Reflective group interventions with social workers: A scoping review

Gregory, Mark, Cook, Laura, Yussif, Ibn Abdallah and Porter, Bryony (2025) Reflective group interventions with social workers: A scoping review. The British Journal of Social Work. ISSN 0045-3102

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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.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	Funding information: This work was funded (in part) by a grant from NNUH Research Capability Funding. This study/project is supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Applied Research Collaboration East of England (NIHR ARC EoE) at Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust. The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care.
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Social Sciences > School of Social Work Faculty of Social Sciences Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > School of Health Sciences
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Groups > Child Protection & Family Support Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Centres > Centre for Research on Children and Families
Depositing User:	LivePure Connector
Date Deposited:	24 Jan 2025 01:34
Last Modified:	01 Jul 2025 00:51
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/98303
DOI:	10.1093/bjsw/bcaf029

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