The Mutual-Aid Approach to Working with Groups : Helping People Help One Another

Discover a unique resource on the what, why, and how of mutual aid in group settings!

While an impressive body of professional literature attests to the central role of mutual aid in social work practice with groups, what has been lacking is a single source that links the description of mutual aid (what it is, exactly) with practice prescriptions (how to help it come about and flourish in various settings). This book does just that.

This updated edition of the pathbreaking original contains four entirely new chapters that address:

• single-session groups
• short-term groups
• open-ended groups
• very large groups

In addition, this book will help you to better understand and make use of mutual-aid perspectives on:

• pre-group planning
• early group goals and norms
• the significance of time and place, and the role of the group worker
• individual problem-solving
• authority, conflict, and evaluation

Each chapter of The Mutual-Aid Approach to Working with Groups: Helping People Help One Another, Second Edition describes and discusses how to catalyze mutual aid in different settings and systemsincluding generic and specific obstacles to overcome; offers implications for practice and identifies group-specific skills for reaching each system's full mutual-aid potential.

This new edition of The Mutual-Aid Approach to Working with Groups provides a foundation for practice, examining theories, concepts, and practice principles specific to mutual aid. Readers are directed to ample study resources in key areas via recommended reading lists at the end of each chapter. Case examples are used to help bridge the gap between theory and practice in an immediately useful manner, and handy tables and figures make important points easy to access and understand.

• Foreword
  
• Preface
  
• Introduction
  
• Key Concepts of This Chapter
  
• The Purpose of This Book
  
• The Mutual-Aid Approach
  
• The Theoretical Basis for Mutual Aid
  
• The Conditions for Mutual-Aid Practice
  
• Implications for Practice
  
• How This Book Is Organized
  
• Recommended Further Reading
  
• THEME
  
• Chapter 1. The Mutual-Aid Approach in Social Work with Groups
  
• Key Concepts of This Chapter
  
• Mutual Aid Defined and Described
  
• The Mutual-Aid Mind-Set
  
• The Primary Functions of Mutual-Aid Practice
  
• The Notion of Group-Specific Skillful Practice
  
• Key Points of This Chapter
  
• Recommended Further Reading
  
• Chapter 2. The Nine Dynamics of Mutual Aid and Their Implications for Practice
  
• Key Concepts of This Chapter
  
• Sharing Data
  
• The Dialectic Process
  
• Discussing Taboos
  
• All in the Same Boat
  
• Mutual Support
  
• Mutual Demand
  
• Individual Problem Solving
  
• Rehearsal
  
• Strength in Numbers
  
• Key Points of This Chapter
  
• Recommended Further Reading
  
• Chapter 3. Pregroup Planning with Mutual Aid in Mind
  
• Key Concepts of This Chapter
  
• Setting the Stage
  
• The Role of Group Purpose in Mutual Aid
  
• Key Points of This Chapter
  
• Recommended Further Reading
  
• Chapter 4. Early Group Goals and Norms
  
• Key Concepts of This Chapter
  
• Goals to Emphasize in the First Session
  
• Norms to Emphasize in the First Session
  
• Key Points of This Chapter
  
• Recommended Further Reading
  
• Chapter 5. Mutual Aid, “Time and Place,” and the Role of the Worker
  
• Key Concepts of This Chapter
  
• Time and Place
  
• The Changing Role of the Worker
  
• Key Points of This Chapter
  
• Recommended Further Reading
  
• Chapter 6. Individual Problem Solving from a Mutual-Aid Viewpoint
  
• Key Concepts of This Chapter
  
• Prologue
  
• Common Problem-Solving Strategies
  
• The Mutual-Aid Approach
  
• What Needs to Happen to Catalyze Mutual Aid
  
• Key Points of This Chapter
  
• Recommended Further Reading
  
• Chapter 7. Mutual Aid and Authority
  
• Key Concepts of This Chapter
  
• Having a Real Say and the Group’s Need for It
  
• Authority and Group Development
  
• Helping the Group Exercise Its Say Along Humanistic As Well As Democratic Lines
  
• Professional Reflection
  
• Group-Specific Skills for Decentralizing Authority and for Helping Maintain a Democratic-Humanistic Climate
  
• Key Points of This Chapter
  
• Recommended Further Reading
  
• Chapter 8. The Role of Conflict in a Mutual-Aid System
  
• Key Concepts of This Chapter
  
• Keys to Using Conflict for Mutual Aid
  
• Group-Specific Skills for Helping a Group Use Conflict
  
• Key Points of This Chapter
  
• Recommended Further Reading
  
• VARIATIONS ON A THEME
  
• Chapter 9. Mutual-Aid Practice with Single-Session Groups
  
• Key Concepts of This Chapter
  
• Time and Place Issues of the Single-Session Group
  
• Implications for Practice
  
• Key Points of This Chapter
  
• Recommended Further Reading
  
• Chapter 10. Mutual-Aid Practice with Short-Term Groups
  
• Key Concepts of This Chapter
  
• Time and Place Issues of the Short-Term Group
  
• Implications for Practice
  
• Key Points of This Chapter
  
• Recommended Further Reading
  
• Chapter 11. Mutual-Aid Practice with Open-Ended Groups
  
• Key Concepts of This Chapter
  
• Time and Place Issues of the Open-Ended Group
  
• Implications for Practice
  
• Key Points of This Chapter
  
• Recommended Further Reading<