Group Work: Processes and Applications (Erford)

Group Counseling in the School and Clinic offers a comprehensive introduction on how to lead task, psychoeducational, counseling, and psychotherapy groups from a systemic, theoretically integrative perspective. Giving significant attention to pro-developmental leader and member roles, multicultural applications, outcome research, and accountability in group work, this text goes far beyond the traditional focus on only counseling and psychotherapy.

The effective preparation of group leaders has become increasingly more important in recent years due to managed care and educational reform movements, and Group Counseling in the School and Clinic emphasizes the systemic approach to group work; that is, preparing group leaders to facilitate the systemic group process, from planning the group through the four stages of group work: forming and orienting, transition, working, and termination. Showing students how to master the facilitation of these defined stages of group work allows them to effectively work with clients in all types of group contexts and topics, and from a theoretically integrative perspective.

Throughout the book, readers are exposed to the foundations of group work by exploring the historical forces that shaped group work today, the therapeutic factors that underlie effective group approaches, and the advantages and disadvantages of group work. Students will build a foundation of multicultural, ethical and legal group work attitudes, and knowledge and skills before learning to distinguish the roles of group members and group leaders. While many comparable texts portray group member roles from a negative or destructive perspective, this text looks at the pro-developmental needs of group members with a focus on helping members to appropriately self-disclose and give and receive feedback to enhance the therapeutic value of the group experience. Leader skills are emphasized early in the text to help students understand and master the role of the leader as a facilitator of group process and techniques that group leaders find helpful in keeping groups moving in a positive direction.

Bradley T Erford, Ph.D., LCPC, NCC, is a professor in the school counseling program at Loyola University with primary teaching responsibilities in assessment, research, and lifespan development. He has held numerous professional leadership positions and published numerous books, articles and book chapters.