Composition and Contracting
It is essential for social workers who assume leadership roles in the groups to have specific regulations for managing their members. Some regulations deal with the group composition criteria and the nature of contracting (Chang & Brickman, 2018). The two elements are also applicable in the management of my group. My group consists of youths who are victims of drug abuse in the community. The group consists of 3o individuals below the age of 18. The group is also inclusive since it incorporates both male and female youth victims of drug abuse. Again, the group disregards elements such as race and social status since its focus is to perpetuate change among youth who are addicted to drug abuse in society. Another inclusion criterion is based on variables such as the level of effects of the problem on the victim and previous treatment history (Chang & Brickman, 2018). Individuals severely affected by hard drugs and those previously included in treatment are prioritized as members.
The group members can also be excluded based on ethical aspects. For instance, since the group deals with minors, youths whose parents fail to provide informed consent are automatically excluded from becoming members (Chang & Brickman, 2018). Due to limited resources, the proposed group is closed and contains only 30 members. Other members can only join as the replacement for those who quit. Joining and quitting the group is voluntary, and anyone is allowed to withdraw membership at any time. Again, after existing members portray satisfactory results on the treatment, they are released from the group, and new ones are recruited (Chang & Brickman, 2018). The approximate timeframe for the entire treatment session is three months. Within those three months, group members are expected to have received proper treatment. Depending on members ‘ availability, the therapy session will be done thrice a week between Monday to Friday dep. Every session lasts 2 to three hours, including a refreshment time of 30 minutes.
Orientation Process
Information sharing is a crucial aspect of any group session. It is also relevant to keep shared information confidential through the process of sharing information. It is unethical to share members’ personal details without a person’s consent. Therefore, as a group leader, I must balance transparency and Confidentiality. One appropriate way of maintaining members’ confidentiality is by defining personal boundaries (Surmiak, 2019). Certain information is not supposed to be shared in a group. It is essential to agree with members on the limits of disclosure on sensitive matters such a financial, legal, and personal data. Again, group members must share only relevant details and ignore what does not matter (Surmiak, 2019). This principle has to be applied equally to all members. For instance, if it is sharing opinions, emotions, and values, all members must do so. Again, the group leaders must nurture the value of protecting confidential information. When a person accesses others’ confidential information, that person is responsible for protecting it from being disclosed to unauthorized individuals. It means that every member has to be sensitive about storing, handling, and communicating with others.
Nevertheless, before any member joins a group, consent is supposed to be obtained.
Consent is acquired from two stakeholders. That is individual members who are youths as well as from their parents. Getting consent from parents or caregivers [proves that the entire family is willing and ready to observe changes in their children and support them. Additionally, a leader needs to establish ground rules for the group to prosper and achieve the intended goals. There needs to be more than just establishing rules because some commitments are also required (Surmiak, 2019). For instance, the leader has to demonstrate ownership of those rules by serving as an example. A leader must also foster a culture of honesty after establishing and setting group regulations.
Conclusion
My treatment group would consist of 30 members of both genders who are drug and substance abuse victims. The group is inclusive of members from any social status and race. Other variables for determining the level of inclusion in the group are addiction level on drugs and history of previous treatment attempts. Since the treatment group deals with youths, parents and caregivers must also provide consent for their minors (Chang & Brickman, 2018). Again, the group is closed because it consists of only 30 members.
Nevertheless, due to granted freedom of entry and exit, new members can join and fill existing vacancies in case of any exit. The therapy session takes three months, with at least three weekly sessions. The new group is recruited after the existing group shows satisfactory improvements, even if it is earlier than the expected timeframe. To effectively manage the group, the team leader has to balance transparency and Confidentiality (Surmiak, 2019). Information of group members has to remain secretive to avoid unauthorized.
References
Chang, Y., & Brickman, P. (2018, September). When Group Work Does not Work: Insights from Students. CBE—Life Sciences Education, 17(3), ar52. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.17-09-0199
Surmiak, A. (2019, July 16). Should we Maintain or Break Confidentiality? The Choices Social Researchers Make in the Context of Law Violation and Harm. Journal of Academic Ethics, 18(3), 229–247. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10805-019-09336-2
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