The Practice of Social Group Work: The Transition Stage of the Group

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The Practice of Social Group Work The Transition
Stage of the Group

• Lita D. Allen
• Lecturer
• SW38C Applied Social Group Work
• Department of Sociology, Psychology and Social
  Work
• The University of the West Indies, Mona Campus

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• Reference
• Corey, M. S., Corey G. (1997). Groups Process
  and Practice. (5th. Ed.). CA Brooks/Cole
  Publishing Company

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Stage Characteristics

• Fearful of increasing self-awareness
• How safe is the environment?
• Struggle between playing it safe and risking
  involvement
• Some struggle for power and control
• Checking out trustworthiness of leader
• Learning how to express self

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Characteristic problems

• Anxiety
• Defensiveness and resistance
• The struggle for control
• Conflicts
• Confrontations
• Challenges to the group leader

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Characteristic problems

• Problem behaviours and difficult members
• Silence and lack of participation
• Monopolistic behaviours
• Storytelling
• Questioning
• Giving advice

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Characteristic problems

• Band-Aiding
• Hostile Behaviour
• Dependency
• Acting Superior
• Socialising
• Intellectualizing
• Emotionalizing

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Leader / Leadership Actions for Managing / Coping
with Resistances

• Transference Countertransference
• Self-knowledge is the basic tool in dealing
  effectively with transference and
  countertransference
• Seek supervision
• Talk with your co-leader

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Leader / Leadership Actions for Managing / Coping
with Resistances

• Individual resistance
• Learn to work with resistance , rather than
  against it.
• Encourage members to say more rather than
  blocking the initial resistance.
• Use open-ended questions in an invitational
  manner.
• Goal is to help client to become unstuck
• 
  
• (p. 201-203)

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Leader / Leadership Actions for Managing / Coping
with Resistances

• Commit to what is going on
• Bring to the surface the hidden agendas
• Refuse to give up be patient
• Develop the trust necessary to help member
  explore how they have become stuck and learn what
  is necessary to move forward.
• Trust in the natural process of a group

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Effective Leadership

• Positive/therapeutic relationship with all
  members
• Effective interpersonal skills genuineness,
  empathy, warmth, etc.
• Specific personality characteristics- - presence,
  engagement, competence, responsiveness and
  attentiveness

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Effective Leadership

• Knowledge of how groups best function
• Skills to intervene in timely and effective ways
• A consistent, yet integrative style of leadership
• Intermember feedback and participation as key
  group norms

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Leader Functions

• Major task provide the encouragement and
  challenge necessary for members ot face and
  resolve conflicts and resistances

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Leader Functions

• Encourage members to express reactions related to
  here-and-now happening in the sessions
• Assist in increasing awareness of patterns of
  defensiveness
• Avoid labelling members. Learn how to understand
  problem behaviours

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Leader Functions

• Teach importance of recognizing and dealing with
  conflicts appropriately
• Teach members to respect defensiveness and to
  work constructively with the many forms it takes
• Assist members to become independent and
  interdependent
• Be a model by dealing directly and tactfully
  with any challenges

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Co-Leadership Issues

• Negative reactions towards one leader
• Challenges to both leaders
• Dealing with personal problems (Check your own
  personal reactions first)
• Dealing with countertransference