Group Composition: A Study of the Criteria Used for Selection of Group Members for Social Group Work Treatment in Saint Germaine’s Home, Peekskill, New York, 1962

Background and Timeliness of the Study. The study of the social group work theory and practice of the social group work method, brings to the attention of the worker, several problems which could be identified as related group processes. The worker engaged in social group work finds that the knowledge of these processes and the use of them is the most important part of his work. Many authors have referred to the use of the group interactions as the medium which social group workers employ to help their clients. It is the distinguishing characteristic of the method, as seen in relation to the total of social work, to use the group as the primary medium of practice to effect behavioral outcomes. Social group work is that part of social work in which the primary medium of practice is the group, served for the purpose of effecting the social functioning of its members. To this end the social group worker focuses simultaneously on the functioning of individual members and the development of the group as an entity within the social situation. Social group work holds values, purposes, knowledge, and sanctions in common with all social work. Its uniqueness in social work practice lies in the emphasis in purpose, its differential use of the bodies of knowledge, and its methodology