Voices From the Field is the book to challenge you from your cozy position of complacency! By simply opening its pages, you will learn about fascinating developments in group work sequences in group care, empowerment groups in action, and a whole spectrum of practice and education-oriented themes you may have never considered before. A compilation of work from the XVI Annual Symposium of the Association for the Advancement of Social Work with Groups, this book reflects on social work's rich tradition of diversity and offers you insight that will expand your horizons and encourage you to incorporate different techniques into your repertory. You will learn about contemporary practice, the profession's historic mission and commitment, and the evolution of group work practice and techniques with different populations. This practical collection allows you to examine a broad spectrum of professional practice and educational themes. Chapters in Voices From the Field explore theory building, qualitative research, mutual aid, time-limited groups, adventure groups, psychodrama, groups for addicted persons and their families, group work with adolescents, and skill development. At the same time you refresh your grounding in the basic principles of social work, you will learn about: a group work forum on-line the importance of empowering individuals through group experiences group treatment for alcoholism group work with juvenile sex offenders international, contemporary practices of social group work establishing group norms in conflictual situationsClinicians, neighborhood and community activists, students, professors, researchers, therapists, old timers, and newcomers will find Voices From the Field an extraordinary compilation of the basic principles and concepts underlying group work, contemporary practice and applications for group social work, and ways for enhancing practice knowledge and skills. Whether you are reading it as a reference text in a methods course or reading it independently, you will find this book reminds you of certain fundamentals long-forgotten, yet also inspires you to take on new challenges and different techniques for meeting the challenges of group social work.

Voices From the Field is the book to challenge you from your cozy position of complacency! By simply opening its pages, you will learn about fascinating developments in group work sequences in group care, empowerment groups in action, and a whole spectrum of practice and education-oriented themes you may have never considered before. A compilation of work from the XVI Annual Symposium of the Association for the Advancement of Social Work with Groups, this book reflects on social work's rich tradition of diversity and offers you insight that will expand your horizons and encourage you to incorporate different techniques into your repertory. You will learn about contemporary practice, the profession's historic mission and commitment, and the evolution of group work practice and techniques with different populations. This practical collection allows you to examine a broad spectrum of professional practice and educational themes. Chapters in Voices From the Field explore theory building, qualitative research, mutual aid, time-limited groups, adventure groups, psychodrama, groups for addicted persons and their families, group work with adolescents, and skill development. At the same time you refresh your grounding in the basic principles of social work, you will learn about: a group work forum on-line the importance of empowering individuals through group experiences group treatment for alcoholism group work with juvenile sex offenders international, contemporary practices of social group work establishing group norms in conflictual situationsClinicians, neighborhood and community activists, students, professors, researchers, therapists, old timers, and newcomers will find Voices From the Field an extraordinary compilation of the basic principles and concepts underlying group work, contemporary practice and applications for group social work, and ways for enhancing practice knowledge and skills. Whether you are reading it as a reference text in a methods course or reading it independently, you will find this book reminds you of certain fundamentals long-forgotten, yet also inspires you to take on new challenges and different techniques for meeting the challenges of group social work.

Not simply another "how-to" book, this provocative collection of readings does not advance a single viewpoint or approach to group work. Instead, the 25 selections present the full spectrum of classic and current perspectives, providing student and practitioner alike with a sound basis for evaluating contemporary practice and for formulating a personal approach to social group work.

The historical and conceptual roots of modern social group work methods are examined in Part I, "Conceptual Foundations" which contains some of the classic statements in the field. Part II, "Current Perspectives," explores the most widely influential contemporary models of group work, "social goals" perspectives, "remedial" perspectives, and "mediative" perspectives. The two-part section that concludes the volume focuses on applications: group work is first discussed in relation to family and community casework and administration; then, self-help groups and other techniques used in the fields of medicine, counseling, and psychology are surveyed in light of their implications for social workers.

To encourage the reader's active participation in the development of an individual philosophy and approach to social group work, Dr. Alissi concludes each chapter with probing study questions. These open-ended questions stimulate comparisons among the methods presented and urge the reader to relate new ideas to his or her own experience in the field. Introductions to each part and chapter also stress comparative aspects. An annotated list of articles and books on the subject of each chapter allows the reader to explore it in greater depth.

A stimulating and systematic exposure to the most important ideas in social group work today, "Perspectives on Social Group Work Practice" expands the repertoire of working concepts vital to contemporary practice.