Group Work
    Counselling

... research resources for counselling students

Web Destinations

Key Sites for Practitioners

Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice
APA Division 49's journal publishes papers on the scientific study of group dynamics and the application of that scientific understanding in applied settings.
http://www.vcu.edu/hasweb/group/gd.html

Journal for Specialists in Group Work
JSGW is the official journal of the Association for Specialists in Group Work, a division of the American Counseling Association. Features include original research papers, editorials, historical pieces, and works on training and practice. Visitors can search recent issues of the journal online.
http://asgw.org/jsgw/jsgw.htm

Tavistock Institute
Formed in 1947, the Tavistock Institute is an independent not-for-profit organization which aims at helping those interested in group dynamics to combine research in the social sciences with professional practice. The organization publishes the journal Human Relations and is primarily concerned with change at the organizational rather than the individual level.
http://www.tavinstitute.org/index.php

Key Sites for Client Information

American Group Psychotherapy Association's Consumer Guide to Group Counseling
Frequently asked questions about group counseling.
http://www.groupsinc.org/group/consumersguide2000.html

Group Psychotherapy and Group Work
Haim Weinberg at Tel Aviv University has maintained a group psychotherapy website for many years. It contains a useful, brief description of the process of group psychotherapy for the lay person as well as useful links to organizations, degrees, discussion groups, and resources for clinicians.
http://www.group-psychotherapy.com/

Professional Development

Professional Organizations

American Group Psychotherapy Association
AGPA is an interdisciplinary organization that has promoted practice, theoretical inquiry, and research into group therapy since 1942.

AGPA
25 East 21st St. 6th Floor
New York, NY 10010
E-mail:GROUPSinc@aol.com
http://www.agpa.org/

Association for Specialists in Group Work
ASGW is an affiliate of the American Counseling Association. Most of the nearly 6,000 members are counselors working in schools and social service agencies. The website contains "Best Practices" guidelines, which are ethical standards for group workers. It also contains a statement indicating ASGW's backing of diversity competence among group counselors. There are links to other professional organizations, to the conference site, and to the Journal for Specialists in Group Work.
http://www.asgw.org

Association of Group Psychotherapy and Psychodrama
This is the official psychodrama organization, which hosts an annual conference and publishes the International Journal of Action Methods. Membership is open to anyone who supports the goals of the organization.

ASGPP
301 N. Harrison St. Suite 508
Princeton, NJ 08540
Telephone: (609) 452-1339
Fax: (609) 936-1569
http://asgpp.org/

Division 49 of the American Psychological Association
This division has provided a forum for psychologists interested in research, teaching, and practice in group psychology and group psychotherapy since 1991. Current projects include developing national guidelines for doctoral and postdoctoral training in group psychotherapy. The division's quarterly journal Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice and its newsletter Perspective are sent to all members and affiliates. Membership as an affiliate is open to those who are not APA members.

American Psychological Association
750 First Street, NE
Washington, DC 20002
Telephone: (800) 374-2721 (US & Canada Toll-Free)
Fax: (202) 336-5568 (FAX)
E-mail:membership@apa.org
http://www.apa.org/about/division/div49.html

International Association of Group Psychotherapy
IAGP is truly international with members and affiliates from around the world. The organization was founded by J. L. Moreno and has two sections, psychodrama and group analysis. They host a biennial convention and publish a journal in English. The journal site is:
http://www.iagpweb.com

Codes of Ethics

ASGW Best Practice Guidelines
The Association for Specialists in Group Work recognizes the Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice (as revised in 1995) of its parent organization, the American Counseling Association. ASGW also publishes a "Best Practice Guidelines" to clarify the application of the ACA Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice to the field of group work (revised March 29, 1998). It is available on the ASGW website by selecting "Best Practices."
http://asgw.org/best.htm

American Group Psychotherapy Association
AGPA has its own code of ethics available online. It was revised in February, 1991.
http://www.agpa.org/group/ethicalguide.html

Annotated Bibliography

Foundational Works

Bennis, W. G. & Shepherd, H. A. (1956). A theory of group development. Human Relations, 9, 415-437.
This journal article was extremely influential in group psychotherapy because it was among the first concise arguments for stages of group development. Once the stages are understood, leaders can identify blocks to further development.

Bion, W.R. (1991) Experiences in groups and other papers. New York: Basic Books.
Bion was associated with England's Tavistock Institute. His research into group dynamics at Tavistock is presented here. Bion shows that family and individual psychotherapy are distinct forms of treatment from group because of specific dynamics such as cohesiveness and group development.

Lieberman, M. A., Yalom, I. D. & Miles, M. B. (1973). Encounter groups: First facts. New York: Basic Books.
At the heart of this book are the authors' data from their research project on encounter groups. At the time the book was written, the encounter fad was still alive and there was very little critical examination of the phenomenon. The authors describe the benefits and risks of such groups, including the marathon group, and the advantages and disadvantages of various leadership styles.

Moreno, J. L. (1945). Psychodrama. New York: Beacon House.
Moreno is often called the Father of Group Psychotherapy. This is his first significant book on the topic of psychodrama, a "method of expression" that finds one of its uses in group psychotherapy.

Moreno, J.L. (1966). The international handbook of group psychotherapy. New York: Beacon House.
Moreno is the Father of Group Psychotherapy. This book establishes the foundation for group psychotherapy.

Rogers, C. R. (1970). Carl Rogers on encounter groups. New York: Harper & Row.
Rogers' application of his theory of client-centered therapy to groups was a natural one because of the mutual focus on growth and the intimate encounter between persons.

Yalom, I. D. (1995). Theory and practice of group psychotherapy (4th ed.). New York: Basic Books.
Originally published in 1970, Theory and Practice of Group Psychotherapy focuses primarily on outpatient group therapy. Practitioners interested in information about support groups, task groups, or psychoeducation should look elsewhere. While Yalom is interested in a group therapy with depth, he is clearly eclectic, using a curative factors model to understand the workings of the group. His long experience as a group therapist and his excellent writing ability make this long book easy reading even for a lay audience because it is filled with anecdotes and wisdom about human nature. Still, Yalom tries to incorporate the best supporting research. The sum total is the best book on outpatient group therapy ever written.

Key Current Works

Blatner, A. (1998). Acting-in: Practical applications of psychodramatic methods (4th ed.). New York: Springer.
A complete introduction to the psychodramatic method and its rationale. While the book is simply written and small in size, it is an invaluable resource especially for those new to psychodrama.

Conyne, R. K. (1999). Failures in group work: How we can learn from our mistakes. London: Sage.
Robert Conyne is a well-known researcher in group counseling. His book uses a case study approach. For each major area of group work—task groups, psychoeducational groups, counseling groups, and psychotherapy groups—he analyzes the major elements of each case according to his three-part system: planning, performing, and processing.

DeChant, B. (1996). Women and group psychotherapy: Theory and practice. New York: Guilford.
DeChant's book is divided into three sections, a feminist section, a theoretical part (mainly psychodynamic), and leadership and training issues. The individual articles in the final section break new ground in examining differences in male/female leadership styles and other research on gender in group therapy.

Hescheles, D. R., & Price, J. R. (1999). A guide to starting psychotherapy groups. New York: Academic Press.
The authors have a step-by-step approach for beginning psychotherapy groups. Those new to group work can use the book as a guide to selecting clients, providing orientation, and determining times and locations, as well as a guide to appropriate activities. The book contains practical suggestions and progress charts.

Rose, S. R. (1998). Group work with children and adolescents: Prevention and intervention in school and community systems. London: Sage.
This is a guide primarily for counselors working in the schools. It outlines procedures for conducting groups with both age groups dealing with such issues as parental divorce, peer relationships and social competence, mental health and substance abuse, and school performance.

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