Imagine how terrible it would be to plan a party and no one showed up

Imagine how terrible it would be to plan a party and no one showed up. As a social worker, you may very well plan a group and no one attends. Why might this happen? In part, it might be due to a lack of proper planning. Prior to establishing a group, there is a great deal of planning that needs to occur. First and foremost, you need to assess the need for the group.

• Why does this group need to be provided?
• Are there enough individuals who would want this type of group?
• Is there a clear identified gap in services at the agency that shows a need for this group?
• Have you chosen a time when many clients could attend this group?
• What are the criteria for being accepted into the group?
• Is there a possible incentive that could be offered for attending the group (bus or gas fare, food, etc)?
• Do you need babysitting services so that clients with children are free to attend the group?
• Is this a task group, an educational group, and or a psychosocial group?
• Is the group open-ended or time-limited?

As you can see, there are many details a social worker needs to address, prior to starting a group. Once these details are finalized, how will you run the group and what intervention skills might you use to meet the need you identified?