Empowerment Groups In Social Work

Empowerment groups are a type of group that exemplifies the empowerment approach. The use of empowerment groups is to identify and work on direct and indirect power blocks. The groups have the power to empower people and to influence socialization and members’ capacities for change, choice problem solving, and collective action. Empowerment groups could have a major impact on identifying the self-concept in the members. A great deal of learning takes place in groups which assists people in empowering themselves on the personal, interpersonal and socioeconomic political levels. Likewise, empowerment groups influence the formation or modification of values, beliefs, attitudes, and actual behavioral changes. Additionally, groups promote development …show more content…
The worker needs to bridge the personal and the political as well as include social change as the focus. It is important for the worker to establish the common ground and common cause among members. The worker will find himself or herself challenging the obstacles to the groups work and lending a vision. At times, the worker will need to reach for each member’s maximum participation in the process. The worker and group members must work together in order to have a positive outcome. For instance, a client will offer the problems that she wants to work on and clarifies her concerns to the group. The worker must offer her stake and the agency stake in the contract offer. The worker will also have to reach for the client’s stake and purposes and describe her own role in the process. Contract may be renegotiated frequently as the situation changes and as mutual assessment develops. Although it is important for the social worker to keep the purpose of the group clear, it may take longer for the entire group to understand and start to process their life experiences. The process of contracting must include agreeing on the nature of the problem or need in transactional terms, agreeing on realistic goals, and determining next steps to reduce stress and enhance internal and external coping …show more content…
I would provide the members of the groups the basic information they need to know about the purpose of the group, roles, and timetables. I would ask the members to write down their problems and concerns on a piece of paper and if they are willing to share to the group, I would encourage that as well. I would also ask the group to write down their main goal or objective and I would allow them to share them to the group. Sharing to the group would help other members identify if their goals are the same or if they are varied. Sharing the goals to the group would also let the other members provide a better support system as they have a clear understanding of what individuals want from the