Promoting Resilience Through Social Work Practice with Groups: Implications for the Practice and Field Curricula

ABSTRACT

The realities of contemporary social work practice often push social workers toward a deficit-focused orientation. The article begins with an overview of the major tenets of resiliency and adversarial growth theories and related research findings. We suggest that the group modality epitomizes the application of resiliency theory and adversarial growth to social work practice. A primary focus of this article is on articulating and illustrating the unique contribution group work makes for promoting client resilience. The article provides a theoretical and empirical framework that students, practitioners, and educators alike can use to identify, understand, and capitalize on client strengths through group work. Implications for social work education, specifically the practice and field curricula, are discussed.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Alex Gitterman

Alex Gitterman is Professor at the University of Connecticut.

Carolyn Knight

Carolyn Knight is professor at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.