Group Work with Adolescents Principles and Practice

by Malekoff, Andrew

• ISBN13: 9781572304659
• ISBN10: 1572304650
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-04-01
• Publisher: The Guilford Press

Summary

This popular text provides essential knowledge and skills for conducting creative, strengths-based group work with adolescents. A rich introduction to the field, enlivened by numerous illustrations from actual sessions, the book provides principles and guidelines for practice in a wide range of settings. Andrew Malekoff covers all phases of group work, from planning to leavetaking, and highlights the value of self-reflection for successfully handling even the most challenging group situations.

Author Biography

Andrew Malekoff is associate executive director for North Shore Child and Family Guidance Center in Roslyn Heights, New York.

Table of Contents

The Adolescent in Context
Adolescent Development, Risk, and Opportunity	p. 3
A Brief Reflection on Working with Adolescents in Groups	p. 3
The Developmental Context	p. 4
Risk and Opportunity at the Turn of the 21st Century	p. 13
Conclusion	p. 16
Between Adolescent and Group Worker: Uncertainty, Fluidity, and Learning from the Inside Out	p. 18
Group Workers Who Work with Kids Get No Respect	p. 19
How It Feels to Work with Kids in Groups	p. 19
Assuming a Stance of Uncertainty	p. 20
Labeling, Deviance, and Control	p. 21
Traditional Diagnosis and Adolescent Culture	p. 22
Looking with Planned Emptiness	p. 23
On Being Fluid and Grounded	p. 24
Welcoming the Whole Person to Participate	p. 24
A Sense of Humor and a Playful Spirit	p. 25
Access to One's Own Childhood Memories	p. 27
Collegial Support and Taking Care of Oneself	p. 29
Conclusion	p. 30
Risk- and Protective-Factor Inventory	p. 31
Guidelines for Group Building
Strengths-Based Group Work with Adolescents	p. 35
The Price of Neglect	p. 35
Strengths-Based Group Work with Adolescents	p. 36
Tapping into What One Has to Offer	p. 38
Research on Strengths-Based Practice	p. 38
A Framework for Strengths-Based Group Work with Children and Adolescents	p. 41
Conclusion	p. 57
What Is Going On in There?	p. 59
Planning in Group Work: Where We Begin	p. 60
Need	p. 61
Purpose	p. 66
Composition	p. 70
Structure	p. 75
Content	p. 81
Pregroup Contact	p. 83
Social and Agency Context	p. 85
Conclusion	p. 87
Guidelines and Cautionary Notes for Use of the Planning Model	p. 87
Assessing Planning	p. 88
Good Beginnings in Group Work: Socializing Adolescents into the Group Culture	p. 90
Exciting Challenge or Baffling Ordeal?	p. 91
Discovering Group Purpose	p. 95
Searching for Common Ground	p. 98
Awareness of the Normative Crisis	p. 103
The Promotion of Playfulness	p. 105
Establishing Group Rituals	p. 107
Conclusion	p. 110
The Beginning Stage of Group Development	p. 111
What's Going On in There?: Alliance Formation with Parents Whose Adolescent Children Join Groups	p. 113
Pregroup Contact with Parents	p. 114
The Ongoing Relationship with Parents	p. 121
The Ending Transition with Parents	p. 127
Conclusion	p. 129
Groups on the Go: Spontaneously Formed School-Based Mutual Aid Groups for Adolescents in Distress	p. 130
School Connectedness	p. 130
Groups on the Go	p. 131
On Institutional Culture, Advocacy, and Social Work with Adolescents	p. 131
On Traffic Jams and Car Pooling in the Express Lane	p. 133
Guidelines for Groups on the Go	p. 134
The Dance Group	p. 137
The Death of a Friend	p. 140
Conclusion	p. 142
Defining Terms	p. 142
The Use of Problem Solving in Group Work	p. 145
Promoting Reflection, Critical Thinking, and Mutual Aid	p. 145
A Pragmatic Model for Problem Solving in the Group	p. 146
Practice Illustrations	p. 147
Conclusion	p. 160
The Middle Stages of Group Development	p. 160
The Use of "Program" in Group Work: Cultivating a Sense of Competence, Belonging, and Creativity	p. 164
Twin Anchors	p. 164
Play as Children's and Adolescents' Work	p. 165
A Framework for the Use of Activity	p. 166
Promoting a Sense of Competence	p. 167
Promoting a Sense of Belonging	p. 171
Promoting Discovery, Invention, and Creativity	p. 174
Extending the Bonds of Belonging Beyond the Group	p. 180
Conclusion	p. 183
References for Activities in Group Work	p. 184
Leavetaking, Moving On, and Looking Back: The Ending Transition in Group Work	p. 186
Group Dynamics in the Separation Stage	p. 187
The Worker's Role in the Separation Stage	p. 188
Preparing the Group for Separation in a Timely Manner	p. 189
Focusing the Expression of Feelings through Review and Recapitulation	p. 191
Helping Members Reexperience Their "Groupness" through Shared Activity	p. 195
Providing Availability for Support Beyond the Group	p. 199
Conclusion	p. 201
The Ending Stages of Group Development	p. 202
Contemporary and Age-Old Themes in Group Work: Guidelines, Applications, and Practice Illustrations
Prejudice Reduction, Intergroup Relations, and Group Identity: Spontaneous and Planned Interventions to Address Diversity in Group Work	p. 207
Practice Principles for Addressing Diversity	p. 207
Is Truth Stranger Than Fiction?	p. 209
Practice Illustrations	p. 212
Conclusion	p. 228
Structured Workshops for Group Identity and Prejudice Reduction	p. 229
Violence and Youth I: Dimensions and Interventions in Group Work	p. 233
Killed for a Quarter	p. 233
Violence and Youth: Dimensions of the Problem	p. 234
Practice Principles for Addressing Violence	p. 236
Two Practice Illustrations Addressing Violence Close to Home	p. 239
Conclusion	p. 248
Violence and Youth II: When World Stage and Group Work Intersect	p. 249
The Legacy of the September 11, 2001, Terrorist Attack on America	p. 249
When World Stage and Group Work Intersect	p. 252
Conclusion	p. 271
The Grief Box	p. 272
Adolescent Sexuality and Group Work: Variations on a Theme	p. 275
Practice Principles for Addressing Sexuality in Group Work with Adolescents	p. 277
Clarifying Values: Practice Illustrations on the Dialectical Process in Open Discussion Groups	p. 278
Mutual Aid: The Members as Helpers in Providing Information and Support	p. 288
Detours, Anxiety, and Adolescence	p. 289
Varying Contexts	p. 291
Structured Group Approaches	p. 296
Conclusion	p. 299
Group Work as a Counterforce to Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse	p. 300
Risk and Protective Factors	p. 301
Practice Principles and Common Themes for Group Work Practice	p. 302
Practice Illustrations	p. 307
Conclusion	p. 312
Loneliness, Social Isolation, Scapegoating, and Group Work: The Adolescent's Struggle to Fit In	p. 313
Difference, Loneliness, Social Alienation, and Group Work	p. 313
Practice Illustration 1: Difference, Acceptance, and Belonging	p. 315
Intermezzo: Poetry	p. 320
Scapegoating and Group Work with Adolescents	p. 320
Practice Illustration 2: Humanizing the Scapegoat	p. 323
Conclusion	p. 326
Special Challenges for Group Workers
On Becoming a Reflective Group Worker	p. 329
Getting Down with the Group	p. 329
Some Qualifying Comments	p. 335
References	p. 339
Index	p. 363
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.