Planning: The Neglected Component of Group Development

Social Workers' Experiences of Virtual Psychotherapeutic Caregivers Groups for Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Stroke, Frontotemporal Dementia, and Traumatic Brain Injury

“…In fact, social workers experienced this stage as an opportunity for group members to begin to establish trusting relationships prior to the start of the group through the new technology. Kurland (2005) emphasized the importance of this currently neglected aspect of pre-group planning; for online video groups, this stage has been shown to be particularly important (Toseland & Rivas, 2005). Additional screening to determine the capacity of group members to learn the technology was necessary.…”

“…From the perspective of the therapists: "Every effort was made to train the members and the facilitators on how to use the website before going live." Kurland (2005) reviews the underemphasized yet important role of pre-group planning toward goal setting, group membership, and the eventual success of the group. Macgowan (2003) discusses the important need to identify strategies for increasing engagement in groups that would increase the likelihood of improved outcomes, that is, extra phone calls, pre-group meetings, modeling, and expressing appreciation of group members' attendance and contributions.…”

“I Hear You”: Using Focus Groups to Give Voice to Adolescent Girls' Experiences with Violence

“…Careful planning (Kurland, 2005) of the structure and the content of the group (i.e., the recruitment process, who, when, where, reminders, permission, snacks, equipment, research questions) allows the researcher to be prepared for any challenges that may occur. Krueger (1994) recommended homogeneity in a grouping of participants as well as recruiting members who do not know each other or have close contact to ensure optimal selfdisclosure.…”

On Becoming a Group Worker

“…Pregroup planning, though often overlooked (Kurland, 2005;Kurland & Salmon, 1998), provides the foundation and framework necessary to run a successful group. To guide me in my effort, I employed Kurland's pregroup planning model (Kurland & Salmon, 1998), which I had learned about recently in my classroom study.…”