Group Work: Skills and Strategies for Effective 
Interventions. Second Edition . Sondra Brandler and 
Camille P. Roman, The Haworth Press, Inc. New York, 
1999, Paperback, 348pp, $ 24.95 ISBN 0-7890-0740-1, 
BOOK REVIEWS 
INTERNATIONALL 
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and physical disability, HIV/AIDS, problems of refugees and 
displaced persons, street youths and adults and unemployment. 
These problems have a disastrous impact on the welfare and social 
functioning of victims, at the individual, family and community level 
and the magnitude of these problems is more severe in developing 
countries where resources both financial and material are scanty. 
The publication Group Work: Skills and Strategies for Effective 
Interventions, clearly explains how groups can be employed to 
bring about the resolution of social problems and how the group 
work approach can be used to achieve therapeutic and actionoriented 
ends. 
This is publication is relevant not only to group workers. It is 
required reading for social workers, community workers, 
sociologists, psychologists, residential care staff and managers, 
industrial relations practitioners and all academics in the social 
sciences and development studies. Group work is an appropriate 
approach in developing countries where the impact of social 
problems is more severe and the resources available to address 
them inadequate. In social work the overriding aim of the group 
work approach is to improve the functioning of group members 
through the establishment of purposeful relationships for enhanced 
self-awareness and belongingness. 
Brandler and Roman describe the power and influence that 
groups have on members and the desire of human beings to belong 
to variety groups in their life pursuits. It is the forces within groups 
and individuals that make group work a potentially effective tool in 
addressing social problems. The authors explain how a group helps 
its members and outlines some of the growth-producing factors in 
groups such as mutual aid and support, catharsis, cohesiveness and 
the mastery of social skills. 
JOURNAL OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT (N AFRICA VOL 15 NO. 2 JULY 2000 169
Effective group work, however, requires informed and skilled 
intervention. As the authors point out, "our purpose is to provide a 
group environment that enables growth to exist and flourish" (4). 
Brandler and Roman take the reader through the different phases of 
group development. They show that the group worker must 
understand the expectations, problems and needs of individual 
members throughout the life of the group. Such an understanding 
helps the group worker to intervene appropriately and effectively at 
each of the phases. They show that the group worker needs to play a 
central role at the beginning and middle phases of group development 
but also work towards developing and capacitating group members 
to function independently. I have been privileged to read a number 
of group work books but I find this edition by Brandler and Roman 
really user-friendly. It is written in a refreshingly direct style and the 
authors use illustrations and examples covering group work skills 
areas that are easy to comprehend and to implement. In Chapter 5 
the authors address issues to do with group planning. A group does 
not just come into existence: considerable amounts of prior planning 
must take place if the group is to be able to meet its objectives. The 
authors examine the factors that have to be taken into account in 
planning for a group and the steps to be followed. One criticism is 
that I would have preferred this chapter to have been placed earlier 
in the book, before reading about the initial phase of group work. 
The aspect of group dynamics is also covered. Factors such as 
group size and composition, the timing and location of group meetings 
and programming are well described. These areas are critical in 
ensuring group effectiveness. The authors also address other special 
skills that a group worker needs to be equipped with. These include 
humour, communication and dealing with conflict. 
This book is really essential reading for social work educators and 
practitioners, group and community workers and professionals in the 
human relations field. 
REVIEWED BY JOTHAM DHEMBA, SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK 
170 JOURNAL OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA VOL 15 No. 2 JULY 2000