SOWK 487 Week 12: Group Work Approaches Related to Setting II

Time: Wednesday’s from 5:30-8:15
Date: 03/31/21 Content: Group Work Approaches Related to Setting II Reading Assignment: Garvin et al. (2017) Chapters 17, 19, and 20 Due Dates:

• A-01: Synchronous Class Engagement Attend class
• A-02: Asynchronous Class Engagement “W-12 Reflection on Hari TED Talk” due Sunday 04/04/21 at 11:55 PM via Flipgrid
• [Extra Credit Assignments] A-05a - Therapeutic Group Participating and Reflective Paper and A-05b - Evidence Based Practices for Culturally Competent Social Work Research Paper are due Sunday 04/04/21 at 11:55 PM via My Heritage
• Read Garvin et al. (2017) Chapters 17, 19, and 20

Agenda

• Activity attempting to change perceptions on discrimination
• Group interventions for partner abuse

Readings this Week

Bargal, D. (2017). Chapter 19 - Groups for reducing intergroup conflicts. In C. D. Garvin, L. M. Gutierrez, & M. J. Galinsky Handbook of Social Work with Groups (pp. 331-343). The Guilford Press.

Córdova, D., Alers-Rojas, F., Perron, B., Salas-Wright, C. P., & Vaughn, M. G. (2017). Chapter 17 - Group-based approaches to preventing adolescent substance abuse: The state of social work science. In C. D. Garvin, L. M. Gutierrez, & M. J. Galinsky Handbook of Social Work with Groups (pp. 287-305). The Guilford Press.

Saunders, D. G. (2017). Chapter 20 - Group interventions for partner abuse. In C. D. Garvin, L. M. Gutierrez, & M. J. Galinsky Handbook of Social Work with Groups (pp. 344-359). The Guilford Press.

In the Groups for Reducing Intergroup Conflicts, they discuss groups completed in war torn and conflict laden areas. There is intergroup conflict that is common in the united states, such as discrimination.

Speed Hating: A Date with Discrimination

• Something I was taught by creators at national RHA meeting
• Will have a brief period of time to read the scenario, then act out the conversation

[Whole Class Activity] Have everybody move chairs and tables into speed dating set up…

[Activity] Have everybody complete the speed dating topic.

• Something I was taught by creators at national RHA meeting
• Will have a brief period of time to read the scenario, then act out the conversation

Debriefing

• What did you think of the activity
• Any areas that it made you think differently?

With partner abuse being such a widespread social, health, and mental health problem, looking to groups to address these complex problems. There are a number of intervention methods that get implemented. These include:

• Skills training: Group leaders model positive behaviors through role plays, followed by the role-play rehearsal of new behaviors by group members. The goal is to enhance relationship skills in in order to replace abusive and other negative behaviors.
• Cognitive Restructuring: Assumes faulty patterns of thinking lead to negative emotions, which lead to abusive behavior. Focuses on restructuring of these thoughts to reduce anger and fear. Focused on addressing the abuser
• Sex Role Resocialization: Focus on helping men consider gender equality and greater flexibility in gender roles.
• Awareness of Control Tactics: Build awareness of control tactics used to gain or maintain dominance over one’s partner. Includes things such as isolation, demeaning language, control of finances, and other means of control
• Family Systems: work with dealing with repeated cycles of interaction that may culminate in abuse.
• Trauma Therapy: Work on healing from previous trauma, and developing empathy.

(Saunders, 2017)

(Kirst-Ashman et al., 2015)

Social workers can teach women about assertiveness and how to develop assertiveness skills.

[Discussion] How many of you have some difficulty with assertiveness? In what ways?

Assertiveness involves verbal and nonverbal behavior that is straightforward but not offensive. There are generally thought to be three different styles.

• Aggressive Style (“The Persecutor”)
  • Answers before the other person is through talking, speak loudly and abusively, glare at the other person, speak “past the issue (accusing, blaming, demeaning”), vehemently expound your feelings and opinions, Value yourself “above others,” and hurt others to avoid hurting yourself
  • Dominating, manipulating, and humiliating others
  • Frequently hostile in interactions or ignores
• Nonassertive / Passive Style (“The Martyr”)
  • Likely to hesitate, speak softly, look away, avoid the issue, agree regarding-less of own feelings, not express opinions, value yourself “below” others, and hurt yourself to avoid any chance of hurting others
  • Primary aim is to keep others happy
  • Put aside her own needs and wants in deference to the wants of others because she doesn’t see herself as important
• Assertive Style (“The Balancer”)
  • You will answer spontaneously, speak with a conversational tone and volume, looking at the other person, speak to the issue, openly express your personal feelings and opinions, value yourself equally to others, and hurt neither yourself nor others
  • Balance her needs and the needs of others
  • Involves consideration bot yourself and others

Assertiveness training helps people to distinguish among assertive, aggressive, and nonassertive responses.The following are steps to help establish assertive behavior:

1. Help client scrutinize actions

2. Ask client to make a record of situations

3. Help client select and focus on some specific instances

4. Help client analyze how reacted

   • Eye contact
   • Body posture
   • Gestures
   • Facial expressions
   • Voice tone, inflection, and volume
   • Timing
   • Content

5. Help client identify a role model and examine how that person handled a situation requiring assertiveness
6. Assist your client in identifying a range of other new responses for situations where she lacks assertiveness

7. Ask your client to picture herself in the identified problematic situation
8. Help your client practice the way she has envisioned herself being more assertive (role playing, unresolved real life situations)
9. Review new assertive responses

10. Continue practicing steps seven, eight, and nine until comfortable.
11. Direct client to try out her new assertiveness approach in real-life situations

12. Encourage client to continue to expand her assertiveness repertoire until such behavior becomes part of her personal interactive style
13. Reinforce your client for her achievements in becoming more assertive

[Demonstration] We will imagine that this was an assertiveness training group. Process a real life example with a student where they were either nonassertive or aggressive.

Process the event (Eye contact, Body posture, Gestures, Facial expressions, vocal [voice tone, inflection, and volume], Timing, Content)

What are things that you could have done differently

Visualization activity

Role playing or Unresolved real life situations

[Activity] Help an elbow partner process through a real life conflict where they were either nonassertive or aggressive.