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, 55 (5). 1976–1997. ISSN 0045-3102

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Abstract

Social work is a rewarding yet highly demanding profession, and supporting practitioners to manage the emotional and practical demands of the role is key to addressing ongoing challenges in the recruitment and retention of social workers. Reflective group interventions (RGIs) - 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 RGIs or the outcomes of providing them to social workers. This article is based on a scoping review of empirical research on RGIs with social workers. Twenty-seven studies were included as part of the review and findings data were extracted under four pre-determined categories: personal and professional development, working with service users, retention, and cost effectiveness. Challenges in embedding RGIs into practice were also identified as an area of interest. The evidence base for the effectiveness of RGIs is relatively weak, with most studies being small-scale, localized, and exploratory in nature. Based on findings from the review, this article proposes a logic model for prospective inputs, outputs, and outcomes of RGIs and recommends further research to support the development of effective RGIs with 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.
Uncontrolled Keywords:	group supervision,reflection,retention,social work,well-being,health(social science),social sciences (miscellaneous) ,/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/3300/3306
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
Related URLs:	http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?...
Depositing User:	LivePure Connector
Date Deposited:	24 Jan 2025 01:34
Last Modified:	29 Aug 2025 09:30
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/98303
DOI:	10.1093/bjsw/bcaf029

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