Forming - The Group First

¶ … Forming - the group first comes together and gets to know one another. Storming - vying for leadership and trial of the processes that will be used. Norming - reaching agreement on how the group is actually going to operate. Performing - the group becomes affective through the practice of its craft. Adjourning - this is the way that the group learns to 'unform' and move on from being in the group structure to doing things independently.

A task group is one that has been created specifically for some type of task or event. For example, a group that is formed to create suggestions and ideas and drafts for a new company policy on a specific issue would be a task group. Self-help groups are people who all have similar problems, and they meet to talk about those problems and to help and encourage one another. Alcoholics Anonymous and similar organizations have self-help groups. Psych educational groups meet to work with psychological problems and issues. They are usually therapy based and not self-help, and they learn about the problems that they are facing and how they can improve their lives. Group therapy would be one example of this type of group.

3. For groups that are ongoing because their task is not complete or because they are in a position that is more maintenance than anything, facilitators need to attend to specific things at each group meeting. What was conducted at the last meeting - a brief recap - is important to remind everyone where they are. If any 'homework' was given to the group it has to be addressed, and if there is new business (like someone changing a focus or a rule, etc.) that will affect how the group does its job and what direction it takes, that must also be handled.

4. When someone has a closed therapy group that is limited by time, there is no reason to waste any of that. Recapping what everyone had to say last time cuts into the time that could be used for something productive this time, so it should only be done on a person-by-person basis and only when necessary. It must be kept as brief as possible, as well. The group facilitator, however, should pay close attention to anything that is very new, because someone might have had an important event or breakthrough (either good or bad) since the last time that the group was better. This may have bearing on the individual, and also on the rest of the group.

5. When it comes to social work, there are three important issues that make group work there different from other types of group work. These are: rehabilitation, prevention of dysfunction, and provision of resources for enhanced social functioning. These are all vital elements of any type of social work group and they must be considered by those who get into the field and decide that their function is working with groups.

6. The eleven specific techniques that Brown offers all make sense in that social work cannot just be something that one goes at blindly. There have to be rules and guidelines, and social workers have to follow these if they are to make the most of what they can offer to the people with whom they work. Without doing this, a person may find that he or she is not getting as far with these people as hoped, and that is definitely detrimental to the people who need help the most. In order to help the maximum number of people in the minimum amount of time, following the eleven specific techniques makes the most sense.

7. In a women's prison, even with medium security inmates, there are dangerous people who have to be watched. There are many themes in Chapter 19, however, and all of them are important. With the women's prison group, the most important theme to come out of that chapter would be the idea that a lot of society thinks that the key should be thrown away both for prisoners and for people who have social work problems. Some of these people may be mentally ill, but most of these individuals just have emotional problems and struggles (bad childhoods, bad neighborhoods, etc.) that they have to learn to overcome. That is very important to consider when starting to work with this kind of a group. It is also important to consider that there will be suspicion from the prison group members toward the social worker, and earning their trust may take some time. It should never be pushed, and there should never be gimmicks used, because these things will not work and can only make things worse.

8. School culture, school groups, the perceived lack of help from authority figures, and a feeling of not being safe anymore are all things that people feel when they have been victims of school violence. Those who have been victimized in their communities have similar concerns and feelings. It is very important to establish a feeling of safety again, and that takes time. These people also should be involved with the seven phases of critical incident stress debriefing, as this will help them move toward feeling safe and comfortable again by allowing them to move through the incident that they encountered and come to an understanding of it. It is similar to what people go through when they come back from war and deal with issues like post traumatic stress disorder.