Group workers know the importance of addressing endings, so in my last editorial as editor of The Journal for Specialists in Group Work (JSGW), that is what I will do. The most important part of closure for me is acknowledging the people who shared this editorial journey. I was fortunate to work with two exceptional colleagues during my entire time: Dr. Lia Falco, our editorial assistant, who does a masterful job keeping the journal on track; and Dr. José Villalba, our senior associate editor, whose dedication to quality scholarship was evident in every issue. I am deeply indebted to these two wonderful colleagues who were so instrumental to my time as editor. Thank you, and the journal is fortunate to still have your services.
I was joined toward the end of my editorship by two new associate editors, Dr. Kris Goodrich and Dr. Sam Steen. Kris and Sam brought unique and complementary strengths to JSGW, and injected some new energy and enthusiasm into our operations. I know the authors and reviewers who worked with them benefitted tremendously. I am thrilled that Dr. Goodrich will be our new editor. After working with Kris for several years, I know JSGW will thrive under his leadership.
I also want to acknowledge the efforts of two different teams of guest editors who developed special issues for the journal. Drs. Ana Puig, Bogusia Skudrzyk, Julieta Monteiro-Leitner, and A. Michael Hutchins guided the special issue on International Perspectives on Group Work, and Drs. Melissa Luke and Kris Goodrich recently led the special issue on Research in Group Work. I am confident both of these collections will contribute to the field for many years to come, and I hope both topics receive even more attention in future issues of the journal.
I am also grateful for the guidance and wisdom of the two previous editors of JSGW, Donald Ward and Sheri Bauman. I had the opportunity to work with both as an associate editor. Don Ward was particularly helpful in showing me the ropes when I started my first term as associate editor. Sheri Bauman is simply a wonderful person, scholar, and leader in the field of group work who provided strong direction to JSGW for many years.
The unsung heroes of every journal are the reviewers, who do the hard work behind the scenes so that every manuscript receives a thoughtful and careful review. JSGW is fortunate to have many dedicated editorial board members committed to the unique specialty of group work. Conducting a quality review takes considerable time, and our editorial board is adept at not only sharing their expertise but doing so in a constructive, encouraging way. I want to also acknowledge the many ad hoc reviewers who add to the expertise of our editorial board and allowed us to carefully consider the many different topics we receive within the field of group work.
Working with authors who contribute to the journal is the central duty of being editor, and I found this among the most rewarding aspects of the job. Writing for publication is challenging and time consuming, and it takes courage to submit your hard work to a journal and have it reviewed by experts. JSGW has a long tradition of working closely with authors, many of whom are submitting a manuscript for the first time, and giving them prompt and constructive feedback. I hope that every author who submitted a manuscript during my tenure had a positive experience, regardless of the eventual outcome of their submission.
The board of the Association for Specialists in Group Work (ASGW) was incredibly supportive during my time as editor. Many members of the board have experience with JSGW by being past editors or editorial board members, and I could always count on the entire board for guidance and wisdom. Serving as editor also gave me the opportunity to get more involved with the larger profession of counseling, by meeting and sharing ideas with the editors of other American Counseling Association (ACA) journals and interacting with the professional staff at ACA.
I will close this piece by offering some ideas based on my time as editor. First, I strongly recommend involvement in the review of manuscripts as one of the best ways to learn about the research and publication process. Reading published articles is invaluable, of course, but can also be a bit intimidating to the new author given how polished they are. Reading the “rough cut” of a manuscript is far more instructive, and often less daunting, and I think can be particularly helpful in learning about the various ways in which writing about research can be approached and evaluated. Whenever possible, I include my own students in the review of manuscripts I receive, and they consistently find this to be a unique and helpful learning experience.
Not surprisingly, I am also going to use this space to call for more group research. Our recent special issue on international group work is a clear example of the global reach of group interventions, and in order to address the diversity of our group members, we are going to need much more research on what types of groups are most effective in different contexts and with different types of group members. Fortunately, our even more recent special issue on research methods suggests cutting-edge ways by which to do this. Groups are an ideal modality for achieving social justice ends, but in the public mind, I think many people still have inaccurate stereotypes about group work (“the leaders will make you spill your guts,” “individual counseling is more effective”), and we need to continue to educate the public and demonstrate group effectiveness through research.
Groups, in my view, are often taken granted even in the counseling literature. Many interventions are delivered in group formats without researchers formulating research questions about the group dynamics involved in their work. One example is Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), which is often delivered in groups and continues to receive strong research support and attention in the public eye. But when I talk to colleagues who conduct and research MBSR using group and ask about for their thoughts about the group aspects of the intervention (e.g., what types leadership styles work best, what do you look for in selecting members?), I often get a blank stare. Groups seem to sometimes be treated as part of the background of an intervention, necessary, but not deserving of the limelight. Given the complexities of group work, attention to group dynamics needs to be front and center in any research involving groups.
In closing, I am very grateful for my time as editor of JSGW, and for the opportunity to begin my new journey as president-elect of ASGW. I look forward to working with many of you in the upcoming months and years, and to the quality scholarship I know will be forthcoming from JSGW.