Revitalization of social work with groups - a service developed in collaboration with users

This paper is based on practice research in collaboration between four parts: practice, research, education and service users. The research focus is on the development and implementation of social work methods. The main focus... [ view full abstract ]

This paper is based on practice research in collaboration between four parts: practice, research, education and service users. The research focus is on the development and implementation of social work methods. The main focus is on social work with groups of young people, 18 – 25 years old with multiple problems, who are searching for work or activity. The practitioners in NAV (the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration) are developing an approach where they combine several forms of intervention. Firstly, group meetings twice a week for 2-4 weeks where the participants have to be active and take responsibility to explore their interests and motivation to make changes in life, then each participant collaborates with a social worker to make a plan for realizing these changes. Jobs or education that will lead to work is usually an important target in this plan. The collaboration goes on, now with the aim of implementing the plan. The results of this approach will be evaluated after 6 and 12 months.
As researchers, we are also interested in exploring this kind of group work, which in many ways differ from the therapeutic groups work which are led by social work experts. The form and content of the group sessions, as well as the combination of several forms of intervention, have been developed through close collaboration with service users. The users have evaluated the group work and suggested changes in the group work. This kind of evaluation will be a central issue throughout the project. In this paper, we will discuss how this kind of approach may represent a revitalization of social work with groups, inspired by theoretical aspects as empowerment and user participation.