Mutual Aid Groups, Vulnerable And Resilient Populations, And The Life Cycle

by Gitterman, Alex

• ISBN13: 9780231128841
• ISBN10: 0231128843
• Edition: 3rd
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-03-31
• Publisher: Columbia Univ Pr

Summary

The contributors to this volume examine the role of mutual aid groups and social workers in helping members of oppressed, vulnerable, and resilient populations regain control over their lives. The chapters reveal the ways in which mutual aid processes help individuals overcome social and emotional trauma in contemporary society by reducing isolation, universalizing individual problems, and mitigating stigma. Using the life cycle as a framework the editors establish a theoretical model for practice and demonstrate how social workers as group leaders can foster the healing and empowering process of mutual aid. The contributors also consider the fundamentals of the mutual aid process, the institutional benefits of group service, and specific clinical examples of mutual aid groups. Each chapter offers detailed case materials that illustrate both group work skills and developmental issues for a variety of populations and settings, including HIV-positive and AIDS patients, the homeless, and perpetrators and victims of sexual abuse and family violence. New chapters in this completely revised and updated third edition illustrate the power of mutual aid processes in dealing with children traumatized by the events of September 11, adult survivors of sexual abuse, parents with developmentally challenged children, people with AIDS in substance recovery, and mentally ill older adults.

Table of Contents

Contributing Authors	ix
Preface	xii
PART 1 Mutual Aid:An Introduction
1. The Life Model, Oppression, Vulnerability and Resilience, Mutual Aid, and the Mediating Function
Alex Gitterman and Lawrence Shulman	3	(35)
2. Group Work Method
Lawrence Shulman	38	(35)
3. Group Formation: Tasks, Methods, and Skills
Alex Gitterman	73	(40)
PART 2 Mutual Aid and Vulnerable and Resilient Children
4. Healing Hearts: A Bereavement Group for Children
Carolyn Knight	113	(26)
5. When the World No Longer Feels Safe: Helping Children Through Mutual Aid
Maxine Lynn and Danielle Nisivoccia	139	(26)
PART 3 Mutual Aid and Vulnerable and Resilient Adolescents
6. Preteens in Double Jeopardy: Supporting Developmental Growth Through a Natural Friendship Group
Carol Irizarry and Yetta H. Appel	165	(38)
7. Listen to Us! Young Adolescents in Urban Schools
Lois Levinsky and Kathleen McAleer	203	(17)
8. Sharing the Hurt: Adolescents in a Residential Setting
Alice Schaeffer Nadelman	220	(29)
PART 4 Mutual Aid and Vulnerable and Resilient Adults
9. No One Is Alone: Groups During the AIDs Pandemic
George S. Getzel	249	(17)
10. Persons with AIDS in Substance-Abusing Recovery: Managing the Interaction Between the Two
Lawrence Shulman	266	(24)
11. Sharing the Secrets: The Power of Women's Groups for Sexual Abuse Survivors
Linda Yael Schiller and Bonnie Zimmer	290	(30)
12. From Victim to Survivor: Group Work with Men and Women Who Were Sexually Abused
Carolyn Knight	320	(32)
13. Uncovering Kindness and Respect: Men Who Have Practiced Violence in Intimate Relationships
Dale Trimble	352	(21)
14. No Place to Go: Homeless Women and Children
Judith A.B. Lee	373	(27)
15. Families Journey Toward Equilibrium: Children with Developmental Disabilities
Judith Bloch, Joan Weinstein, and Martin Seitz	400	(23)
16. Finding Our Way Back: Parenting Skills for Addictive Parents
Beatrice R. Plasse	423	(25)
17. Healing the Hurts: A Short-term Group for Separated, Widowed, and Divorced Single Parents
Lawrence Shulman	448	(23)
PART 5 Mutual Aid and Vulnerable and Resilient Elderly
18. Dealing with the Death of a Group Member: Visually Impaired Elderly in the Community
Alberta L. Orr	471	(22)
19. The Group as a Source of Hope: Institutionalized Older Persons
Toby Berman-Rossi	493	(43)
20. Accumulated Risk: Mutual Aid Groups for Elderly Persons with a Mental Illness
Timothy B. Kelly	536	(37)
PART 6 Historical and Contemporary Themes
21. Mutual Aid: A Buffer Against Risk
Judith A.B. Lee and Carol R. Swenson	573	(24)
22. Contemporary Group Work Practice
Varsha Pandya	597	(18)
Index	615