Reference no: EM133604357

Develop a proposal for a group to be facilitated by a social worker at an agency.

Select one the of possible groups include, but are not at all limited to: ? empowerment and goal setting for incarcerated women
? a socialization group for adults with Serious Mental Illness ? a support group for survivors of domestic violence

? a psycho-educational group for women with diagnosis of breast cancer
? a psycho-educational relapse prevention group for alcohol/ substance abusers ? a support group for adolescent girls with body image and self-esteem issues ? a mutual aid group for older adults who are new residents in congregant care

Describe the plan for the group, explain the rationale for decisions made in each of the planning areas. You must support the decisions with relevant literature from the required course readings. Even if your agency does not run groups, this paper allows you to imagine a group that you believe could be beneficial for the clients that your agency serves. You can use your current agency to answer Part III (the context of the agency).

You must locate and review three articles that describe groups similar to the one you are suggesting. For example, you might be proposing a group for Hispanic mothers of children with special needs that will be a mutual aid group. It is fine if one or two of the articles are psycho- educational groups, as long as you address in your paper the rationale for your choice of a mutual aid group and not a psycho-educational group.

I. The Need for the Group
Describe the unmet need(s) of the client population that this group will be addressing. Identify the bio-psycho-social issues of clients coming to the host agency that could be met by participation in a group. Include Census or other data that supports this need in the larger

13

population. As part of this process, be sure to include the relevant literature that supports your understanding of client needs and how a group modality can address these needs.

II. The Group Concept

In conceptualizing the group, clearly state the purpose of the group and how the purpose connects to the unmet need(s) described above. Describe the type of group that you are proposing. For example,
? Support and stabilization (life crisis - divorce, bereavement)

? Growth and education (developmental challenges - social skills)
? Recapitulation and restitution (i.e. insight groups/play therapy)
? Task and action (committee, organization).
Describe the specific issue(s) the group will address and the goals of the group (what is the desired outcome(s).

III. The Group & Its Fit within the Agency Context.

How will the proposal for the group get communicated to the staff?
What issues or concerns might the staff have about this new group?
What would be the process for finding out about these issues or concerns? How might they be addressed?
How will confidentiality within the group be dealt with in relation to other staff at the agency? Will clients be in other types of intervention within the agency and if so what will be the communication process between staff involved?
Will any support be needed from the agency to run this group and how will this support be obtained? e.g. refreshments, referrals, child care, space?

IV. Description and Design of the Group

In describing and designing the group include the size of the group, eligibility criteria including the age of members, gender, socio-economic status, their ethnicity and other factors you would consider pertinent to the group's design and functioning (e.g. diagnosis, capacity for insight, past experience with groups...). What will be the structure of the group and will it be open ended or closed ended in terms of membership.

How will you recruit new members (self-referrals, agency referrals, flyers, letters...)? What might a flyer say if you were to use a flyer? What will be the selection process? Who will select the members?

Where will the group meet? What will the physical set up be for the group? How frequently and for what length of time will the group meet? Will you serve food? Why or why not?

Will there be individual interviews conducted with potential group members? If so, what will be asked about, and what can be learned from these meetings? If a person is deemed not appropriate for the group, how will this be communicated and what will the follow-up be for those who are deemed ineligible? Will there be any type of orientation process? If so, describe.

V. Contract

What type of contract will there be for the group as a whole? What will be the non-negotiable rules, if any? Are there any fees for participating? What will be the negotiable rules and how will the facilitators develop these with the group?

VI. Outline Plan for Group Sessions

If you are proposing a mutual aid group, what are some of the themes that you assume will

emerge within the group over time.

If you are proposing a psycho-educational group, will you use an already developed curriculum that has been used and tested by others? If you plan on developing your own curriculum, provide an outline of the topics that you will want to be covered.

VII. Facilitators

How do you perceive the role (s) of the group facilitator?
If you were to be one of the facilitators, what skills would you want to develop as a group leader? What do you think some of the challenges might be for you?

VIII. What you have learned about the value of pre-planning for effective group outcomes.