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An experiential approach to group work (2nd ed.) by Furman, R., Bender, S., & Rowan, R.

There is a lot to like about this compact, practical group work text that focuses on helping social work students acquire basic group work skills. As the title implies, this book is based on the perspective that students can best learn group work skills through experience, and the authors provide engaging exercises to help foster those skills. The exercises are interspersed throughout the book and offer many options for classroom learning activities that will help students learn to apply the material. As a follow-up to each exercise, the authors provide thought-provoking questions designed to facilitate students’ self-reflection as well as smallor large-group discussion. This book covers a wide range of topics, including stages of group development, the six types of groups most relevant to social work, and examples of group work practice with specific populations. The first chapter, “The Group Work Tradition in Social Work,” provides a clear, concise overview of the evolution of group work, emphasizing the ways in which the functions and focus of group work have changed over the last 70 years. The authors highlight significant social trends—such as managed care, immigration, and technology—that have shaped the way groups have been and are currently used. This chapter also summarizes three distinct models of the stages of group development: Tuckman’s classic model, Anderson’s five-stage model, and the dimensions of social justice model. However, in the remaining chapters, the authors draw primarily from the Anderson model when highlighting common group tasks and processes. The latter part of this chapter discusses Yalom’s therapeutic factors and Jacob’s generic factors. Together, these curative and practical considerations establish a strong foundation for the rest of the book. The next five chapters broadly encompass key phases of group development. Chapters 2 and 3 cover the earliest stages of planning and beginning groups. The content itself is salient but lean, with most of the emphasis given to in-class structured exercises. Specifically, the exercises for these chapters focus on the planning experience and lead students through the steps of considering issues such as resources, membership, the purpose of specific kinds of groups, and practicing skills needed to implement or open