DEFINITION, HISTORY,

THEORIES VALUES AND

KNOWLEDGE BASE, USES
AND TYPES OF GROUPS
DEFINITION

 WHAT IS A GROUP?
-”two or more individuals who are
connected to one another by social
relationship. –Donelson R. Forsyth
-provide setting where
relationships can form and grow and
where people can find help and support.
 -the social relationships involved
is groups entail interdependence.
-considerable insights can be
gained into the process and
functioning of groups via the
literature of group dynamics and of
small groups.
GROUP WORK

 Is a form of voluntary association of

members benefiting from cooperative
learning, that enhances the total output
of the activity than when done
individually.
 Involves engaging with, and seeking to
enhance interactions and relationships
within gathering of two or more other
people.
Group work can emphasize “action
and influence as well as reaction and
adaption.” –Allan Brown
“Mutual aid system” –Lawrence
Shulman
SOCIAL GROUP WORK

A method of social work that helps a

person to enhance their social
functioning through purposeful
group experiences and to cope more
effectively with their personal,
group or community problems.
 SOCIAL WORK WITH
GROUPS: A HISTORICAL
BACKGROUND
 Games and recreational activities are what
many people associate with social work
practice with groups. There are a lot of social
work agencies that still offer mainly these
kinds of experiences as ends in themselves,
or as instruments to meet certain agency
objectives.
However, social work practice with
groups in the country has changed
through the years because of
different events.
Before the Sixties: Socialization Goals

 The development of the social work method

of working with groups may be traced to the
introduction of socio-civic movements during
the period of American colonial rule. These
movements included the YMCA (1911), the
YWCA (1926), and the Boy Scouts of the
Philippines (1936).
 Many of the first teachers of group work
in the Philippines were formerly
employed in these socio-civic agencies.
Groups were used for the development
of the individual through training in
social skills and in calculating social
values.
Socialization

 The process by which people selectively

acquire the values and attitudes of the groups
of which they are a part.
 These agencies service-users were organized
into groups that participated in wholesome
recreational activities such as arts and crafts,
camping, sports, etc., from which people
derived a lot of fun and enjoyment.
 It is evident that during the fifties, social
agencies were organizing groups for
socialization goals but not anymore by way
of recreational activities only.
The Sixties: Prevention, Treatment
and Developmental Goals
 By the 1960’s, an increasing number of
agencies was using the group method for
both preventive and therapeutic process.
 Mental health agencies like the Special Child
Study Center, Inc. organized parents’ groups
to help the participants to understand accept,
and deal with their children’s conditions.
 A great deal of group work was also
undertaken in the field of government
housing and resettlement during the sixties.
There were centers established mainly to
help the tenants deal with common concerns
and problems and to help them integrate
into the surrounding community.
 This kind of group work is what is described in
social work literature as developmental group
work which is, of course, so different from the
leisure-time group work activities that
prevailed in the earlier years.
 The Seventies: Emphasizing
Developmental Goals
 In the following decade, the government’s
pursuit of its Development Plan was reflected
in efforts in the Department of Social Welfare
to undertake developmental programs and
services for the bottom 30 percent of the
country’s population.
 Intended mainly to support increased
productivity on the part of individuals,
groups, and communities, social workers
implemented self-employment assistance,
leadership training, day care, responsible
parenthood, and family life education
programs.
 During the late sixties and seventies, social
workers in juvenile and domestic relations
courts also used groups to help provide legal
offenders with groups experiences aimed at
their socialization and/or re-socialization
while those employed in orphanages
provided their wards with group experiences
for socialization purposes.
 The declaration of Martial Law (1972 to 1981)
had significant effects on social work
education and practice. The period provoked
a great deal of consciousness-raising efforts
which were aimed at making many rural and
urban poor citizens realize that many of their
problems, were due to deficiencies their
social institutions.
The Present Scene

 Today, most social welfare agencies in the

country offer some type of group service.
 The socialization purpose is carried out by
organizing groups that are intended primarily
to help the members to acquire the values,
attitudes and norms of the society of which
they are a part.
 The treatment purpose focuses on the use of
the small group to help individuals who
already have a problem or breakdown in their
social functioning.
Values Foundation

 Philosophy
 Values
 Principles
 Professional Ethics
Philosophy
- or basic belief of social work is that every
human being has worth and dignity.

Values
- It is good and desirable for every human
being to fulfill his potential, to realize himself,
and to balance this with equal efforts to help
others do the same.
Basic Principles

 Acceptance – the social worker’s education

and the agency’s support of his helping role
form the basis for respecting the group
whatever its circumstances.

 Participation – this principle requires the

worker to involve the group in all the steps of
problem- solving.
 Self- Determination
- the worker must respect the group’s right to
determine its own goals and the means for achieving
them.

 Individualization
- no two groups are the same even as there are
characteristics common to all groups.
- the principle of individualization makes the
worker conscious of the groups particular situation,
and the need to respond accordingly.
 Confidentiality
- in working with groups, the worker often finds
members sharing information of confidential nature.
The worker must know how to set limits on the extent
of sharing confidential information in the group.

 Worker Self- Awareness

- this requires self- understanding and
consciousness of one’s responses to the group,
whether they are professionally motivated or
personally motivated.
 Purposeful relationship
- a social worker’s professional
relationship with the group does not just
happen or move in a desired direction. It is
deliberately planned, based on a careful
study of the group’s problem or situation.
Ethics

- is the science that is concerned with

morals and right conduct. Professional ethics
is the system of ethical principles and rules of
conduct which, social work, is the concrete
expression of its philosophy, values, and
principles that have been described.
 The Uses and
Types of Groups
Uses of groups (Advantages)

Advantages
 Many individuals feel more comfortable, or
are encourage to participate and share ideas
because of the interaction that takes place
in a group.
 Group members receive psychological
rewards from the experience of helping
others with their problems.
 Internal forces in groups (such as contagion,
affectional ties, group pressure, leadership)
can influence attitudes , values and behaviors
 The group lends itself to the use of a variety
of activities that are not only relevant to the
group’s goals but also respond to the
individual members needs and interest (e.g.
group discussion, group dynamics exercises,
role play, audio visuals).
 The cooperative thinking process that takes
place in a group especially if guided properly,
can hasten decision making on the part of its
members.
 Many individuals have similar problems that
are best handled with a group engage in
collective action instead of acting
individually.
 For certain purposes, it may be more
economical to work with groups than with
individuals . The best laid-out plans for working
with individual clients on a one-to-one basis are
often not implemented in many agencies in the
country because of staff constraints . The group
approach should be considered as an
alternative , supplemented, if appropriate, with
work with individual members.
Group mode of service

 to use the group as the primary means of

helping
 To augment individual methods
 To augment work with individuals family
 To augment community methods
 To work with groups in the context of
intergroup approaches at the community
level
Uses of Group
 The Group as Medium of Change
- if the group is a “medium of change” the target of
influence is the individual member, and the source of
that influenced is the group.
 The Group as Target of Change
- it may also be necessary for the group as a whole or
certain aspects of the group to change in order to
effect change in its members, Robert Vinter’ calls this
“indirect means of influence” where practitioner
interventions are used to effect modifications in group
conditions which, in turn, effect the members.
 The Group as Agent of Change
- the concept of the group as “agent of
change” refers to the active involvement of
the group in efforts to modify, or redirect
features or forces in its social environment
which makes demands, creates pressure, and
impose constraints on the group
achievement.
 An Integrated Approach to Work with
Groups
- the worker uses the groups as a medium
of change, as a target of change, and as an
agent of change.
Types of Groups

 Support Groups
- help the individuals who are coping with a
situation or condition in their lives for
example: divorce, depression, cancer or
other diseases.
 Educational Groups
- are designed to teach patients about a
condition or situation for example: teen drug
awareness, diabetes or heart attack recovery.
 Growth Groups
- the basis of a growth group is some area of
personal concern in which individuals wish to
become more proficient.
 Therapy Groups
- facilitate recovery or rehabilitation after
clients suffer trauma or injury, or they can be
used to help people who have experienced a
sudden change in their life circumstances.
Knowledge Foundation

 Human Behavior and Social Environment

 Social Welfare Policy and Services

 Social Work Practice

 Human Behavior and Social Environment
- social work education programs
provide content on the reciprocal
relationships between human behavior and
social environment.
 Social Welfare Policy and Services
- this area provides students with
knowledge and skills to understand major
policies that form the foundation of Social
Welfare and the attainment of social well-
being.
 Social Work Practice
- engaging clients in an working
relationship; indentifying issues and
problems.