This special 40th Anniversary double-issue of Social Work with Groups was inspired by a conversation at the November 2014 board of directors meeting of the International Association for Social Work with Groups (IASWG). As a long-time board member, when the question was raised about what steps might be taken to advance the issue of diversity, I immediately thought that a special anniversary issue on the subject would be a step in the right direction.
Never one to let the grass grow under my feet, immediately after the board meeting I developed a rough draft of a “call for papers.” I then asked a few of my fellow IASWG board members for their input. Following, in part, is the result of that collective effort:
The Social Work with Groups journal, in concert with the International Association for Social Work with Groups, is inviting narrative essays of 5 to 10 manuscript pages, about group work practice that highlights the theme of diversity. Diversity encompasses acceptance and respect for various dimensions of difference. These can be along the lines of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, age, physical or intellectual abilities, linguistic difference, religious beliefs, international or regional origin, political beliefs, or other ideologies and the varying and complex intersection of these various dimensions. The journal is seeking meaningful stories that explore these differences and that lead to understanding and moving beyond simple tolerance to mutual empathy, genuine and open encounter, and the celebration of the rich dimensions of diversity.
A narrative essay is a story written about a personal experience. Writing a narrative essay provides an opportunity to get to know and understand oneself better and to shed light on an experience that may illuminate its meaning for others. One of the best ways to reveal who you are is to tell a story about how you became aware of something, gained a new way of seeing the world, a new insight. Your group work story should illustrate the interaction among group members and between group members and group workers in a way that brings the group encounter to life in a compelling way for readers. And, it should highlight what was learned from the experience that might be useful for readers who are practicing, teaching, or researching group work.
The “call for papers” went out soon thereafter and, as the July 1, 2015 deadline approached, stories started to trickle in. Brevity was encouraged and, so, I was concerned about receiving enough good manuscripts to complete one issue of the Journal. Despite my misgivings, more than enough stories arrived to fill a double issue!
As I started to read the stories I was captivated and moved beyond expectation. Many of the stories needed ongoing work to get the best out of them. I found that for some authors writing a manuscript that was not scholarly was a challenge. My number one suggestion to these authors was “less theory, more story.” For me this evolved into an intimate process. I felt that I was getting to know the writers, some of whom were strangers to me, in a way that I never get to know writers who contribute to regular issues of the journal.
There was something about the storytelling process that enabled contributors to let down their guard and for me to ask questions that I had hoped would lead to deeper levels of revelation. For some authors, this seemed to come naturally. However, for most it required a “dialogue,” that mostly happened through email correspondence.
After making final decisions on what to include, 31 stories in all, I had to decide how to organize the stories. Because there were more than I expected I wondered if I might group them into categories. And, although most stories are not mono-thematic, I did my best to classify them and give readers a range of general areas to choose from as they work their way through the collection.
I arrived at seven general themes: learning from the inside-out, growing up, aging, medical model to social model, language, in the classroom, and searching for meaning and more.
I hope that you will enjoy this wonderfully intimate and intriguing collection stories as much as I have and that you will share them with others to help to spread the word about the importance of embracing, understanding, and celebrating diversity. I don’t need to explain to anyone reading this that in this world, at this time, we need to do that more than ever.
Many thanks to all of the authors for being so thoughtful, open and willing to put in the work to make sure that your stories were “just right.”