Social Work

Practice with
Groups
Topic 5: Phases in Group
Development
1. The pre-group phase- is what happens and what the worker ( or
group organizer) does before a group is actually organized.
Hartford describes this as actually consisting of three phase- the
Private Pre- Group Phase, the Public Pre-Group Phase and the
Convening Phase.
➢ The Private Pre- Group Phase is the period when an idea occurs to
one or more persons to organize a group for some purpose
➢ The Public Pre- Group Phase. Announcements are made, verbally
or in writing
2. Convening Phase:
➢ Prospective members meet for the first time
➢ Group begins to materialize
➢ Members at his time are sizing up the situation in terms of whether or
not their expectations are going top met
➢ Engage in Social rituals and Amenities
➢ Varied behaviours may be observed such as restlessness, talkativeness,
tension and withdrawal as the participants judge each other
➢ Worker usually assumes a leading role during this phase
3.The Group Formation Phase;
➢ The period when the group gets organized
➢ The formation process may be achieves during one session or many
sessions depending on the members, their capacities, and the purpose
of the group among other things
➢ Group goals and norms evolve and the group’s role system begins to
develop during this phase
➢ Key dynamic of the formation stage is choosing to unite with others or
simply ‘’union’’. ( Sue Henry)
➢ The practitioner continues to take a lead role in promoting
communication and interaction between herself and the members and
among the members of the group
4. The Group Integration, Disintegration or Reintegration
Phase
➢ Group appears to have been formed and now proceeds about
its work, many things happen
➢ Interpersonal ties increase and a sense of group bond or ‘’we
feeling’’ begins to become apparent
➢ Goal –directed activities engage the members since by this
time group goals shall have been clarified
➢ Developmental and task groups the role and status
structures usually begin to emerge, and task and
emotional leaders can already be identified. Members
can show a great deal of enthusiasm for the group
activities and while thy may not be equally participative,
the worker is optimistic that the group will be able to
achieve its goals. All these are aspect of the group’s
movement toward integration.
➢ Tuckman’s calls this phase ‘’ storming’’, the appearance of
conflict around ‘’ interpersonal issues and expressed
resistance to group influence and task requirements. Sue
Henry says that conflict in a group is really competition for
the dominance of one’s needs and desires over those of all
the group members. The struggle or conflict may be serious
and if not resolved can lead to the group’s total
disintegration.
> The process of handling conflicts that occur in a group
requires the worker to be prepared to bring such conflicts
into the open for discussion and resolution. The group ,
with the help of the Worker, may have to restate its goals,
modify its structure, establish new rules for operating,
define/modify norms, and redefine task ( remember
‘’group as target of change’’) the efforts can make the
group move to reintegration phase
5. Group Functioning and maintenance:
Writers describe this phase:
➢ Sarri and Galinsky- refer this phase as ‘’Maturation’’
➢ Garland, Jones and Kolodny- ‘’ Differentiation’’
➢ Northen ‘’ Problem Solving and Stabilization’’
➢ Bales states that the social emotional qualities of giving
support and helping appear during this phase
➢ Berne and Coyle- cite the emergence of group culture- the
establishment of an ethical system, artifacts, etiquette and social
contract. Berne states that in this phase, the group pursues the
fulfilment of purposes even though the work may lead to change
in structure and activity.
➢ Schutz- says that this a period of affection of emotional integration
of members with each other, and of a lowering of defences and an
increase in sharing.
➢ Thelen- describes this period as one of consolidation and harmony
➢ Tuckman refers to as ‘’norming’’ and performing’’
➢ Hartford- submits that emergent structure or the stabilization of
leader-follower patterns and the firming of the status hierarchy
based on skills appropriate for the purpose of the group is one of
the observable aspects of this phase.
In the Social Work context, this is the period when the group, with
the guidance or help of the Worker, works at implementing its plans
in order to achieve the defined goals. The Worker also deliberately
applies her knowledge of group dynamics in order to deal
effectively with the forces occurring in the group. A sense
of ‘’groupness’’ is developed during this phase. This is
manifested in the members’ concern for the group and
their engagement in activities which along in the
relationship patterns, promote the functioning and
maintenance of the group.
6. The Termination Phase:
➢ In the case of a closed group ( i.e the members begin and
end their membership at the same time ) termination is a
collective experience for which adequate preparation can be
made. In the case of an open group ( i.e, the members enter
and leave at different time , for different reasons)
termination is not a collective but an individual experience
for the group itself can exist indefinitely.
Hartford sees the termination phase as consisting of three
phases:
➢ Pre-termination Phase- the group is prepared for its
imminent ending
Preparation for termination involves helping the group or
the individual member get used to the idea that the end to
the group’s life or his/her membership in it is forthcoming.
As termination approaches there should be an opportunity to
review the experiences in the group to evaluate the gains made
on both individual and group levels. Group members should be
given the chance to talk about the ending of their group
experience.
Sue Henry points out that the central theme of this phase is
that of mourning and time has to be made available to allow
handling of people’s feelings.