Family Group Therapy has in the past ten years gained much notice in the field of Mental Health, especially in the treatment of children. However, despite the fact that much family group therapy has been done, little research into the results or lasting effects has been carried on. This study hoped to explore some of the effects of family group therapy on a particular group of families from which a random sample was taken. They were seen at the Burnaby Mental Health Centre, over a period of one year. In family group therapy the approach is radically different from that of individual therapy with an identified patient. The whole family is seen together with an emphasis on total family functioning. Therefore, in our follow-up study we designed our questionnaires and data analysis to include the entire family equally with no emphasis on any particular member. In designing our questionnaire we chose the six areas of family functioning considered most important, both by the therapists and the theorists, in the field of family group, therapy. In each of these areas changes in the families’ perception of their own functioning was elicited. To determine the reliability of our results a reliability test originally designed by Kerckhoft was used in the areas of husband-wife task sharing and role relationships. We then compared the results of our questionnaire and Kerckhoft reliability test with four independent variables. These variables including socio-economic class, family type, number of interviews, and therapists' impressions. In two variables particularly, the socio-economic class and the number of interviews, we found a relationship between the results of our questionnaire and the variables. We experienced difficulties in obtaining a suitable sample to interview. Only eighteen families agreed to be interviewed for the purposes of this study, from a total of fifty-four families contacted. For that reason a superficial study is also done of those families who refused to be interviewed. As our sample was found to be not really representative of all families seen in family group therapy it is rather premature to draw any real conclusions from our study. However, it is possible to say that family group therapy did seem to effect changes in a number of the families interviewed. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

This study was undertaken as a first step in measuring effectiveness of the Oregon State Public Welfare Orientation Center program in teaching principles of the casework relationship as conceptualized by Felix P. Biestek. This anticipated the development of a reasonably reliable instrument, improvement and validation of which would be undertaken in a subsequent study. The population tested was made up of male and female college graduates, newly hired by the State, who were then entering a four week orientation program for caseworkers. Their education and experience varied, but all had passed the State Civil Service examination for this position. Learning was tested on concepts of purposeful expression of feelings, controlled emotional involvement, acceptance, individualization, .non-judgmental attitude, client self-determination, and confidentiality. From constructed test questions, two tests were formulated and administered in a pretest. Following evaluation of the pretest, the questions were revised and used for two versions of the test which were administered to two orientation classes before and after training. Internal and inter-test reliability, item analysis, and sensitivity were determined for the instrument. Pre-training and post-training differences within and between groups were estimated statistically. Statistical analysis of the data indicated that the tests were moderately reliable both internally and with each other. The testing instruments were able to discriminate between before and after scores. There was significant learning in that scores were higher after completion of the training session beyond chance.

No description available.

"The purpose of this study is to describe the extent to which social work principles are demonstrated in letters written by five second-year graduate social work students on a field work placement in the Social Service Department at Florida State Hospital, Chattahoochee, Florida, between November 1, 1958, and December 19, 1958. With the exclusion of memoranda to the hospital staff, the study sample, comprised of 236 letters, includes all correspondence written by the students concerning patients assigned to them"--Introduction. / Typescript. / "August, 1959." / "Submitted to the Graduate Council of Florida State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Social Work." / Advisor: Dixie B. Jones, Professor Directing Study. / Includes bibliographical references.

The North Portland Branch in Region 1 of the State of Oregon Children's Services Division had at the time of this study the only specialized Child Protective Service unit, where all protective service workers are under one supervisor, in that region. The supervisor and casework staff of the unit requested the study in the Spring of 1975. The purpose of the study was to provide a descriptive analysis of the unit 's time and effort on case activities. Through this analysis the research sought to give an overview of what is involved in Working with protective service cases and underscore the function of a specialized protective service unit. As part of this analysis an examination was made of the decision-making process in the provision of services. Finally, this process was related to casework effort and to outcomes.

published_or_final_version / Social Work / Master / Master of Social Work

Thesis (M.P.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1996. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 93-100).

Thesis (M.S.W.)--University of Hong Kong, 1990.

Thesis (M.P.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1996. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 93-100). Also available in print.

This study is the seventh in a series begun in 1957 to relate social work theory to general systems theory. The purpose of this study was to assess, through the judgment of professional social workers, the use of the two concepts, self-determination and confidentiality, in casework and social group work situations. The two concepts were operationalized by construction of five practice principles for each concept. An instrument was developed in which a critical hypothetical situation exemplified each principle for both methods with a forced choice of four actions evidencing the degree of self-determination and confidentiality. Forty randomly selected trained social workers in the Portland area answered the questionnaire. Three propositions were tested. The first predicted that workers' judgments of the use of the two concepts would be significantly influenced by the unit of treatment. The second predicted that there would be a higher correlation on self-determination between casework and group work situations than on confidentiality between the two methods. The third predicted that five variables would be significantly related to differential judgments of workers of the two concepts in both methods. Findings: Proposition I was partially substantiated. The unit of treatment was significant for the use of self-determination, but not for the use of confidentiality. Proposition II was not substantiated. Evidence showed, however, that the exact opposite of this proposition had occurred. There was a significantly higher correlation on confidentiality between the two methods than for self-determination. Among the five variables selected for testing, group work experience proved to be statistically significant in the use of confidentiality in casework situations. The variance in the scores of those respondents having group work experience was over twice as large as those respondents having no group work experience in workers’ judgments of the use of confidentiality in casework situations. In addition, years of social work experience showed a significant positive correlation in the use of self-determination in casework situations. There was no statistical significance as far as professional education in group work method, other types of training in the two methods, and preference for either casework or group work. Though not statistically significant, it was found that those respondents with graduate education in group work showed more variance in their judgments compared with those respondents without such education, indicating that education in more than one method broadens the perceptual set of the worker but that actual experience in group work is more significant than is academic education. When years of social work experience were compared, it was found that more self-determination was allowed by those respondents with more years of experience, perhaps indicating that increased experience increases the personal security of the worker. The respondents' reasons for their choice of actions indicated that they were largely guided by practice principles relating to each concept but there was an overlap among these principles. The data also showed that other concepts such as the social work relationship and the worker's responsibility to society guided some workers' choices of action. The significance of this study is that it provided eclectic definitions of the two concepts from which practice principles were operationalized, thereby contributing to theory building; illustrated that perception theory can be used for research in social work practice; identified areas for curriculum planning and staff development; and pointed to areas for future research.