Category: Social work

Step one: Choose a movie to watch for your Diagnosis Assignment. See list below for suggestions or if there is a movie you would like to use that is not on the list, please have the instructor approve it. Watch it through once without taking notes. The second time, take notes on the main character identifying behaviors and symptoms that meet DSM V – TR criteria for addiction and any other diagnosis.
Step two: The first run through the movie, write down your best guess about what the main character’s diagnosis is from their behavior. Don’t read any books or look up any information. What does your intuition tell you about what is happening?
Step three: The second run through of the movie do the following (Make sure to fully answer each question with specifics not generalizations):
Describe any traumatic circumstances revealed which may impact trauma-informed care for the main character.
Identify the various intersections of diversity of the client for the treatment plan. Visit https://haenfler.sites.grinnell.edu/subcultural-theory-and-theorists/intersectionality/ to understand intersectionality.
Identify history of use identified by the character’s life; Emotional, Intellectual, Physical, Sexual, Spiritual, Relationships, Employment, Family. (See Chart)
Review potential transference and countertransference issues, you as a social worker, may have with this case (Definition here https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/sacramento-street-psychiatry/201003/overview-countertransference)
Describe the symptoms of dual diagnosis and give examples from the movie in the following areas of the main character’s life; Emotional, Intellectual, Physical, Sexual, Spiritual, Relationships, Employment, Family. (See Chart)
https://www.addictionpolicy.org/post/dsm-5-facts-and-figures
For your final document, write out answers to Step three, then use the charts below for specifics. Submit your final document for grading in the discussion board in Blackboard, by Thursday at midnight. Students will provide feedback to their classmates.

Struggling with where to start this assignment? Follow this guide to tackle your assignment easily!

Step-by-Step Guide to Writing Your Paper

Step 1: Choose and Watch the Movie

• Select a movie from the suggested list or seek approval for a different choice from your instructor.
• Watch the movie twice:
  • First viewing: Watch it without taking notes to familiarize yourself with the storyline and character dynamics.
  • Second viewing: Focus on the main character, noting behaviors and symptoms aligning with DSM V-TR criteria for addiction and any other potential diagnoses.

Step 2: Write Down Your Initial Diagnosis

• After the first viewing, record your intuitive diagnosis of the main character’s behavior without external research.
• Trust your observations and instincts.

Step 3: Analyze the Movie with Specific Questions in Mind
During the second viewing, answer the following questions comprehensively with specific details, not generalizations:

1. Traumatic Circumstances
   • Describe any trauma revealed in the character’s backstory.
   • Explain how this trauma could inform a trauma-informed care approach.
2. Intersections of Diversity
   • Identify the character’s intersections of diversity (e.g., race, gender, socioeconomic status, age, sexual orientation).
   • Use insights from intersectionality theory to understand how these factors may impact the treatment plan.
3. History of Use
   • Detail the character’s history of substance use across the following areas:
     • Emotional: Impact on mood and coping mechanisms.
     • Intellectual: Changes in cognitive abilities or decision-making.
     • Physical: Evidence of physical consequences due to addiction.
     • Sexual: Impact on relationships and sexual behavior.
     • Spiritual: Connection to faith or a higher purpose.
     • Relationships: Influence on family and friendships.
     • Employment: Work-related challenges or losses.
     • Family: The role of family dynamics and support.
4. Transference and Countertransference Issues
   • Define potential transference or countertransference issues you, as a social worker, might experience.
   • Use this overview for clarification.
5. Symptoms of Dual Diagnosis
   • Analyze dual diagnosis symptoms in the following life areas:
     • Emotional, Intellectual, Physical, Sexual, Spiritual, Relationships, Employment, and Family.
   • Provide specific examples from the movie that align with DSM V-TR criteria.

Step 4: Organize and Write Your Final Document

1. Introduction
   • Introduce the movie and the main character.
   • Briefly outline the behaviors and symptoms you’ll discuss.
2. Analysis
   • Use your answers to the Step 3 questions to structure your analysis into clear sections.
3. Charts
   • Include charts or tables for the character’s history of use and dual diagnosis symptoms. This will make your paper visually organized and easy to follow.
4. Conclusion
   • Summarize your findings.
   • Reflect on how this exercise deepened your understanding of diagnosing and treating addiction within the context of diversity and trauma.

Step 5: Edit and Submit

• Proofread your paper for clarity, grammar, and accuracy.
• Ensure all sources and links are correctly cited (APA style is recommended).
• Submit your document to the Blackboard discussion board by Thursday at midnight.

Step 6: Engage with Classmates

• Review and provide constructive feedback on your classmates’ submissions.

Please follow the instructions and I have attached a logic table and the intervention that was used earlier.

As a social worker, you will receive feedback and evaluations from your supervisor, clients, and sometimes even colleagues. This commentary may be oral or written—and it may be public or private. Growing as a professional and as a student requires actively engaging with the feedback you receive and applying it in future situations and scenarios. This helps you continue to build competence and self-confidence.
However, the experience of feedback can sometimes be daunting or overwhelming. A benefit of your MSW program is that you have the space to practice receiving constructive commentary, processing it, and improving your work or behavior accordingly. In this Assignment, you get one such opportunity to revise a previous submission based on Instructor feedback.
Resources
All resources and feedback from providers are attached.
To Prepare
Review Instructor feedback on your Week 3 Assignment: Family Assessment. Use the Instructure Community link in the Learning Resources for support in accessing comments on your submission.
Revise and polish your Week 3 Assignment according to the Instructor feedback you have received

Instructions
This assignment asks the student to consider the on-going process of the developing relationship with a client/client system focusing on the processes of engagement, assessment, contracting and goal setting. Choose a client with whom you have had an on-going relationship. If this is not the case, please discuss with your professor. Use the literature to support your use of skills, assessment approach and interventions.
Answer each question.
Describe the client with whom you have been engaging – including your initial impressions and challenges. Integrate the literature.

What does the literature say about the usefulness, importance, and purpose of a biopsychosocial-spiritual assessment?

Provide a detailed biopsychosocial-spiritual assessment of the client system beginning with how the client came to agency, ie: the referral source, what is the presenting problem, issue that needs to be addressed. How do you partialize the problem(s) presented?

Conscious use of self is a critical aspect of professional social work skills. Referring to the scholarly literature, discuss your understanding of this concept and how you are developing this skill. Speak to your experience of learning about your practice with your supervisor. What have your learned about yourself? How you consciously use yourself? How does this process with your practicum supervisor relate to your own developing relationships with your clients? Please add some content from a process recording that demonstrates how you used yourself during the engagement/assessment process. How do biases (conscious and unconscious) impact the assumptions and expectations you have about your client?

5. What goals did you and the client identify? Are these consistent with the client’s needs and the agency’s services? Are there other systems interacting with the client with whom you must connect? Were there referrals and linkages that had to be made to accommodate the client’s needs? Was the client part of the process of identifying and setting goals? If not, why and with whom did you did you develop goals? How might the outcome of the work be impacted by client participation or lack of participation in the goal setting? Were there any value conflicts or ethical dilemmas for you in the goal-setting process? Please integrate the scholarly literature into your response.

How do race, oppression and marginalization figure into your initial engagement, assessment, goals setting strategies and subsequent work with the client? Be self-reflective and include any concerns you or the client may have had over the course of your work together thus far. Include any social work literature that informed your understanding of these issues

What contracting arrangements did you and the client decide upon? Did you have to recontract with the client during the assessment and the beginning of the work stage? What does the scholarly literature say about the importance of contracting?

Provide a conclusion that ties the paper together and highlights anything you would have done differently. Don’t simply repeat your introduction as a concluding statement. Be thoughtful in your concluding statements.
Requirements
Make sure you use and cite professional literature including your textbooks.
Your references should go beyond your textbooks and include at least 7 professional sources outside of the required readings.
Include a reference page using APA (Seventh Edition) style.
Your completed assignment should be approximately 10-12 pages (guide, not a rule).

Bio-Psycho-Social-Spiritual Assessment Organization
Note: This structure is meant for organizing the data, not for presenting it. The final assessment should be an integrated narrative, demonstrating your understanding of the client.
I. Identifying Information
Name: First name and last initial only (e.g., Jessica K.).
Age, Sex, Race
Ethnic Background/Identification (include acculturation issues if applicable).
Marital/Relationship Status
Appearance and Presentation: Affect, dress, grooming, tone of voice.
Current Employment/Educational Status
Household Composition and Circumstances: Current living situation.
II. Reason for Referral/Presenting Problem
Referral Source: How the client came to the attention of the referral source.
Initial Contact: Who made the first contact with your agency?
Presenting Problem/Need and Expected Outcome:
As reported by the client.
As reported by the referring person (if applicable).
Onset, Duration, and Severity of the Problem
Past Attempts to Address the Problem (include efforts at your agency).
Areas Affected by the Problem: Physical well-being, economic situation, occupation, relationships, etc.
III. Client Descriiption/History
Relevant Developmental History: Pre-natal, birth, developmental milestones, speech, delays, strengths; cultural expectations and practices.
Family History: Family composition, family of origin dynamics, intergenerational themes, cultural factors, significant events/traumas, role in the family.
Educational and Occupational History: Include learning difficulties and achievements.
Religious/Spiritual Development: Importance, involvement, positive/negative experiences.
Social Relationships: Quality of network, supports, difficulties.
Dating/Marital/Sexual Relationships
Medical History: Illnesses/diagnoses, current medications, significant family medical history.
Mental Health History: Diagnoses, treatment history, medications, and outcomes.
Alcohol/Drug Use or Abuse: Patterns, impairments, diagnoses, treatments, and outcomes.
Military History: Include service branch and combat experience, if applicable.
Legal History: Past and current involvement with the legal system.
Other Agency Involvement: Past/present experiences with social service agencies.
IV. Current Functioning
Current Stressors
Relationships: Family, partner, friends, co-workers (as applicable).
Role Functioning
Coping and Adaptive Skills
Barriers and Risks Affecting the Problem: Environmental, interpersonal, intrapersonal, etc.
Thought Processes: Memory, intelligence, clarity of thought, mental status, etc.
V. Formulation
In this section, integrate and synthesize the objective information to analyze:
The client’s problem or situation and its underlying causes/contributing factors.
The client’s current functioning.
Strengths and Resources: Social, cultural, familial, psychological, economic, environmental, and systemic factors that will support solutions.
Factors Maintaining the Problem: Social, cultural, familial, psychological, economic, environmental, and systemic factors.
Client’s Motivation and Capacity to address the presenting problem.
Your Voice as a Social Worker:
Share your impressions of the situation.
Provide an assessment of the problem.
Suggest what can be done to improve the situation.
This section reflects your ability to collect, integrate, synthesize, and analyze information.
VI. Intervention Plan
Based on the formulation, outline a realistic intervention strategy:
Problem(s) Chosen for Intervention
Goals and Objectives: Steps to achieve the goals.
Client Role and Responsibilities: In achieving goals and objectives.
Referrals to Other Agencies or Services: Recommendations for other resources.
Anticipated Timeframe: Frequency of meetings, duration of intervention.
Factors Affecting Goal Achievement:
Client motivation and willingness to take responsibility for change.
Personal/cultural resources and limitations.
Agency or community resources/limitations.

In order to become a practitioner who addresses the diverse needs of your clients in a sensitive and respectful manner, you must be dedicated to continued education around the needs and experiences of different groups, religions, ethnicities, and other populations. The first step is to identify any personal biases and perceptions you might have about other cultures. From a broader perspective, how might an individual’s culture, race, ethnicity, disability, or sexual orientation affect how society perceives and treats them? Which potential social structures may perpetuate the oppression and marginalization of certain groups? The most important attribute you can bring to this topic is an open mind and a willingness to learn about others unlike yourself and ask how they want to be treated by you as a social worker. In this Discussion, you consider these topics in relation to a case study depicting issues in cultural competence.
Resources
Please use sources that are provided.
Be sure to review the Learning Resources before completing this activity.
Click the weekly resources link to access the resources.
WEEKLY RESOURCES
Kirst-Ashman, K. K., & Hull, G. H., Jr. (2018). Empowerment series: Understanding generalist practice (8th ed.). CENGAGE Learning.
Chapter 12, “Culturally Competent Social Work Practice” (pp. 466–498)
Chapter 13, “Gender-Sensitive Social Work Practice” (pp. 499–543)
Azzopardi, C., McNeill, T. (2016). From cultural competence to cultural consciousness: Transitioning to a critical approach to working across differences in social work.Links to an external site. Journal of Ethnic & Cultural Diversity in Social Work, 25(4), 282–299. https://doi.org/10.1080/15313204.2016.1206494
Fisher-Borne, M., Cain, J. M., Martin, S. L. (2015). From mastery to accountability: Cultural humility as an alternative to cultural competenceLinks to an external site. Social Work Education, 34(2), 165–181. doi:10.1080/02615479.2014.977244
Hook, J. N., Farrell, J. E., Davis, D. E., DeBlaere, C., Van Tongeren, D. R., & Utsey, S. O. (2016). Cultural humility and racial microaggressions in counselingLinks to an external site.. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 63(3), 269–277. https://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000114
Visintin, E. P., Rullo, M., & Lo Destro, C. (2024). Imagine Being Humble: Integrating Imagined Intergroup Contact and Cultural Humility to Foster Inclusive Intergroup Relations. Behavioral Sciences (2076-328X), 14(1), 51. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs14010051
Chang, W.-W. (2007). Cultural competence of international humanitarian workers. ADULT EDUCATION QUARTERLY, 57(3), 187–204. https://doi.org/10.1177/0741713606296755
To Prepare
Review this week’s Learning Resources, including the videos, and then reflect on the following:
What is your definition of cultural competency?
What skills do you think are necessary for attaining cultural competence as a social worker working with that population?
What is the difference between having knowledge about a cultural group and engaging with an individual from the stance of cultural humility?
Then, search the Walden Library for additional information that supports the skills you selected.
For help with this discussion, please refer back to the Library recommendations in Week 3.
Helpful hint: Try using different keywords including:
cultural intelligence
cultural sensitivity
cultural humility
cultural competence
cultural literacy
Add the keyword “skills” to find articles on specific skills that promote cultural awareness in social work practice.
By Day 3
Post a response to the following:
Provide your definition of cultural humility.
Explain how this is similar or different to how the Kirst-Ashman and Hull textbook describes cultural competence.
Explain the skills you think are necessary for developing cultural awareness as a social worker.
Support your post with examples from the course text and any other resources used to respond to this Discussion. Demonstrate that you have completed the required readings, understand the material, and are able to apply the concepts. Include a full reference of resources at the bottom of the post.

Locate and review two articles of your choice that relate to your practice dissertation topic (how autism presents in adolescent girl’s vs boys. Create a 250-word paragraph for each article. For each paragraph, identify the type of article, summarize its limitations, design, and key findings, and cite it properly in APA style. Review guidelines about paraphrasing if needed, to avoid plagiarism. Paper must be in apa format and must cite sources. AI and ChatGPT may not be used

Respond to at least two colleagues who identified a different group role than you:
Identify a group intervention skill discussed in the text and provide a specific example of how your colleague could use this skill to address the challenging behavior.
Task Groups vs Educational, Support, or Skills Groups
Task groups are defined by Kirst-Ashman, K.K., & Hull, G.H., Jr. (2018) roughly as specific types of groups that meet to accomplish policy setting or to establish guidelines for objectives to a systematic challenge that needs revision to enact change in an agency, organization, to address a problem, or to clarify rules to specific legislative policies. Task groups might consist of task forces, committees, legislative bodies, staff meetings, or teams that assemble to accomplish the planning for change and might be vacated after planning has been accomplished.
In comparison, treatment groups are different because they consist of therapeutic measures in which peers with similar challenges meet for education, find emotional or mental support, overcome barriers or life challenges, and build skills through professional direction. One need might be to build on healthy communication and support through social interactions with their peers (Kirst-Ashman & Hull Jr., 2018).
Type of Treatment Group
To build on this, a social worker might lead a psychoeducational treatment group within a psychiatric facility for clients (or patients) who are nearer to discharge and could benefit from information on outpatient services that can meet their aftercare medication, therapy, and care management needs. Whether the group is for educational purposes, therapy, or other support systems, the professional tasked with leading the group needs to be able to guide the group with a firm orientation to facilitate equitable support to each member in attendance, including varying personalities and behavioral needs. In an alternative treatment group, an illustrative example would be in the Walden University Group Therapy video; the social worker leading the group was forced to redirect Trey and Ali due to their aggressive behavior several times to allow others in the group to speak and share their experiences (International Association for Social Work with Groups [IASWG], 2015; Kirst-Ashman & Hull, 2018; Walden University, 2018/2021).
Professional Role When Facilitating a Specific Group
Given the diverse needs within treatment groups, the professional’s role becomes vital to the group. When facilitating a psychoeducational class, the social worker must adopt various roles, including educator, mediator, and facilitator. The role will require multiple strengths and roles in leadership, from educator, which informs, to broker, to mediator when behaviors overlap with group members, and to include facilitator to “expedite the way for others” to learn and support each other. The qualified social worker understands behavioral interference and plans to keep the group focused or aligned for the proposed outcome and expectation (Kirst-Ashman & Hull Jr., 2018).
Group Norms and How to Shape These Norms Based on Your Role
Establishing and maintaining group norms is essential to ensure a treatment group’s success. These norms guide interactions and promote mutual respect, creating a foundation for productive engagement. Mutual respect needs to be maintained, and time must be utilized to find a productive outcome for the requirement of the group meeting. The crowd anticipates sharing ideas and working together to achieve individual and collective goals. As the educator, the expectation is to set the stage and therapeutically guide the group so that everyone can construct relativity and build upon each other’s experiences and strengths. The group needs the space to learn together and not against each other. Furthermore, the social worker encourages the group and empowers them to share their values with group talk. The class should be shaped by the leader and everyone in attendance (Kirst-Ashman & Hull Jr., 2018).
Group Roles
Furthermore, each group has several multifaceted personalities and an array of levels of behavior, which can keep the group together or divide it to certain degrees. Each role within the group can be divided by power dynamics between the members. Also, within each group, depending on size and the personalities grouped within the setting, each member inadvertently takes on various roles within the group. One such role out of the multitudes of positive, negative, or nonfunctional roles might be “the energizer,” which is a positive role. The energizer keeps the group excited and allows others to look forward to the following stages in the conversation or learning (Kirst-Ashman & Hull Jr., 2018).
Most Challenging Member Role
Specifically, a group leader will be most challenged by the member roles categorized as “potentially negative.” An aggressor, blocker, recognition seeker, dominator, help seeker, and confessor might dominate the group’s purpose. In the social worker position, providing a place of progress will be challenging. These roles are expected to stall the group in the planned trajectory and will require a strong leader to redirect them for further cohesion and mutual collaboration. The challenge is knowing when and how to be firm with the individuals who fill the roles of aggressor, blocker, etc. A passive leader can easily experience the whole group losing focus and the group eventually needing to disband. It takes a qualified professional to lead and keep the group grounded in the content and purpose of the therapeutic setting (Kirst-Ashman & Hull Jr., 2018).
References:
Kirst-Ashman, K. K., & Hull, G. H., Jr. (2018). Empowerment series: Understanding generalist practice (8th ed.). CENGAGE Learning.
International Association for Social Work with Groups. (2015). Standards for social work practice with groups (2nd ed.). IASWG.
Walden University. (2018, 2021). Group therapy [Video]. Walden University Canvas. https://waldenu.instructure.com

As you have been looking around your community for examples of social, economic, and environmental (in)justice, what did you notice? Did you expect to find what you did? What emotional responses did you experience when viewing the various types of disparities that clients experience?
Perhaps you have found a way to call attention to injustices you see every day but are not sure how to solve. Or, maybe you have seen an injustice for the first time.
For this Discussion, you use photos that you have curated of your community to demonstrate social justice, economic justice, and environmental justice. You will then explain why these photos represent the given concept.
Resources
please use provided resources
Bent-Goodley, T. B., & Hopps, J. G. (2017). Social justice and civil rights: A call to action for social workLinks to an external site.. Social Work, 62(1), 5–8. https://doi.org/10.1093/sw/sww081
Krings, A., Fusaro, V., Nicoll, K. L., & Lee, N. Y. (2019). Social work, politics, and social policy education: Applying a multidimensional framework of powerLinks to an external site.. Journal of Social Work Education, 55(2), 224–237. https://doi.org/10.1080/10437797.2018.1544519
Pritzker, S., & Lane, S. R. (2017). Political social work: History, forms, and opportunities for innovationLinks to an external site.. Social Work, 62(1), 80–82. https://doi.org/10.1093/sw/sww072
Shajahan, P. K., & Sharma, P. (2018). Environmental justice: A call for action for social workersLinks to an external site.. International Social Work, 61(4), 476–480. https://doi.org/10.1177/0020872818770585
Segal, E. A., & Wagaman, M. A. (2017). Social empathy as a framework for teaching social justiceLinks to an external site.. Journal of Social Work Education, 53(2), 201–211. https://doi.org/10.1080/10437797.2016.1266980
Be sure to review the Learning Resources before completing this activity.
Click the weekly resources link to access the resources.
WEEKLY RESOURCES
To Prepare
Take 3 pictures of your community, 1 that represents each of the following:
social justice
economic justice
environmental justice
Be sure to respect the privacy of individuals who may be present when taking photos. If it is unavoidable that a person may be visible enough in your photo to be identifiable, ask that person for permission before taking the photo.
By Day 3
Post a response to the following:
Paste 1 photo in the Discussion thread for each type of (in)justice: social, economic, or environmental. (You must include 1 photo for each type.)
For your social justice picture:
Explain social justice in your own words.
Explain how this picture represents social justice.
For your economic justice picture:
Explain economic justice in your own words.
Explain how this picture represents economic justice.
For your environmental justice picture:
Explain environmental justice in your own words.
Explain how this picture represents environmental justice.

Locate and review two articles of your choice that relate to your practice dissertation topic (how autism presents in adolescent girl’s vs boys. Create a 250-word paragraph for each article. For each paragraph, identify the type of article, summarize its limitations, design, and key findings, and cite it properly in APA style. Review guidelines about paraphrasing if needed, to avoid plagiarism. Paper must be in apa format and must cite sources. AI and ChatGPT may not be used

Respond to at least two colleagues who identified a different group role than you:
Identify a group intervention skill discussed in the text and provide a specific example of how your colleague could use this skill to address the challenging behavior.
Task Groups vs Educational, Support, or Skills Groups
Task groups are defined by Kirst-Ashman, K.K., & Hull, G.H., Jr. (2018) roughly as specific types of groups that meet to accomplish policy setting or to establish guidelines for objectives to a systematic challenge that needs revision to enact change in an agency, organization, to address a problem, or to clarify rules to specific legislative policies. Task groups might consist of task forces, committees, legislative bodies, staff meetings, or teams that assemble to accomplish the planning for change and might be vacated after planning has been accomplished.
In comparison, treatment groups are different because they consist of therapeutic measures in which peers with similar challenges meet for education, find emotional or mental support, overcome barriers or life challenges, and build skills through professional direction. One need might be to build on healthy communication and support through social interactions with their peers (Kirst-Ashman & Hull Jr., 2018).
Type of Treatment Group
To build on this, a social worker might lead a psychoeducational treatment group within a psychiatric facility for clients (or patients) who are nearer to discharge and could benefit from information on outpatient services that can meet their aftercare medication, therapy, and care management needs. Whether the group is for educational purposes, therapy, or other support systems, the professional tasked with leading the group needs to be able to guide the group with a firm orientation to facilitate equitable support to each member in attendance, including varying personalities and behavioral needs. In an alternative treatment group, an illustrative example would be in the Walden University Group Therapy video; the social worker leading the group was forced to redirect Trey and Ali due to their aggressive behavior several times to allow others in the group to speak and share their experiences (International Association for Social Work with Groups [IASWG], 2015; Kirst-Ashman & Hull, 2018; Walden University, 2018/2021).
Professional Role When Facilitating a Specific Group
Given the diverse needs within treatment groups, the professional’s role becomes vital to the group. When facilitating a psychoeducational class, the social worker must adopt various roles, including educator, mediator, and facilitator. The role will require multiple strengths and roles in leadership, from educator, which informs, to broker, to mediator when behaviors overlap with group members, and to include facilitator to “expedite the way for others” to learn and support each other. The qualified social worker understands behavioral interference and plans to keep the group focused or aligned for the proposed outcome and expectation (Kirst-Ashman & Hull Jr., 2018).
Group Norms and How to Shape These Norms Based on Your Role
Establishing and maintaining group norms is essential to ensure a treatment group’s success. These norms guide interactions and promote mutual respect, creating a foundation for productive engagement. Mutual respect needs to be maintained, and time must be utilized to find a productive outcome for the requirement of the group meeting. The crowd anticipates sharing ideas and working together to achieve individual and collective goals. As the educator, the expectation is to set the stage and therapeutically guide the group so that everyone can construct relativity and build upon each other’s experiences and strengths. The group needs the space to learn together and not against each other. Furthermore, the social worker encourages the group and empowers them to share their values with group talk. The class should be shaped by the leader and everyone in attendance (Kirst-Ashman & Hull Jr., 2018).
Group Roles
Furthermore, each group has several multifaceted personalities and an array of levels of behavior, which can keep the group together or divide it to certain degrees. Each role within the group can be divided by power dynamics between the members. Also, within each group, depending on size and the personalities grouped within the setting, each member inadvertently takes on various roles within the group. One such role out of the multitudes of positive, negative, or nonfunctional roles might be “the energizer,” which is a positive role. The energizer keeps the group excited and allows others to look forward to the following stages in the conversation or learning (Kirst-Ashman & Hull Jr., 2018).
Most Challenging Member Role
Specifically, a group leader will be most challenged by the member roles categorized as “potentially negative.” An aggressor, blocker, recognition seeker, dominator, help seeker, and confessor might dominate the group’s purpose. In the social worker position, providing a place of progress will be challenging. These roles are expected to stall the group in the planned trajectory and will require a strong leader to redirect them for further cohesion and mutual collaboration. The challenge is knowing when and how to be firm with the individuals who fill the roles of aggressor, blocker, etc. A passive leader can easily experience the whole group losing focus and the group eventually needing to disband. It takes a qualified professional to lead and keep the group grounded in the content and purpose of the therapeutic setting (Kirst-Ashman & Hull Jr., 2018).
References:
Kirst-Ashman, K. K., & Hull, G. H., Jr. (2018). Empowerment series: Understanding generalist practice (8th ed.). CENGAGE Learning.
International Association for Social Work with Groups. (2015). Standards for social work practice with groups (2nd ed.). IASWG.
Walden University. (2018, 2021). Group therapy [Video]. Walden University Canvas. https://waldenu.instructure.com