Charles Garvin

Involvement in Alcoholics Anonymous by Persons with Dual Disorders

Forty subjects with serious mental illness and alcoholism were interviewed about their experiences with Alcoholics Anonymous. All had attended one or more meetings of special AA groups for dually diagnosed members. Information was obtained about their illness, heir first meeting, how they used the groups, and ways in which they participated in meetings. Investigators found that intensity of AA involvement was related to the degree of comfort they felt in groups. Demographic and personality characteristics did not correlate with involvement. A majority of subjects maintained their involvement in the meetings of special AA groups or in regular AA meetings.

Citizenship, Community, and Recovery: A Group- and Peer-Based Intervention for Persons With Co-Occurring Disorders and Criminal Justice Histories

Group interventions for persons with co-occurring disorders of serious mental illness (SMI) and alcohol or other substance use disorders may positively affect participants’ substance use, criminal justice contacts, and transition to community supports and community living. We report on a group intervention with wraparound peer support that, in earlier research, has shown promise regarding these domains. We provide a detailed description and discussion of the intervention, including case vignettes. We also discuss future research on this intervention and offer recommendations for additional research in this area and with this target population.

An Analysis of Groups in Consumer-Centered Programs

This study used a mixed methods approach to describe and analyze data from groups observed in two types of mental health consumer-centered programs, namely consumer-run drop-in centers and clubhouses. An overview of consumer-centered programs is presented, followed by a report of the study which includes a description of the groups in the sample and data on the effects of group process and group leader characteristics on group functioning. Results indicate that, for the most part, the groups were task oriented (e.g., planning events or discussing issues about the center). Psychoeducation and recovery were also frequent topics in the group meetings. In terms of group participation, consumers took on various assignments, served as facilitators, assumed tasks and roles, shared experiences, and provided support to other group participants. A major finding is that group leaders displayed both good and poor leadership behaviors. The good leadership behaviors were often efforts to respond to problematic responses of members and poor leadership behaviors often elicited such responses. The qualitative analysis provided examples of how these behaviors affected the group sessions. This pilot study, by identifying some of the group conditions present in such groups, should lead to new studies that are based on specific hypotheses concerning the relationships that exist among group conditions, interventions to improve such conditions, and outcomes for participants.

A model of AA utilization by persons with a dual diagnosis (the co-occurrence of alcoholism and severe mental illness)

Thomas J. Powell is a professor of social work and director of the Center for Self-Help Research at the University ofMichigan (505 East Huron St., Ann Arbor, MI48104-1567). Linda Farris Kurtz is a professor ofsocial work at Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti. Charles D. Garvin is a professor of social work and director of the doctoral program at the University ofMichigan. Ann Arbor. Elizabeth M. Hill is an assistant research scientist in the Alcohol Research Center at the University of Michigans Department of Psychiatry.

Task-centered Group Work

This article describes how the Reid and Epstein task-centered casework model can be extended to work with groups. The steps in this application to groups include (1) a pregroup interview in which decisions on group participation are made; (2) a group composition decision to secure group conditions which will facilitate task attainment; (3) a process of group formation during which members help one another to specify their tasks; (4) group processes aimed at task accomplishment facilitated by worker interventions which relate simultaneously to individuals, group conditions, and extra-group conditions; and (5) termination in which progress is assessed and group leave taking facilitated.

Short-Term Group Therapy

Although the terms short-term treatment as well as short-term group therapy are widely used, there is a good deal of ambiguity as to the meaning of these terms. As one expert on the subject states (Klein, 1985): Typically, reported sessions vary from a single meeting to as many as 50 or more, and range in overall time up to and even beyond one year. For individual short-term treatment, the mean number of sessions appears to be about 25, while for short-term group therapy the range is similar but there is a trend toward fewer sessions with a mean of about 12 to 15 sessions, apart from marathon groups. Most short-term group treatment sessions, whether in inpatient or outpatient settings, last 1 to 1 1/2 hours on a weekly basis and utilize a variety of theoretical orientations; for example, psychoanalytic, cognitive, interpersonal, and behavioral. (p. 310)

An Introduction to the Project Rationale and Development

This introductory article begins with a presentation of the focus of this special issue: a participatory action research project titled “Enabling Adolescents in Culturally Diverse Environments to Peacefully Resolve Ethnic Group Conflicts.” The rationale for the project as well as its conceptual and theoretical foundations are indicated. After this, the authors note the steps taken to develop the project. The article concludes with a description of the other articles included in this issue.

Summary and Implications for the Next Stage An Epilogue

This epilogue summarizes the articles presented earlier in this issue and indicates directions the project is likely to take in the future.

Project Program Development and Implementation

This article presents the projects processes and activities by describing the steps that were taken in its development and implementation. The first step was the planning and conceptualization of the program. The second step was carrying out the planned program. This has been repeated four times. Thus, the third step was examining each trial, modifying the program based on this examination, and conducting subsequent trials.

Integrating Knowledge and Practice the Case of Social Work and Social Science

Introduction: Evolution and Change in the Relationship between Social Work and Social Science by David J. Tucker, Charles Garvin, and Rosemary Sarri Promises and Problems Introduction: Progress and Problems in the Integration of Knowledge and Practice by David J. Tucker Making Decisions about Integration by Eileen Gambrill Mechanism, Conflict, and Cultural Symbol: Three Views of the Relationship between Social Insight and Social Transformation by Richard H. Price Knowledge for Policy and Practice by David Laws and Martin Rein Content Analysis of Social Work Dissertation Papers: Epistemological Implications by Richard E. Boettcher Research and Social Policy: Conceptual Frameworks and Social Inequality by Adam Jamrozik Social Science and Social Work Introduction: How Social Science Contributes to Social Work by Charles Garvin Schema, Niches, and Nodes: Social Cognitive Resources for Contemporary Social Work Practice by Aaron M. Brower and Paula S. Nurius Community Organization, New Social Movement Theory, and the Condition of Post-Modernity by Robert Fisher and Joseph Kling The Theory and Practice of Decision-Making by Sherri Shienfeld, with Narayan Viswanathan Expanding Theories of Occupational Structure: Examining the Relationship between Family Responsive Policies and Worker Well-Being by Susan Lambert Grounded Theory: A Methodology for Integrating Social Work and Social Science Theory by Susan Bernstein, Harriet Goodman, and Irwin Epstein Introduction of Chaos and Complexity Theory to Social Work by James Patrick Mace Social Work to Social Science Introduction: Social Work Perspectives on the Integration of Social Work and Social Science by Rosemary Sarri Macro Practice for the 21st Century: An Empowerment Perspective by Elaine Gutierrez Social Work Education in Context: Hong Kong Polytechnic File by Diana Mak and Tsang Nai-ming The Interface between Social Sciences and Social Work: The Case of European Mental Health Social Work by Shulamit Ramon Integrating Work Team Effectiveness with Social Work Practice: An Ecological Approach by Diane Vinokur-Kaplan Of Penguins and Policies: Communications between Policy Researchers and Decision-Makers by Armand Lauffer Rediscovering the Lives of Women: A Feminist Critique of the Social Science-Social Work Connection by Mimi Abramovitz Human Resources in the Industrialized Societies: The Need for New Social Concepts and Perspectives by Adam Jamrozik Social Stratification and Psychological Debilitation: A Review with Practice Implications by John F. Longres Themes and Perspectives Themes and Perspectives on Integration and Related Models by Edwin J. Thomas A History of Educational Integration in One Program Doctoral Education in Social Work and Social Science at Michigan by Robert D. Vinter and Rosemary Sarri References Index