Groupwork The group consists of 4-8 adults who have various difficulties with learning. The history and background of each client is wide and diverse, but each with their own needs and issues.

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Introduction and background information:

Outlook's group

My second year placement was at Outlook based in Kirklees, which provides services in the community around drug rehabilitation. Their aim is to provide a high quality service, which helps people to re integrate back into mainstream society. The aim of the agency is to help service users in time to live independently.

The group consists of 4-8 adults who have various difficulties with learning. The history and background of each client is wide and diverse, but each with their own needs and issues. The education department is one aspect of the Outlook organisation, it was the education department that set up the sessions and the group There role was to provide training and advice to increase opportunities for adults affected by problematic drug and alcohol use. The education set up the group with the formation of a number of taster sessions. The formation of this group was to enable the clients to overcome barriers and re-integrate them back into society. An objective of the taster sessions is by working together as a group the member could then accomplish the goal of integration.

Group Models:

In order to explain the processes that the group I worked with underwent I have used a systematic approach to illustrate its development through a number of phases and crisis, drawing on aspects of Tuckman's and Roger's models.

It seems to be group can be defined in many ways, providing an absolute definition of a group, as with a lot of the theory around group work, is highly problematic and contestable. (Douglas T. (2000). Group work may simplistically be described as the study and application of the processes and outcomes experienced when a small group comes together. As a result, theories of group development have been cultivated, some linear, others more cyclical, and it must be stressed that no definitive model of group stage development exists. However, for the purposes of discussing group work within a context of working with Outlook's clients, I could define a group in the sense that group work is a social method practised with groups of individuals (Konopka, G. (1963). This method includes five steps: intake, assessment and case plan, group composition, intervention and termination. (Konopka, G. (1963).

Group Process:

To examine the processes the group underwent I have chosen to use an approach developed by Oded Manor (Manor , O. 2000). At the centre of Manor's theory is the paradox of talk, which stipulates that the most effective way of examining a group is through the way it communicates because even in silence a group cannot help but communicate.

Although the group worked together and communicated well with one another, the group did not enter into the intimacy crisis or mutuality phase. (Rogers, & Freiberg. 1994, p85-102) Normally at this stage, the group performs effectively with defined roles of its members, in fact at this stage it could be said that the group has transformed into a team. It is now that decisions may be positively challenged or reinforced by the group as a whole. The discomfort of the storming and norming phases has been overcome and the group has a general feeling of unity. (Tuckman, B. W. (1965) This is the best stage for a group to complete tasks, assuming that task, rather than process and individuals, are the focus of the group. Both stages intimacy crisis or mutuality phase develop when the group's communication changes from the interpersonal level, needed to work effectively as a team, to the personal level, which develops as a consequence of discussing inner feelings and emotions together. (Manor, O. (2000)

The reason for the group not developing into these stages was due to a number of factors: the group's purpose was to aid clients find employment, not to discuss personal issues in front of the group, although such issues were discussed in private. There was also a lot of disruption with clients starting and leaving at different intervals.

The Separation crisis began when I announced that I would be leaving the group because of my placement ending (Manor, O. (2000) It was not clear at this stage who would continue the group if anyone, but it was taken for granted that somebody would, rightly or wrongly. My behaviour shows a similarity to the Tuckman's mourning stage, whereby he describes need of expression with the hope that the group will continue. The termination of the group was not made clear to me or any of the clients; Outlook suggested they had an individual in place to continue with the group after my departure.

Diversity

At Outlook, my role is to work in the education department, providing training and advice to increase opportunities for adults affected by problematic drug and alcohol use. The history and background of each client is wide and diverse, but each with their own needs and issues. Diversity issues in Outlook are now considered important and are projected to become even more important in the future due to increasing differences in the UK Population, but diversity among members is an important resource to be utilized to improve the group's productivity.

There is a need for Outlook to focus on diversity and look at ways for the programme to become totally inclusive, because diversity has the potential of yielding greater rehabilitation Outlook's overall aim.

There are a number of challenges to managing a diverse client group. To combat diversity is more than simply acknowledging differences in the individuals. It involves recognizing the value of differences, combating discrimination, and promoting inclusiveness. Groups are similar to individuals in the sense they are all unique with their own experiences and aspirations.

To deal with diversity is a comprehensive process for creating a relaxed atmosphere that includes everyone.

The importance of diversity is to remember that people do not come to an environment on an equal footing. They bring self-identity, race and nationality etc, which has been deeply inscribed by social forces. The experience of being members of particular classes, cultures or races; and the pressures and expectations which people feel, because of their body, gender and sexuality, interact and are work in such exchanges. As an educator I must, thus, look to questions of identity and power.

In an environment ''voice' alone isn't just a matter of speech - it also has to do with how people are seen and heard. Excluded groups i.e. drugs and alcohol tend to become a powerful motif in the minds of the dominators, they are viewed both as a threat to order politically and socially.

As soon as a worker moves beyond issues surrounding diversity i.e. race, gender, sexuality, and embracing uncertainty is when we can begin to attend to the experiences of those who are excluded and those seeking to exclude; the relationships between them; the context in which these are formed; and our place in all this. Engaging with the politics of difference and the forces that feed simplistic oppositions is not to act in the belief that we are 'all the same under the skin'. Rather it is to recognize and celebrate diversity, while at the same time looking for what we hold in common. Therefore, for a free and vibrant society, tolerance is fundamental, and tolerance is most tested when communities are confronted with people and actions they do not understand. Their essential "otherness" frightens us.

Outlook, indicate that it is important to celebrate the diversity of different cultures represented in this group. However, the group wished to organise a Christmas party, this could have gave the group an opportunity to learn about different religious celebrations. Outlook, decided against this and not to celebrate it at all and in my opinion this caused tension because diwali was celebrated, and therefore there is a founded concern on the basis of equality. Even though, this had the potential to oppress certain individual, we then engaged in a conversation with all nationalities the importance of celebrating diversity and this acted as a common theme to bring the group together.
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Communication

The communication process involves transmitting information and exchange of meaning, otherwise known as coding and decoding; coding refers to the way a transmitter chooses to word and express there message; decoding concerns the way in which the receiver interprets the message (Buchanan & Huczynski, 1997). Both verbal and non-verbal messages often involve face-to-face interaction. Usually these messages are congruent (Johnson and Johnson, 1997). When delivering an activity the group members interact with each other and tend to work together with the help of the support workers. This can also relate to the first stage of the ...

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