HISTORICAL TIMELINE OF

GROUP PROCESS
1800s

 Groups were formed for functional and pragmatic

reasons

 Large in number 

 Primary emphasis on information, instruction and/or

correction of behaviors

 Immigrants and the poor receive special attention

 Social workers and Physicians use group structure to

increase awareness of self 
 Mid 1800s
Moral therapy – showed how therapeutic groups
could be structured and tailored to meet their
individual needs.
 Hull House
– focuses on promoting reciprocal relationships and
increasing “individual self determination and self-
respect”.

 Overall the development of groups in 1800s was a

dynamic movement which included contributions
from psychology, sociology, philosophy and
education.

 Group movement developed due to the need for

social reform and education .
 1900s
 Joseph Hersey Pratt
– organized the first formal group experience, wrote about
the dynamics that occur within group settings and served
as model for other leaders exploring processes within their
groups. He recognized the therapeutic power of groups.
 1907: Jesse B. Davis – 

stressed the functionality of a group as an environment in

which to learn life skills and values.
 1908:

After the death of Frank Parsons, counselors in many

guidance settings and other such agencies used groups as
a way of dispensing information and providing educational
and vocational guidance
1910-1919

 World War I:
Psychological groups tests (e.g. Alpha and Beta
intelligence tests) were developed and administered.

 Groups were used in a limited way to treat combat

fatigued soldiers.

 Emphasis on teamwork.

 During this decade there was growth in select schools

and organizations on group guidance and psycho
educational approaches to learning in groups.
Europe: J.L. Moreno
 – published a philosophical paper on
group methods under the name
J.M.Levy. He had a major impact on the
development of group theory and
practice in U.S. and Europe. His writings
stressed the psychoanalytic and social
psychological perspectives of individuals
working together.
1920 -1929
 Group guidance and counseling efforts were initiated in a
new from.
 J.L. Moreno – 
Helped promote the growth of group work by employing
theatrical techniques with people who were psychologically
disturbed.
 1921 :
He formulated the “Theatre of Spontaneity”, a forerunner
of psychodrama which influenced other theorists such as
Fritz Perls and William Schutz

 Ideas stemming from psychodrama such as role playing, the

taking of “stage center”, the emphasis on here-and-now
interaction, the promotion of catharsis, the focus on
emphasis, and the encouragement of group members
helping each other are incorporated in many forms of group
experiences today.
 Alfred Adler’s Collective Counseling 
 – attributed as a major breakthrough to the
systematic use of groups in counseling. This type of
counseling has been used as early as1922.
 Through the use of group techniques, the family is
able to realize that problems with children usually are
related to problems in the family.
 Family group meetings or family councils were also
devised by Adler to resolve difficulties and improve
family relations.
 During1930s and1940s, investigation of small group
phenomenon by social scientists led to the concept of
groups becoming more respected, and the power of
groups being more recognized.
1930-1939
  Noted in group work history for 5 major events:

1. Increase in group guidance and psycho educational publications

and practices.
2. J.L. Moreno continued to make write and make creative
presentations.

3. There was an increase in the number and quality of field work

studies by sociologists such as Muzafer Sherif, Theodore
Newcomb, and W.E. Whyte.

4. The founding of the first major self help group in America,

Alcoholics Anonymous.

5. Movement of psychoanalytical treatment into the group domain.

 1940-1949
 World War II and 1940s:
Often seen as the beginning of modern group work
period.
2 major directions in the development of groups:
1.)Theoretical writings and practices of Kurt Lewin and
Wilfred Bion
2) Establishment of group organizations.
Lifton observed that the climate with which groups work
during this time reflected American and British Society’s
reaction against authoritarianism and emphasized
democracy.
1940-1945:
 Kurt Lewin
– recognized as the most influential founder and promoter of group
dynamics.
 Field Theory
 – Lewin’s approach emphasizes the interaction between
individuals and their environments. The group is a whole that is
different from and greater than the parts that compose it.
 Lewin “the practical theorist” established a workshop that led to
the formation of the National Training Laboratories (NTL) and
the Basic Skills Training Group (BST) which evolved into the
Training Group (T-Group) movement
 Other major contributions of Lewin includes: the discovery that
group discussions are superior to individual instruction in
changing people’s ideas and behaviors, his works emphasis on
here-and-now orientation, his point that changes in group
behavior depend on an “unfreezing” and “freezing” process of
human behavior. He also initiated the application of the concept
of feedback to group work.
 Wilfred Bion – 
 stated that group phenomena may be radically different from
those within a family. His focus was on group cohesiveness and
forces that foster the progression or regression of the group.

 Bion characterized the emotional patterns of a group as

either a:
 “W” (work group)

 “BA” (basic assumption) activity – 

an anti work group which could be broken down into:

 •BA Dependency

(members are dependent on the group leader)

 •BA Pairing

(members are interested in being with each other than in

working on a goal)
 •BA Fighting

(members become preoccupied with either engaging in

or avoiding hostile conflict)
 During the 1940s, 2 major group organizations and
publications were founded:
1. American Society if Group Psychotherapist and
Psychodrama (ASGPP)
 – established by J.L. Moreno during the 1940s.
2. American Group Psychotherapy Association (AGPA)
– a psychoanalytically oriented organization
established by Samuel R. Slavson in 1943.1950-1959
- This era was characterized by a greater refinement in
all aspects of group work.
 1950: Bales
- noted that in most groups, typed roles tend to
emerge over time and listed 12 broad categories
from positive reactions to negative reactions.
 Group procedures began to be applied to the
practice of family counseling.
 Rudolph Dreikurs 

– pioneered in the area of family counseling. He

applied Adler’s theory and ideas in setting up these
groups, which were primarily psycho educational.
 John Bell

 –  beginning as early as 1951, he conducted family

therapy sessions and relied on stimulating open
discussions in order to solve family problems and,
as in group counseling, encouraged silent members
to speak up and share ideas.
 Nathan Acherman, Gregory Bateson, Virginia Satir
 – their independent but similar focus was in modifying
the psychoanalytic model of group therapy and
developed techniques for treating dysfunctions in
families.

 Implementation of new group concepts.

 A group “vocabulary” was developed to describe

phenomena within group sessions. 3

 Terminology for working with groups mushroomed in

the 1950s.
1958:
 Counseling and Learning through Small-Group Discussion
- First textbook in group work by Helen I. Driver.

 Group guidance was replaced by Group Counseling in the

late1950s
as a major way to bring about behavioral changes,
especially in educational settings.

 Group psychotherapy - increased in popularity as

tranquilizing drugs made working with groups in mental
health settings viable.

 W. Edwards Demming  – Japanese work/task group

master who directed the implementation of new types of
groups called “quality groups” which would later influence
American industry in the 1980s.
1960-1969

 In this era, group work especially group

counseling and psychotherapy became
popular. Some of the most creative leaders in
the history of group work came into
prominence during his time.
 1968 : Group practice became so popular that
The New York Times designated this year as
“the year of the group.”
 Many forms of group work were invented
and/or refined.
Two of the most popular groups were:

1. Encounter group – Carl Rogers coined the term basic

encounter group, later shortened ,to describe his
approach to group work.
 Often known as personal growth groups because the
emphasis in these groups is on personal development.

 Sometimes referred as sensitivity groups, a term that

focuses on individuals’ awareness of their own
emotional experiences and the behaviors of others.

 Emphasis is placed on the awareness of and exploration

of intrapsychic and interpersonal issues.
2. Marathon group
  – first devised by George Bach and Fred Stoller in 1956

 as a way of helping people become more authentic with

themselves and switch from “the marketing stance of role-
playing and image making”

 These groups are usually held for extended periods of time

(e.g., 24 or 48 hrs) and group members are required to stay
together.
 Fatigue is an important factor and self-growth through
interaction with others is the hopeful result of such groups.
 Abuses came with the popularity of the group movement.
Publicity seekers, entrepreneurs or unqualified individuals set up
groups which attracted negative publicity. Some also made cults
out of groups and impaired the functioning of those who
participated in their activities.
 Among the most popular theorist practitioners of this decade
were those who took a humanistic-existential orientation
namely: Fritz Perls, Eric Berne, William Schutz, Jack Gibb,
George Bach,Carl Rogers
 1970-1979
 Groups continued to grow but with controversy.

 Janis created the term groupthink  to emphasize the

detrimental power that groups may exert over their
members to conform.
 Lifton’s book of this period reflects the turmoil and concern
surrounding the use of groups that had begun in the 1960s.

 The controversy surrounding groups in the late 1960s was

due to their rapid growth and the fact that guidelines for
leadership and the conducting of group experiences
themselves were not well defined.
 Association for Specialists in Group Work (ASGW)
was formed in 1973 as a divisional affiliate within the
American Counseling Association.

 Active throughout the decade in promoting

responsible group leadership and setting up
standards under which group leaders should operate.
 Group Research came into prominence during this
era.

 Irvin Yalom and George Gazda (1970)

 – analyzed group methods and processes and
described11 “curative (therapeutic) factors” within
groups that contributed to the betterment
of individuals.
 Yalom and Lieberman
- found that leadership style in groups greatly
influences how individuals fare in such
settings.
Gazda
 was largely responsible for collecting primary
accounts of how different group workers
conceptualized and practiced their
approaches and later developed a rationale
for developmental group counseling in the
1980s
1980-1989

 The popularity of group work for the masses increased,

as did the continued professionalism of the group
movement itself.
 The American Group Psychotherapy Association (AGPA)
published a collection of articled edited by James Durkin
(1981)that examined how general systems theory could
be utilized ingroups.

 Self-help groups mushroomed. These mutually supportive

groups usually were led by paraprofessionals or group
members.

 Psychoeducational groups also received attention during

this decade.
 George Gazda, first president of AGPA
proposed the use of developmental
group counseling with multiple
populations for teaching basic life skills.
 By the end of 1980s, group work was

recognized as a viable means of helping

individuals in a variety of settings. More
types of groups were available more
than ever.
1990 to the Present
 Group work continued to flourish.
 The American Group Psychotherapy Association celebrated its 50 th anniversary in
1992.
 A number of new books were published as well as a plethora of scholarly articles.
Group work became increasingly utilized in school settings.
 In 1990, ASGW approved and published professional standards for the training of
group workers.
 The 1990s were filled with a wide variety of self-help groups and support groups.
 Parenting groups became more popular, the number of cooperative learning
groups increased ,and focus groups provided important information fro
businesses and politicians.

 Quality groups were set up among workers to promote teamwork, increase

morale and efficiency, and ensure that more attention was paid to how tasks
were completed.