Reflective group interventions with social workers: a scoping review

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Social work is a rewarding yet highly demanding profession and how social workers can successfully be supported to manage the emotional and practical demands of the role is an area of increasing interest, particularly due to ongoing challenges with recruitment and retention in the social work workforce. Reflective group interventions – such as group supervision and reflective case discussion groups – are commonly used to support social workers, however comparatively little is known about the effectiveness of such interventions or the outcomes of providing them to social workers. This article is based on a scoping review of existing empirical research on reflective group interventions with social workers. Twenty-seven studies were included as part of the review. Four outcomes were identified: personal and professional development, working with service users, retention, and cost effectiveness. Challenges in embedding interventions into practice were also identified. The evidence-base for the effectiveness of reflective group interventions is relatively weak, with most studies being small-scale, localised, and exploratory in nature. Based on findings from the review, this article proposes a logic model for prospective inputs, outputs, and outcomes of group interventions and recommends further research to support the development of effective group interventions for social workers.
Original languageEnglish
JournalThe British Journal of Social Work
Early online date14 Feb 2025
DOIs
Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - 14 Feb 2025

Cite this