Leann J. Terry Diederich & Robert K. Conyne 
What Is Group Work? 

A practical guide to improving the everyday practice of group work
Establishing a general context and framework for the volumes included in the
Group Work Practice Kit,
What Is Group Work? presents an inclusive overview of group work in an easy-to-read format. Authors Robert K. Conyne and Leann T. Diederich:

• Define types of groups


• Connect with accreditation and/or specialty standards


• Demonstrate how best practices in group work and attention to diversity and multicultural issues can be used to guide practice


• Illustrate how key group processes (for example, group cohesion) can be used to mobilize effort


• Set the stage for translating available group work evidence into group leader practice

What Is Group Work? is part of the
Group Work Practice Kit: Improving the Everyday Practice of Group Work, a collection of nine books each authored by scholars in the specific field of group work. To promote a consistent reading experience, the books in the collection conform to editor Robert K. Conyne’s outline. Designed to provide practitioners, instructors, students, and trainees with concrete direction for improving group work, the series provides thorough coverage of the entire span of group work practice.



This book is endorsed by the
Association for Specialists in Group Work.

Table of Content

Chapter 1: Ingredients of Group Work: What Practitioners Need to Know and Do

Chapter 2: Evidence of Group Work Effectiveness: Meaning for Practitioners

Chapter 3: Best Practice Guidelines in Group Work

Chapter 4: Multicultural Competency and Social Justice

Chapter 5: Key Change Processes in Group Work

About the author

Robert K. Conyne, Ph.D., William A. Allen Boeing Endowed Chair & Distinguished Professor, Seattle University,  2013-14 and Professor Emeritus from the University of Cincinnati, is a licensed psychologist, clinical counselor, and fellow of the Association for Specialists in Group Work (ASGW) and the American Psychological Association. He has amassed 42 years of professional experience as a university professor and department head, counselor, administrator, consultant, and trainer, and, most recently, as a consultant to military personnel and their families at U.S. installations both at home and overseas. Bob has received many awards, including Eminent Career Award from the ASGW; Lifetime Achievement Award in Prevention, Society of Counseling Psychology of the APA; Distinguished Alumni Award of Distinction from Purdue University; and has been designated a Soros International Scholar. He was the 2009 president of the APA′s Division of Group Psychology and Group Psychotherapy, and in 1996 was president of the Association for Specialists in Group Work. With over 200 scholarly publications and presentations including 14 books in his areas of expertise (group work, prevention, and ecological counseling), along with broad international consultation in these areas, Bob is recognized as an expert in working with people and systems. With colleague (and wife), Lynn S. Rapin, Ph.D., he also helps people plan and prepare psychologically for their upcoming retirement, using the holistic approach they developed, ‘Charting Your Personal Future.’ His most recent publication is the Prevention Practice Kit, co-edited with Arthur M. Horne, Ph.D., immediately preceded by the Handbook of Group Counseling (edited, Oxford University Press, 2011).  Forthcoming is the Group Work Practice Kit (edited, Sage).  In all these edited books, Bob also authored contributions.