Social work practice with groups

Social Work Practice with Groups

You have been running a group for sexual assault survivors for the last nine weeks. Despite your best efforts to provide a safe environment, validate the women’s experiences, and create a sense of hope, the group members often ask, “Will I ever get over this?” This is an important question, but one that is not easily answered. As the social worker, you discuss the impact of trauma and the benefits of using group and individual therapy to process what occurred in order to reduce its impact on their daily lives. Yet, your response does not alleviate the group’s anxiety about the future. As a result, you invite a previous client who has completed group work and individual therapy to come and speak to the group. As she talks about her new feelings of empowerment and growth since participating in group work, the rest of the group members begin to smile and nod their heads. After the guest speaker has left, the members all talk about how amazing it was to hear this woman’s story and to see someone with the same experience thrive and move past the assault. They all expressed a sense of hope and relief. Group work offers many benefits that cannot be achieved through individual therapy alone. The most obvious benefit is group member validation. The knowledge that you are not alone and are not the only person who has experienced that particular issue can foster a strong sense of hope.

For this Discussion, review this week’s Resources including the Johnson Video case. Then consider the potential benefits Talia Johnson might experience through her participation in group work as depicted in the video.

Post an explanation of the potential benefits Talia might experience through her participation in group work as depicted in the video.

Support your posts and responses with specific references to the Resources. Be sure to provide full APA citations for your references