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Different Situations Where Skills By Social Workers Are Needed When Working With Groups

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This essay will be discussing two different situations where skills by social workers are needed when working with groups. I will define the term ‘group’ and will be reflecting on my own experiences of working within groups and what I have observed in regards to individuals, behaviours and group dynamics. My examples are drawn from two particular situations where I have been involved, which include a multi-professional meeting and residential home for children with disabilities. I will be drawing on knowledge from K216 materials and other sources.

A definition of ‘group’ according to the Oxford Dictionary of Social Work and Social Care (2013) is “a number of individuals with a shared sense of identity and/or who are bound together by interaction with each other”. Groups may be categorised into sub-groups such as: social group, interest group, family group or task group. People may be members of these different groups; however, their choice of membership may be unavoidable, voluntary or limited. For example, attending school is compulsory for young people and therefore the school group is regarded as a ‘formal group’. Whereas they are at liberty to choose their friendship group within the school, therefore this is considered an ‘informal group’ (Adams, 1993, p.309 ).

The first group situation I will discuss is a multi-professional meeting. The meeting was one I observed which gave me the opportunity to identify group challenges and skills. The meeting was an Adoption

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