A call from the group counseling literature (Brown, 2009) recognizes the need for theoretical and empirical writings that explore the intersection of social justice and counseling practice, as many counselors are unprepared to address the impact of oppression and privilege on group process. The authors explore these issues by making…

A culturally grounded group intervention for a typically underserved population of urban American Indian women is described. The intervention is designed to increase interpersonal connection, improve inter-tribal acceptance and trust, and enhance psychological well being of marginalized urban American Indian women. Topics used to structure the…

Group work can be an effective outlet for facilitating client empowerment at individual and systemic levels. This article outlines strategies for increasing attention to social justice issues in group work over the next decade within education, training, supervision, practice, and research. Drawing from historical perspectives, current literature,…

The need for group counseling services for homeless adults is increasing with recent economic and natural disasters, representing crises that exacerbate the ongoing financial and social marginalization of this population. To address their needs, Emancipatory Communitarianism (EC; Prilleltensky, 1997) is suggested for group counselors working to…

This article describes a small group intervention for HIV/AIDS prevention among adolescent girls in Botswana. The psychoeducational group model is designed to empower girls to overcome the gender inequality that puts women at increased risk of HIV infection in the country. Group goals include heightening group members' awareness of the influence…

Advancing Career Counseling and Employment Support for Survivors (ACCESS; Chronister, 2006) is a group intervention designed to foster the career development of women who have experienced intimate partner violence. The ACCESS curriculum is based on theory and research from multiple disciplines including intimate partner violence, counseling, and…

Social justice is a complex and abstract concept that can be difficult to discuss and integrate within group work. To address this concern, this article introduces readers to the Dimensions of Social Justice Model. The model provides group leaders with a conceptual framework for understanding the degree to which social justice is integrated within…

This article describes an ethnographic study that explored the effectiveness of integrating training in social justice group work within an existent school counseling course. This research supported that school counseling trainees expanded their knowledge, awareness, and skills related to both lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning…

This article revisits the history of group work, highlighting elements of empowerment and advocacy in the work of some key figures, and noting events and movements that nourished group work's social justice roots.

The formation, structure, and goals of an open-ended psychoeducational support group for people with serious and persistent mental illnesses are described, differentiating psychoeducation from psychotherapy, and professional from peer-led support groups. Major goals are to provide education for illness management and help members combat social…

With an increasing older population and need for institutionalization care, the demand for group work in long-term care (LTC) is increasing. Group therapy can be utilized as a strength-based model, providing socialization and cognitive stimulation with the goal of increasing overall psychological well being for LTC residents. The present article…

School-based professionals have entered the 21st century with a heightened call to address the emotional and behavioral concerns of youth. While cognitive-behavioral therapies and psychoeducational groups have demonstrated moderate effects with children and adolescents, there is little available research to assist clinicians in refining treatments…

This article discusses how group clinicians and researchers might use a methodological and statistical model called the Social Relations Model (SRM) to circumvent common challenges to studying transference in groups. In particular, it examines how this method of transference assessment deals with the distortion aspect of transference and explains…

The qualitative inquiry describes the personal experiences of 15 master's level counselors-in-training who participated in an experiential personal growth group as an adjunct to their group counseling course. This study explored how counselors-in-training make meaning of their personal growth group experiences as well as how they perceive the…

Crisis intervention group work is routinely provided to those that have been exposed to potentially traumatizing events. The Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD) has been identified as a standard format for conducting crisis groups, yet the intervention is highly debated in the literature. This article reviews the status of that debate,…