1. DEVELOPMENTAL APPROACH
 Developmental social work has been a
popular term in the country because of the
thrust towards developmental social
welfare.
United Nation started to advocate
starting with the sixties- the first U.N
Developmental Decade.
Emanuel Troop- offers such a theory
which seems very relevant to our setting-
The Developmental Approach.

2. Developmental Approach
 Webster defines development as causing
something to unfold, to grow, to change for
the better, to be realized. It regards a certain
entity as being endowed with certain
potentials which society should discover and
maximize.
 This basic idea about development is
inherent in Emanuel Troop’s Developmental
Approach to social work with groups.

3. Developmental Approach
 People are not seen as being sick or healthy, but on
scale ranging from socially functional (adequate) to
dysfunctional (inadequate) to en-functional (good
functioning) continually able to move up this scale in
a life-long developmental process of self-realization.
 The practitioner who tries to help people who are
striving for self-realization is concerned with tapping
the vast unused potential that resides within all
people and which is generally used only functionally-
in the spheres of physical, intellectual, aesthetic, and
interpersonal development, of which the last is the
direct concern of social work.

4. Two Essential Features
 Recognition of the human being
as the main resource to be
utilized
 Interpersonal relationships, more
specifically social role
performance, as the focus
concern.

5. Three Major Themes characterize
the developmental approach
1. Humanistic- a view of one human being by
another, troop elaborates on this theme by
describing how the worker functions and relates
with the group. The worker respects the group’s
common purpose and integrity as a
group, deals with the members for what they
are and what they do and respects the
members for what they are and what they do
and respects the member to member helping
phenomenon as key principle to their growth.

6.  The worker is an enabler, and show belief in
people’s ability to cope with their common
task. The worker offers herself with openness,
authenticity, mutuality, humility, respect,
empathy, compassion, involvement, support,
expectation and assistance.
2. Phenomenological-the main concern is what
is happening at present, whether in the group
or outside of it, or both. The approach is
reality-oriented, focusing on current group
and individual behavior rather than on past
personality diagnosis and interpretations of
behavior.

7. 3. Developmental
 It sees people as being able to move forward
in a life-long process of self-actualization or
fulfilment of potential in social functioning.
 The treatment orientation, the
developmental approach sees people as
people, all of whom face difficult
developmental stages, life situation,
challenges, stresses, and crises with which
they must cope.

8. Characteristic of Developmental
Approach
1. Specific kinds of group experiences- are
viewed as most effective in the attainment
of enhanced social functioning. The content
of group experience, Called Program which
emanates from the group’s function which
Troop calls the functional modes, in group
practice are the following:
a. Counseling- group to discuss common life
situations or common concern

9. b. Activity group- to pursue a common
interest
c. Action group- to effect some improvement
in its social environment.
2. Common goal groups-viewed as the kinds of
experiences that are most productive of
enhanced social functioning. Goal is used in
this theory not in the sense of ends that are
expected to be achieved upon the
termination of the helping relationship, but
as a specific task agreed upon for a specific
group session or series of session (short term
goal).

10. 3. The common goal- a may take the form of
common concern or common interest or
common life situation, each of which results
in a peer relationship among members.
Except for the family group in which the
members do not have this distinctive peer
quality because of its hierarchical structure,
the approach may be applied to all other
groups which has this characteristic and
meets other membership criteria the worker
deems necessary.

11. 4. The effectiveness of the group goal-achieving
process is the primary target for both the
members and the worker. The events and process
occurring in the group as it pursues its common
goal should be given careful attention since on
this will depend the achievement of the members
individually needed gains.
• The worker’s skillful guidance of the group
towards the desirable structure and processes
relating to its goal is considered crucial.
5. The group members achieve different individual
gains in social growth within the context of the
group goal-achieving process.

12. Troop describes as the 4 basic purposive processes
a. Release of feeling-anger, fear, guilt and
affection-that tend to block effective social task
performance if not unberdened , preferably in
the presence of others who are in comparable
situation.
b. Support-which means a receiving of acceptance
and affection through belonging a group
recognition of self-expression that is translated
into achievement, which encourages the tapping
of further strengths, with a resultant gain in self-
esteem

13. c. Reality orientation wherein through seeing others
in similar situations, seeing how others see
oneself, each member can gain a clearer
orientation to his own behavior among peers
d. Self-appraisal which involves attaining from all
the foregoing a clearer perspective of one’s self
and others, new option for handling situations,
increased ability to make judgements, and a more
responsible taking hold of one’s own life in
relation to the reasons for being in the group.

14. 6. The group becomes the medium for the member’s
actions, for the perception of each other’s action, an
for the worker’s perception of both. Troop points out
the importance of the worker’s and members
relating only to commonly-perceived behavior, that
is, any one person’s (including the worker’s) reading
of a message may be inaccurate unless it is
confirmed by at least a segment of the group
7. The group goal-achieving process is carried out on
the basis of open agreements, openly arrived at and
openly pursued, resulting in a mutuality of
understanding and effort between member and
worker.

15. 8. The group is essentially self-directing, within varying
limits, and each member is self-directing in relation
to what he wants to give and to get from the group;
there is no intention to change anyone for it is seen
as each member’s right to decide how to lead his life
and to then benefit or suffer from the consequences.
THE HELPING PROCESS IN THE DEVELOPMENTAL
APPROACH
- Tropp describes events and worker activities during
the work with developmental groups which evidence
group development and the basic social work helping
process.

16. Tropp present the three types of stages in the
Developmental Approach.
1. Beginning Stage
2. Middle Stage
3. Ending Stage
1. Beginning Stage
Members
a. Become oriented to the new situation
b. Understand reason(s) for group
membership and the work to be done.
c. Experience some doubts or enthusiasm
about membership.

17. Worker
1. Clarifies purpose and structure of the group
2. Establishes a contract with the group
3. Facilitates/supports task-selection
4. Supports initial efforts of the group
5. Facilitates climate conducive to unity/cooperation.
2. Middle Stage
Members:
a. More open expression by members
b. Increasing understanding and acceptance of
values of group experience by member

18. c. Roles and statuses evolve
d. Group demonstrates greater ability to plan and
function
e. Group shows greater stability and cohesiveness
f. Group is working towards goal achievement
Workers:
1. Guides group toward its defined goals
2. Clarifies tasks completed and tasks still to be done
3. Provides continuing support to enable group to be
self-directing
4. Helps group to work within time frame
5. Assesses gains in relation to goal achievement

19. 3. Ending Stage
Members:
a. Show varying degrees of task accomplishment
b. Inventory gains from group experience
c. Show varying levels of satisfaction from
accomplishment
d. Show some concern/anxiety about ending
group membership and being separated from
members, worker and agency
e. Accept the reality of ending group experience

20. Workers:
1. Helps the group with task accomplishment
2. Evaluates gains made from group experience
3. Makes objective appraisal of any goals/tasks
not accomplished
4. Helps effect smooth ending of group
membership
5. Helps the group with post-termination plans as
a self-help or mutual aid group.

21. TROPP-

22. Thank you and Good
Morning......