself as a Learner Scale; a peer assessment schedule based upon Frederickson and Cameron’s Social Inclusion Survey; and a researcher devised pupil questionnaire. Pupils’ communicative behaviours were analysed for a random sample of 12 video clips. Results showed that reinforcement of desirable group work behaviours using VIG enhanced pupils’ self-esteem. The VIG intervention significantly enhanced the experimental group. There was greatest impact on increasing the self-esteem of younger children. Experimental pupils’ retrospective ratings of group work significantly increased, again youngest pupils showed greatest improvement. Film observations showed a trend towards an increase in pupils’ open questions replacing closed questions. There was a significant positive increase in peer assessment of communicative behaviours across the whole sample, irrespective of the VIG intervention. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.

The role of educators in promoting collaborative research

This paper examines some of the current science policy paradigms set at international level to promote open science and participatory research, and discusses how key factors necessary for successful collaboration can usefully contribute to the training of future conservation professionals through group work and research-based learning programmes.

Transforming Rehabilitation and Approved Premises

This article considers the impact that Transforming Rehabilitation has had upon Approved Premises (APs) since the process began following the publication of the National Probation Service Review Paper, E3 Blueprint (the three Es being Effectiveness, Efficiency and Excellence), in November 2015. This paper outlines what service delivery across the organisation will look like in the near future. At the time of writing we are in the consultation phase, which has yet to be concluded. I have drawn upon quality assurance information from a number of National Probation Service (NPS) North West Region Approved Premises documents published between 2009 and the dissolving of Probation Trusts in 2014. This has enabled some analysis of the efficacy of existing group work programmes and purposeful activities in place at each AP. The paper reflects the personal experiences of the author, including experiences from a previous change process, and how the initial transfer from Trusts to the NPS altered the practice and political landscape for an innovative and creative AP team. The paper concludes by considering the potential consequences for APs as their rehabilitative regimes will inevitably change. It considers how this could be a constructive process as each hostel is measured against quality improvement and assurance measures determined by an external body – the Royal College of Psychiatry (RCP). This is as a consequence of each hostel working towards or having achieved the RCP Enabling Environment Award (EEA) status, involving full team training in the Knowledge and Understanding Framework to better understand and respond to residents who have emerging or diagnosed personality disorders. Reaching and then retaining this EEA standard is likely to be an ongoing challenge. Refreshingly, creating an enabling environment demands high levels of engagement, coupled with the development of understanding, nurturing and caring relationships for residents and staff alike.

A Punch, A Stitch, A Bell: The Power of Nondeliberative Practice in Social Group Work

ABSTRACTThis article examines the nondeliberative approach in social work with groups through five qualities inherent in the modality. It explores how the practice stands out as unique and valuable within the field: how it taps what other modalities may not by truly meeting the members where they are in space and time. Using examples taken from an array of social group work programs spanning 20 years, it illustrates how the nondeliberative approach takes place in diverse locations and utilizes diverse mediums and modes of communication. Special recognition is given to Norma Lang who articulated the theory about this approach.

Groupwork interventions for women and children experiencing domestic abuse: Do they work and do they last?

This paper draws selectively on the findings of a study exploring the impact of a concurrent groupwork programme for mothers and children (6-7 years of age) who have experienced domestic abuse. This group was delivered by statutory child and welfare services in Ireland in conjunction with a voluntary sector child support service. This paper illustrates how participation in the groupwork programme impacted positively on the relationship between the participating mothers and their children and also explores what benefits were sustained over time. Employing a mixed methods approach, both quantitative and qualitative data were collected from three distinct populations and at three points in time. The findings of this study confirm the usefulness of the group environment in helping participants share the full extent of their personal experiences in a therapeutic and supportive setting. Participant outcomes included pro-social modelling of positive parenting, awareness raising and information sharing regarding the impact of the experience of domestic abuse on both child development and parenting capacity. These factors were reported by participants to have impacted on the quality of the mother-child relationship. This paper concludes by highlighting the key features of the groupwork programme which were central to facilitating and sustaining these positive outcomes.

The effectiveness of therapeutic eating disorder groups at Isis

Isis – The Eating Issues Centre (Isis) offers empowerment-based therapeutic group work programs for adults with eating issues within the community. The current study evaluated the 18- and 10- Week Group programs provided by Isis using a mixed-method design. The pre and post-treatment data of 25 clients who participated in the 18- Week Group between 2010 and 2013, and 33 clients who participated in the 10- Week Group between 2009 and 2013 were analysed. Semi-structured interviews were also conducted with five clients who had completed the 18-Week Group, and six clients who had completed the 10- Week Group. Findings from the quantitative analyses revealed that participants of both programs experienced statistically and clinically significant improvements on the drive for thinness scale of the Eating Disorder Inventory-3 (EDI-3; Garner, 2004), as well as statistically (although not clinically) significant improvements on the bulimia, body dissatisfaction, interpersonal alienation, and interoceptive deficits scales. Qualitative findings revealed that participants were highly satisfied with the programs, identified numerous positive aspects of group work, and reported various beneficial outcomes. Collectively, the findings indicate that the 18- and 10- Week Group programs are helpful interventions for women with eating issues when accessed alongside individual support.

Desistance in action: An interactional approach to criminal justice practice and desistance from offending

Research on the role of narrative and identity in desistance from crime tends to rely on interview methods. This article argues research and theory on desistance and interventions for addressing offending would be enriched by the qualitative analysis of interactions between criminal justice practitioners and service users. This approach is illustrated by applying discourse analysis and conversation analysis to video recordings of a groupwork programme for addressing offending behaviour. The analysis shows that: (1) service users may exhibit ambivalence to pro-social identities; (2) practitioners may orient to this resistance and encourage positive change; (3) other group members’ change narratives constitute resources to support desistance. This illustrates how an interactional approach to desistance can enhance understandings of practice and change processes.

Interim Report on Group Work in Adolescent Pavilion

In this report for a staff seminar discussion at Hillside Hospital on January 30, 1958, the author describes the democratic philosophy, as well as the structure and nature, of the strengths-based group work program she has developed with a population of adolescent girls in this long-term, inpatient psychiatric unit.

THE ROLE OF THE SOCIAL WORKER TO EMPOWER FAMILIES IN A DEEP RURAL COMMUNITY

A research study was conducted at Heuningvlei near Vryburg in the Northern Cape Province of South Africa during 2006. The study was called “Tshwaragano”, meaning togetherness, and was sponsored by the National Research Foundation. The research focused on health issues and poverty, and was undertaken to determine their effect on families in rural areas. Seven master’s students and two PhD students were involved in the project. The master’s students did a needs assessment with their specific aim in mind and developed guidelines. The PhD students used this needs assessment of the first phase to compile their social work group-work programmes to empower the families of Heuningvlei and to enhance their quality of life. This article reports on a section of the research which examined the living conditions and income of the households, and the causes and effects of poverty and unemployment. Aspects such as crime, violence and marital conflict received attention. Because the strengths approach was used in this study, the strengths of the families were investigated. Finally, the roles of the social worker to implement preventive and treatment strategies in the community were discussed.

Protecting into emotion: therapeutic enactments with military veterans transitioning back into civilian life

Over 18.5% of military personnel returning from war zones to civilian life suffer mental health issues, which can lead to family breakdown, homelessness and other problems. Almost 4000 Australian soldiers have returned home from active service in the last decade suffering from combat stress and mental health conditions. A 2009 Australian independent government review warned that a new generation of veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and severe mental health disorders will emerge in the next five years, with as many as one in four likely to need mental health treatment. The Difficult Return: arts-based approaches to mental health literacy and building resilience with recently returned military personnel and their families is a three-year Australian Research Council funded arts project aimed at supporting the mental health and well-being of recently returned veterans in Australia, USA and Canada. The project combines a range of arts-based strategies to help returning veterans, including online digital films to improve awareness and help seeking motivation, a performance project with ex-soldiers and actors, and a process-based group work programme. The paper will focus specifically on the development of the Veterans Transition Programme (VTP) a partnership between Griffith University and the University of British Columbia, Vancouver. The VTP leverages the resilience and resources of veterans, providing help to participants attempting to better understand the impact of military experience on their lives. It draws on a range of psycho-educational and action-based approaches, including life review and drama enactments to engage participants in ways of dealing with disturbing events from their lives. The paper will describe and reflect on a number of the strategies used in the VTP, for example, how the drama enactments help to integrate emotion, cognition and embodied awareness, the significance of contact when working with trauma, and the importance of a therapeutic milieu in constructing ‘units’ of support for the veterans.

The use of emotional literacy in work with sexual offenders

Emotional literacy as a skill in probation practice requires an ability to understand and regulate one’s own emotions, in order to be responsive to the emotions of others. The concepts and methods used in this article arise from research by Charlotte Knight for a PhD on emotional literacy in work with high-risk offenders and the practice of Panna Modi, who works as a probation officer in a sex offender treatment unit with low, medium and high risk offenders. Reference is made to the case studies of two men who were participants in a Community Sex Offender Groupwork Programme (C-SOGP) and examines some of the emotional processes and skills involved in work with them.

The Assault Awareness Course and New Drivers’ Initiative; Groupwork programmes for young people convicted of violent and vehicle offences

At the point that someone commits a crime and causes deliberate harm to others, that person must by definition have behaved irresponsibly and shown little or no empathy for their victims. Following the offence they may continue to avoid taking responsibility, hiding behind excuses to minimise their culpability and shift the blame on others – in order to avoid unpleasant consequences for themselves. Many will not consider the suffering to which their behaviour has led. Offending behaviour and restorative justice interventions will succeed only to the extent that a perpetrator is willing to accept responsibility for their part in their crime and shows some empathy for those they harmed. Oxfordshire Youth Offending Service has developed two innovative groupwork programmes, one for young people who have committed violent offences and the other for car crime. These programmes are designed to challenge participants to be accountable and provide conditions for an empathic response towards their victims.

Sweethearts and Sourpusses: My Year with the Elderly

SUMMARY This article chronicles a student's field placement experience at a drop-in center for homeless senior citizens. The student confronts her own fears and misconceptions about the senior population as she creates and implements a group-work program. Relying heavily on her knowledge of group development and group dynamics, she facilitates a current events group that provides lively atmosphere for her and the members to learn and grow from one another.

The Analysis of an HIV and AIDS Empowering Group Work Programme for Adolescents: A Quantitative Evaluation

In this article an HIV and AIDS group work programme empowering adolescents to deal with the possible death of their parents/caregivers will be evaluated in a quantitative fashion. The data were obtained by means of the Child Functioning Inventory High School (CFI-HIGH) developed by Perspective Training College and the Generalized Contentment Scale (GCS) of Hudson (Bloom et al., 1999: 220). The guidelines for selection and inclusion of respondents in the comparison and experimental groups will be discussed, followed by information on the measuring instruments. The article will conclude with conclusions and recommendations.

The Assault Awareness Course and New Drivers’ Initiative; Groupwork programmes for young people convicted of violent and vehicle offences

At the point that someone commits a crime and causes deliberate harm to others, that person must by definition have behaved irresponsibly and shown little or no empathy for their victims. Following the offence they may continue to avoid taking responsibility, hiding behind excuses to minimise their culpability and shift the blame on others – in order to avoid unpleasant consequences for themselves. Many will not consider the suffering to which their behaviour has led. Offending behaviour and restorative justice interventions will succeed only to the extent that a perpetrator is willing to accept responsibility for their part in their crime and shows some empathy for those they harmed. Oxfordshire Youth Offending Service has developed two innovative groupwork programmes, one for young people who have committed violent offences and the other for car crime. These programmes are designed to challenge participants to be accountable and provide conditions for an empathic response towards their victims.

Lessons Learned from the Kinship Education and Support Program (KEPS): Developing Effective Support Groups for Formal Kinship Caregivers

This qualitative study examines the effectiveness of the Kinship Education Preparation and Support (KEPS) program, a group-work program designed specifically to address the varied support needs of formal kinship caregivers. There were a total of 43 participants in this study, including relative caregivers, child welfare workers, and community leaders, all of whom participated in one of six focus groups. Themes emergent from the focus groups were: the need for, and benefits of, support programs for formal kinship caregivers, implementation challenges, and improvements for KEPS. Recommendations for planning supportive and educational groups for relative foster parents will be discussed using components of Kurland's planning model.

Strengths-based groupwork with alcohol dependent older persons

Worldwide the numbers of older people in the population are increasing. Simultaneously the need for treatment programmes increases as more alcohol dependent people are growing into old age. Literature reviews revealed that groupwork programmes offered to older persons are exclusively problem-centred, while strengths-based scholars suggest that following a strengths perspective may be more effective. The majority of studies tend to evaluate the outcomes of treatment programmes quantitatively. It was also found that South Africa, which adopted a developmental approach towards social welfare, lacks groupwork programmes specifically designed for alcohol dependent older persons. This article reports on the outcomes of a strengths-based groupwork programme for alcohol dependent older persons. The programme is unique in the sense that it is based on a strengths perspective; it is reconcilable with South Africa’s welfare approach; and follows a mixed methods research approach in order to evaluate the programme holistically. Eight respondents were randomly selected. The results, collected with a group administered questionnaire, show that the respondents’ psychosocial functioning improved, in that: their repertoire of strengths increased and they have achieved, or are on a path towards, ego integrity. This programme is considered to be complementary to current treatment programmes.