Widely used by professionals, educators, and students in undergraduate and graduate courses in schools of social work throughout the United States and the world, this text presents a comprehensive, coherent, organized overview of group work practice from a generalist practice perspective. The new Eighth Edition continues to include typologies illustrating group work practice with task and treatment groups at the micro-, meso-, and macro-levels. Thoroughly updated throughout, the new edition of An Introduction to Group Work Practice includes research on virtual groups, updated and deeper content on practice with treatment and task groups, the most current literature on working with reluctant and resistant group members, updated and expanded sections on working with individuals who have difficulty engaging in and sustaining work in groups, updated material on leadership and diversity, and thoroughly updated reference material and new content from evidence-based practice sources. The Enhanced Pearson eText features embedded assessments.

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Ronald W. Toseland is Director and Professor, Institute of Gerontology, School of Social Welfare, University at Albany, State University of New York. He holds an MSW from Fordham University and a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin at Madison.  He has published 6 books and over 110 articles and book chapters, many of which have focused on clinical practice with the frail and chronically ill older adults and their family caregivers. An edited book (with David Haigler and Deborah Monahan) Education and Support Group Programs for Family Caregivers: Implications for Practice, Research and Policy is in press (N.Y., Springer). Dr. Toseland is internationally recognized for his research on social work practice with groups and effective interventions for problems faced by aging individuals. His research findings have been featured in Congress and internationally. Dr. Toseland has received more than $10 million in grants for research. He was awarded the Association for Gerontology Education in Social Work Career Achievement Award in 2007 for outstanding lifelong contributions’ the Society for Social Work and Research Distinguished Achievement Award in 2008 and was inducted as a Fellow of the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare in 2010.

PART I: THE KNOWLEDGE BASE OF GROUP WORK PRACTICE