Models for Change in Social Group Work

While most currently available textbooks on social group work practice rely on a single theoretical model, Models for Change in Social Group Work shows beginning students as well as practitioners how to make maximum use of the various models available. This text begins with a broad historical view of the theory and practice of working with groups and traces the struggles within the profession to merge group work and casework. Next, the "mainstream model" is delineated and distinguished from the various theoretical approaches developed as alternative therapeutic models.
Fatout explores notable specific approaches, each in an incisive, separate chapter: the "encounter groups" of Carl Rogers; Skinnerian behavior modification; the Gestalt groups of Fritz Perls; Eric Berne and his Transactional Analysis; the "Reality Therapy" of William Glasser; the "positive peer" model of Vorrath and Brendtro; and the neurolinguistic programming of Grinder and Bandler.
Each of these approaches is analyzed in terms of its historical development, purpose, and target population. The core values and beliefs supporting each model are examined, as is the knowledge base in the behavioral sciences that informs the model. Fatout reviews the methodology, procedures, and techniques practitioners use in each approach and provides illustrations and appraisals of success in its application.
Comparative and eclectic in scope, oriented towards the needs of both practitioners and their client groups, the book suggests ways in which social workers can utilize these strategies, procedures, and techniques developed outside of the profession in an effective and systematic fashion.