ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses key elements of planning, drawn from group work best practice and group work training standards. It presents screening, selecting, and preparing members; selecting methods for deriving meaning and transferring learning; determining needed resources; measuring outcomes; and using closed or open groups. The chapter focuses on initiating a new group; however, those preparing to lead an existing group will be well served by ensuring that their group has been well designed to meet the needs of its members and that they are qualified to lead it. Counseling theories provide frameworks for organizing the planning for group interventions. These theories have been categorized according to their central goals and core strategies. Darlene is planning a new psychoeducational group for family members who will be visiting their loved ones in a residential treatment setting for those addicted to chemical substances. This will be a required group for any family member who wishes to visit a client at the treatment agency.
