Reflection on Social Work Group Work Processes
i1. Introduction
Group work is an integral part of life, and in particular, an essential component of social work practice. Group work provides a myriad of benefits that individual work cannot provide, such as the synergy among members that group work provides over case work (Corey & Corey, 2006), and it is precisely why group work is applied in the social work setting.
Various theories affect how group work is practiced, affecting both group dynamics and the different stages of the group (Hepworth, 2013). In my paper, I will be sharing my experiences as a member of a group, focusing on the various stages, interaction patterns observed and my personal reflections on the entire process.
2. Group transition
Initial stage: Formation of group
The formation of our group was an abrupt process, a mishmash of people who are interested in helping the same target group, which in this case was for schooling youths. The six of us came together as strangers to this project, signing up based on a mutual interest in helping schooling youths. At this stage, the objective of our group was to foster accomplishment of identified work goals (Hepworth, 2013), which was to meet the needs of youths facing esteem issues.
Broadly defined, a task group is the formation of a group to work on a single defined task or activity (Corey & Corey, 2006). In a task group, members are assumed to have various expertise on the subject matter, ranging from a diversity of skillsets. Our group comprised members who possessed an assortment of skills, with some gifted in linguistic ability, to others who excelled at concise summarizing and critical questioning skills which greatly aided our workflow. However, given a cohesive lack of trust and an initial degree of awkwardness between members who barely knew each other at this stage, it was difficult for us to get work done efficiently at the start.
Transition Stage: Conflict resolution
Initially, as the group started to work on
Group work is an integral part of life, and in particular, an essential component of social work practice. Group work provides a myriad of benefits that individual work cannot provide, such as the synergy among members that group work provides over case work (Corey & Corey, 2006), and it is precisely why group work is applied in the social work setting.
Various theories affect how group work is practiced, affecting both group dynamics and the different stages of the group (Hepworth, 2013). In my paper, I will be sharing my experiences as a member of a group, focusing on the various stages, interaction patterns observed and my personal reflections on the entire process.
2. Group transition
Initial stage: Formation of group
The formation of our group was an abrupt process, a mishmash of people who are interested in helping the same target group, which in this case was for schooling youths. The six of us came together as strangers to this project, signing up based on a mutual interest in helping schooling youths. At this stage, the objective of our group was to foster accomplishment of identified work goals (Hepworth, 2013), which was to meet the needs of youths facing esteem issues.
Broadly defined, a task group is the formation of a group to work on a single defined task or activity (Corey & Corey, 2006). In a task group, members are assumed to have various expertise on the subject matter, ranging from a diversity of skillsets. Our group comprised members who possessed an assortment of skills, with some gifted in linguistic ability, to others who excelled at concise summarizing and critical questioning skills which greatly aided our workflow. However, given a cohesive lack of trust and an initial degree of awkwardness between members who barely knew each other at this stage, it was difficult for us to get work done efficiently at the start.
Transition Stage: Conflict resolution
Initially, as the group started to work on
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