Introduction
This essay will use relevant literature on groupwork to illustrate how I would plan and facilitate a therapeutic group based on my current placement in a Child Protection Social Work team.
I will start this essay with a definition and theory of groupwork, and then will outline how I would plan and facilitate the group. I will also outline information on my experience of planning and facilitating groups.
Definition of groups/groupwork:
“A group is a miniature social system which reflects the behavioural patterns of the society from which its members come. (Douglas, 2000:8).
Benson (2001:11) states: “Groupwork practice is a helping process designed to correspond to specific instances of individual and group need based on a view of man as in constant interaction and relationships with others”.
He further states: groupwork is a productive, healthy and creative experience carried out on the basis of explicit agreements, openly pursued and clearly arrived at, about the purpose and the task of the groups, rights and responsibilities of its members (Benson 2001:11).
A group can be defined in many ways such as according to its purpose, its activity or the field of endeavour in which it is established and accounting to.
Group Planning/Structure:
Detailed planning about the structure involves taking decisions about such things as group size, composition, location, duration and whether group is open or closed.
Structure is important because it affects the potential helpfulness or otherwise of the group, in the planning and facilitating of the beginning of a therapeutic group (Benson, 2001). But he also states that: Planning and organisation are crucial in order for a group to be successful. Whatever their interests, or concerns, individual members come to the group with their own perception of what they want, or do not want from the experience (Benson, 1997:13).
However, Douglas states: Most prospective group members will...