ABSTRACT
The social group is a critical system to each person and to the helping professions. The human group is a social system that has received, and deserves, extensive investigation, because it is uniquely adaptable and can be put to an infinite number of uses in a huge variety of settings. Growth groups, or human potential groups, are organized to further purposes of their members, usually personal growth, through provision of intensive group experience over a limited time span. Therapeutic groups are structured to serve as vehicles for persons struggling with intrapsychic concerns. Self-help and support groups differ primarily in the amount of direction the leader or facilitator provides. Aside from individual persons carrying out their assignments, task groups are probably the most common means of accomplishing tasks in our society, especially in organizations. There are as many kinds of groups as there are group leaders, observers, and therapists.
