Personal Reflection At Delaware State University

Group work is important in social work as it promotes understanding of the social contexts of people’s lives and identifies strengths of the oppressed to pursue social change (Dominelli 2008).

In this paper I will identify the need for the group that was chosen. Part of the discussion will concentrate on the three key values used in the group approach with this population. The other will address models and theories of group practice, and the approach used by this group. The paper will also look at the key challenges or obstacles in group interventions with this population. Using the worksheet planning guide for social work group’s eight headings will be discussed. Briefly the readings from the course syllabus will be used in the development plan and incorporated in the paper will be the plans for an initial group session. Based on the skills inventory three critical skills will be addressed. Lastly a critique of a proposed group will be conducted.

As an interdisciplinary field, social work is comprised of several components, one is the creation and implementation of group work. Group work practice offers numerous benefits for social workers, research, program development, and individual treatment however incorporating group work into practice involves extensive organizing, planning, and proposing. Group work is divided into six stages: planning, beginning, assessment, middle, ending, and evaluation; all incorporating the standards, ethics, and values of the National Association of Social Work (NASW), International Association of Social Work with Groups (IASWG), and the Council on Social Work Education

As social workers, we want to learn about how to develop a mutual aid group together. Our group chose to do this in a mutual aid group focused on managing stress, as well as recording group process and development. This group analysis and reflection paper will be based on the description of the participants as well as identifying, describing, and explaining the analyzing of the group processes and key concepts. Included will also be a facilitator’s reflection from my behalf of the third session of the mutual aid group.

As a student at Illinois Valley Community College I have been involved in many organizations and groups. During my first year at IVCC I was invited to join Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society as well as was named to the IVCC Presidential Honors list. Recently I was recognized at IVCC’s annual student academic honors banquet where I was recognized for having honor roll for two consecutive semesters while being enrolled fulltime. I was selected for several scholarships during my two years at this community college which has helped support my education as well take a burden off my family’s finances. Leadership positions that I have fulfilled is a student ambassador at Illinois Valley Community College. Every week I volunteer my time by working the front desk for an hour on Tuesdays.

Group work has been a cornerstone of the social work profession and requires a variety of facilitator skills and awareness of group processes. The SSLDTM Group Program for People with Difficulties in Social Situations (Socialwork1914, 2017) provides an excellent example of a psycho-educational group co-facilitated by two female social workers, Jane and Karen. After viewing the 6th session of this 8-week program, I began to understand how the concepts of group formation/development, interpersonal dynamics, and leadership styles contribute to successful group work outcomes.

It was a breezy November day. Our school was on our way, heading to the Pine Lake Challenge Course in Bristol, Ct, a ropes course designed to challenge students to work together to overcome a challenge and accomplish a goal. As my friends and I were talking on the bus, we all thought there was no point in going to the course and that this was going to be a waste of time. Our class has a lot of loud, opinionated people and “always right people” so I thought we were going to get nowhere. When we arrived, my team encountered 3 challenges. Throughout these activities, we were forced to come together, and as a result we struggled, some went well, but others, we were completely stumped.

In the program we were split into groups with the task of writing, filming, editing, and producing a short film based on a topic of our choosing. My team members and I chose topics that

This chapter reviewed many different aspects of group work such as different processes and skills required to run several different groups. The groups discussed were open-ended group, groups hosted in residential settings, single-session groups, and large activity groups.

When done, all of us in the group began to exchange our responses and our reactions to them. While there are some differences between us, most of us are pretty similar in how we approach the conversation during the group exercises. Maybe we were expecting to find a trait that sticks out uniquely from our list that define our roles. It was both surprising and disappointing on how similar we are as a group.

My educational experience is one amazing thing I would never forget. My parents gave me an experience of a lifetime that I would never let go and continue to expand. It was a gift of a great education I could have tossed away but instead I took advantage of it and it expanded my intellect and made me more independent. As a young girl my parents always told me, they wanted a great educational experience for me. They said no matter what it took to get me into good schools, to have a great education they will do it. My parents worked very hard to give me the opportunity to be in private school my whole life since pre-school. They always told me to work hard, be bright and be bold. The educational level I had being in private school my whole life was amazing. What was amazing about my education level is that I was able to take all college prep. classes, I took an AP Spanish class, my teachers were always on top of us to hand in work in time, essays in my English class were based on a college level writing. It was amazing because my school expanded my mind more on a college based level.

Groupwork can be defined as a method of social work that is utilised in order to help individuals to enhance their social functioning through purposeful group experiences and to help cope with their personal group or community problems (Konopka, 1972). The role of groupwork places emphasis on sharing thoughts, ideas, problems and activities, allowing social action groups for instance, to “empower members to engage in collective action and planned change efforts to modify particular aspects of their social or physical environment” (Toseland & Rivas, 2014, p. 38; Pyles, 2009; Staples, 2004). Therefore, reflecting on the processes of groupwork is an essential mechanism for all professionals in order to develop better communication skills, conflict resolution and enhance future performance. This essay will reflect upon the task group processes that were conducted this semester, while evaluating my own role within the group and what was learnt working within a small group.

Working in a group can be very difficult at times. Different people with different views may not always agree which one another. Throughout the various task I played the communicator. I made sure everyone was on track on what we wanted to do. I also made sure people was okay and happy in the role they was playing in the group. My group worked together in collecting ideas from one another and making it into one.

In addition, textbook readings not only expanded my knowledge of social work with groups but also provided knowledge context for our experiences with in-class or external groups. For example, I familiarized myself with the Association for the Advancement of Social Work with Groups, Inc. (AASWG) which is an international professional organization that establishes ethical guidelines for group counselors. The standards are described in six sections which underline the changes in the worker’s tasks relevant to changing and evolving of the group. (Association for the Advancement of Social Work with Groups, Inc., 2012).

Recently, my headmaster at my school has requested for me to recommend a good class to take, regarding