Exploring Nondeliberative Practice through Recreational, Art, and Music-Based Activities in Social Work with Groups

ABSTRACT

This article reviews the history of recreational, arts, and music-based activities in social work with groups, providing a nondeliberative practice context. The article begins with an overview of nondeliberative practice, then presents various uses of recreational, art, and music-based activities during the Settlement House and Recreational Movements, in mid-20^th-century group work practice and in present practice. The article concludes with a review of current projects in the Chicago land area and highlights their potential to decrease young person on young person violence.

KEYWORDS:

• Activity groups
• art
• group work
• music
• nondeliberative practice
• recreation

Acknowledgments

The authors thank Dr. Mark Mattaini and Dr. Cassandra McKay for their feedback and support as well as the guest editors and reviewers for their thoughtful critiques, which greatly strengthened this paper.

Additional information

Funding

The work described in this study was funded through the Fahs-Beck Fund for Research and Experimentation Doctoral Dissertation Grant Program and the University of Illinois at Chicago Chancellor’s Graduate Research Fellowship.