Group Work Practice to Advance Social Competence: A Specialized Methodology for Social Work

Small social groups are fundamental for achieving personal growth, social development, socialization, and the skills of sustaining relevance, relationships, and connections to society. Unfortunately, those who would benefit most from small groups often find themselves unable to achieve membership. Lacking the necessary skills for entry, these individuals may never enjoy the advantages of group membership.

Advancing a practice methodology that specifically targets the socially unskilled, Norma C. Lang provides much-needed guidance to practitioners helping individuals become part of group life. Grounded in extensive practice, Lang's methodology addresses the special needs and anomalous functioning of individuals who lack the skills to form and use groups. She outlines the unique pregroup processes of socially unskilled populations and provides a methodology for advancing social competence. She also identifies the professional and agency requirements for working with presocial processes. Widely applicable to practice with social work groups, Lang's method greatly expands the literature on social work theory and practice with individuals and groups.

Table of Contents:
Preface Acknowledgments Introduction Part 1 Social Competence and Social Noncompetence 1. The Concepts of Social Competence and Social Noncompetence 2. Individual Social Competence: The Necessary Condition for Group Forming and Group Functioning 3. Forms of Socially Noncompetent Interaction Requiring Special Adaptations to Social Work Practice with Groups Part 2 Group Work Practice Theory Essential to Practice with Both Socially Competent and Socially Unskilled Populations 4. The Small Group in Life and in Social Work Practice: Forms and Functions 5. Concurrent Interventions in Multiple Domains: The Essence of Social Work with Groups 6. The Social Work Group as Unique Social Form: Influence of Professional Norms 7. A Broad-Range Model of Practice in the Social Work Group: Group Forms and Worker Technology 8. The Mainstream Model of Practice in Social Work Groups 9. A Specialized Practice Methodology to Promote Social Competence Part 3 A Specialized Practice Methodology for Socially Unskilled Populations 10. Features of the Specialized Methodology for Practice with Socially Unskilled Individuals and Entities 11. Requirements for a Specialized Practice with Socially Unskilled Populations 12. Specifics of Intervention in the Pregroup Period with Socially Unskilled Populations: Adaptations to the Technology of Social Work with Groups 13. The Centrality of Actional Modes: Mobilizing Effectance 14. The Route to an Achievable Entity: How the Specialized Practice Evolves 15. Portrait of Practice with a Socially Unskilled Population References Index

About the Author :
Norma Lang is professor emerita of the Faculty of Social Work at the University of Toronto. Her practice experience involves work with several at-risk populations and with emotionally disturbed children and her teaching expertise concerns social work with groups, qualitative research, and nondeliberative forms of social work practice, which is the subject of her next book. She has a special interest in the development of practice theory for social work with groups.

Review :
This pioneering book represents a creative and signficant contribution to the social group work literature. Social Work with Groups This book will be a useful resource for those working in group work where the ability to engage with others is a real challenge. -- Ken McMaster Aotearoa