Proposal For Group Formation For Ex-Drug Offenders In Singapore

Your are a social worker in an agency that works with drug offenders in Singapore. Your supervisor had tasked you to write a proposal to start a group for ex-drug offenders who have recently released from drug rehab centres. You noted that in previous groups that your agency had conducted, there had been a common issue of poor attendances and high recidivism among participants. You need to plan and conduct your group to address the high recidivism rates.

Three core objectives of the group

Handling a group of ex-drug offenders can bring in many challenges in front of a person trying to form a group with them. On a surface, it looks like an easy job because we are handling a group that has the homogeneity of the problem. They are drug offenders out of the rehabilitation center and seeking for an acceptance in the society. It is a mezzo group that we are dealing right now. Handling mezzo groups have its own share of difficulties, when we handle a subject at a micro level then we are aware of the problems and strengths of that particular person (Christina R Miller, 2013).

When chalk out solutions for a macro group then we know the minimum part of the impact that we wish to deliver. However, in the case of a Mezzo group, the things become different because intervention strategies can backfire. Another problem is connected with the identification of the right kind of the model. In normal cases, drug addicts demand two types of intervention models (Well, 2013). First is a Remedial model and the second is a reciprocal model. This type of complex scenarios often forces us to come up with a solution that can be considered as a mix of many theories and the practices. In the current proposal, we are bringing down all the possible theories and frameworks that we are going to the employee in order to achieve the core objectives of this exercise of group formation.

Objective One

To create an apt ecological perspective in the mind of the target group

Objective Two

To create some means of entertainment and methods of the engagement to ensure proper attendance of the members

Objective Three

To state and implement confidence-building exercise on an intragroup basis and ensure empowerment for the drug offenders

Men prefer to live in a social ecosystem where he can share his thoughts and habits with likeminded people. An office is an eco-system, friends and relatives is an eco-system. A traveler traveling in airlines is an eco-system. When we check the life of drug offenders then we find that there are three major ecosystems. First eco-system is situated in their normal family life and social life that they were living prior to their addiction (Jacqueline B. Helfgott, 2009). The second makes an entry in their life when they find themselves in the dark allies of the drugs where they are consuming drugs and finding a solace in all sorts of immoral activities. Then comes the third phase where they find medical and psychological help to get rid of the bad habits and start their life all over again.

Conceptual layout for the interventions to achieve Objective One

The tag of being an ex-drug offender brings them back in a terminal stage where they need a special ecological perspective. They need the support of the psychodynamic theories to be applied to them (Heshmat, 2014). As a social worker, a person has to play the role of the enabler in this particular phase of their life in order to give them the confidence that they are perfectly normal and if something is going wrong then they have a support system working for them.

In the current case, in order to develop an ecological perspective we need to take the support of a bio-psychological model for the conductance of the group (A.S.Kalula, 2014). Under this model, we need to ensure timely medical interventions and counseling sessions to check the physical and the mental state of the ex-drug offenders.

Creation of a perspective that they are acceptable in a certain part of the society is not an easy task. The behavior pattern of any given group playas a major role in this process, as a social worker the person is responsible to create certain stimulations in the life of the group members so that they can feel at home, in order to achieve this homely feeling we can employ a mix of remedial and reciprocal model (Moria M Haller, 2010).

We will practice the remedial model by introducing the subjects to regular counseling sessions with the experts. We will try to bring in positivity in their outlook and behavior. It has been observed that in most of the cases such types of subjects become more defensive in their approach and this over defensiveness creates a barrier for them and they end up in isolation from the society (Meadows, 2016). Our first objective behind the formation of this group will cater to avoid this isolation and ensure a smooth entry for them in the mainstream society.

Objective 2: To create some means of entertainment and methods of the engagement to ensure proper attendance of the members

The formation of a group can be easy; however, the sustenance of a group can become difficult sometimes. Let’s remember the first day of our life when we were forced to go to school. Most of us were reluctant; it is human nature to resist a change (Justin C Strikeland, 2013). This is why the development of a group dynamics at an interpersonal level and an intrapersonal level is very important. Ideally, the beginning phase of the group formation exercise is an apt time for it. During the first few interactions, we can understand the behavior patterns, likes and dislikes of the group (Glass, 2017). Once it is done then we can move on to the phase of planning once again and come up with some activities to get them engaged.

Conceptual layout for the interventions to achieve Objective Two

It should start with an ice-breaking session where group members will be given this opportunity to introduce each other, after this ice-breaking session we will collect notes to introduce some healthy patterns to facilitate a goal-oriented functioning. Organizations like Alcohol Anonymous have created a healthy culture in this direction (W, 2017). They have developed a routine for the individuals; a mezzo group can become a small social group after a point of time. The second objective of our mission will also serve another purpose. In the beginning, we will start with a group that can be considered as group functioning on a remedial model. However, after coming up with some means of entertainment and engagement we can convert it into a reciprocal group. Once again the example of the culture of Alcohol anonymous is handy. In the case of Alcohol anonymous, they request their senior members to act as a motivator for the junior members (B, 2011). While considering the roles of a social servant under a professional setup managing the interruptions during an exercise is a big challenge. For instance, a simple phone call or a toilet break can serve as an interruption sometimes. In the current case, the authorities have expressed a concern over the irregular attendance of the group members (Horowitz, 2017). Since it is the beginning phase and primary assessments are suggesting a deficit in a given area we need to act as a mobilizer in the life of dull or uninterested subjects.

While playing the role of a mobilizer in the group we are required to imagine another process to make sure to remove the interruptions. These interruptions may take place and in the second run when the group will be functional a social servant is required to go for an evaluation of the reasons behind the interruptions (Naaken, 2010). Here we need to understand the changing status of a group during different phases. In this particular case, the group will start its journey as a therapeutic group (Linda Carter Sobell, 2011). Where the enabler will assess the needs to bring them at par with normal people, in the second stage the same group will become a Psychoeducation group. In a psychoeducation group, an instructor or the social servant is supposed to act as a leader and set the agenda for the group members. Ideally, leaders of the instructors try to add a structure to the thought process of the subjects (George F. Koob, 2014).

The psychology says that a person becomes a drug offender because the addition of the drugs plays badly with the structured thought process of the person. With a passage of time, it changes the structure of the thought process in the favor of drug addiction (Dennis L. Thombs, 2013). While planning a group activity for any such subject we need to change the structure of the thought process of an individual. This is the task for which we need to convert our group into a psychoeducation group in the second stage.

Objective 3: To state and implement confidence-building exercise on an intragroup basis and ensure empowerment for the drug offenders

The final goal of this group formation is connected with the empowerment of the group in the society. Jails are not for punishment they are aimed at introducing reforms. In the similar fashion, a drug offender needs two types of rehabilitation. In the initial stage they need a physical rehabilitation and later on, they need a social rehabilitation where they seek for the acceptance of the society after the reforms. This acceptance leads to a two-layered confidence-building measure. In the first layer the individual gains confidence in him and learn some life skills and in the second layer, society accepts him because of the reputation earned by the group and the member of the group on a consistent basis. The Alcohol anonymous has set some remarkable examples for this and the proposed group can also follow the footsteps.  

During the phase of the empowerment, the sphere of the group can be increased, in the first run of the operations, we will rely more on councilors handling the social and psychological issues (Henderson, 2009). However, in the third run, we will rely more on career councilors and trainers that can work upon the skilled faculty of the target group.

Conclusion

A detailed planning of the conceptual layout gives us this indication that managing the group dynamics and playing the role of an enabler is our first task. After the erection of this group structure, we need to first follow the Remedial model and then convert it into a reciprocal model where members of the group can support each other. For this purpose, the psychoeducation theories will help us a great deal. On a psychological level, there will be two stages. In the first state we will create a feel-good ecological perspective and in the second stage we will try to help them in realizing the world as they are perceiving, this will be the stage of the empowerment which will be the last stage of our exercise in the process of the group formation.

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