THE REMEDIAL MODEL (Robert D.
Vinter)
-Tends to be clinically oriented.
- Uses groups for treatment or rehabilitation.
- Facilitates the interaction among members of the group to achieve change for the individual.
- The group support the member, encouraging new, more appropriate modes of functioning.
TARGET BENIFICIARIES
-out-of-school youth, street children, drug users, etc. who are headed toward deviant paths unless given
timely attention.
- clients in juvenile and adult correctional institutions, drug rehabilitation centers, mental hospitals and
other mental health facilities.
- need help in the acquisition of new knowledge and skills and the development of new values and
attitudes to replace their own which may be dysfunctional and thus have become the source of their
difficulties.
THE INTERACTIONAL VIEW OF DEVIANCE
-A view of deviance is a distinguishing characteristic of this model. Vinter contends that problematic
behavior is generated and maintained through interactions between the client and individuals and/or
situations.
• “all behavior amenable to change is regarded as socially induced, acquired through learning and
related processes, it is exhibited, evoked or constrained within the context of specific social situations”
Group is both a “means of treatment” and a “context for treatment”
The Treatment Group
-Social forces generated within small groups are used deliberately to pursue goals for client change. The
worker influences the group's composition, development, and processes.
The group is both "a means of treatment and a context for treatment. “As a means, it serves as a vehicle
through which peer interactions and influences are used to affect group members. As a context, it
provides opportunities for direct worker-client interactions which can contribute to change.
The Treatment Sequence
-The treatment sequence in this model involves the same basic steps described in the generic social
work helping process: Assessment (Study and Definition of the Problem), Planning, Implementation of
Plans, Evaluation, and Termination. However, because the helping process is used here in the context of
a formed group, this process has features that go beyond these generic steps.
1. Intake- This process involves the client's presentation of his need or problem to the worker, as he
sees it (most agency application forms refer to this as the "Presenting Problem"). The process enables
the worker to study the client and his situation in order to arrive at a preliminary definition of his
problem (which may differ from the presenting problem).
2. Diagnosis and Treatment Planning
- Once client status has been established, the worker will now have to undertake a more thorough
assessment of each client's problem(s), the client's capacity for help and change, and the various
resources that may be utilized for his/her welfare.
- A Diagnostic Statement is prepared for every group member (see Appendix C for a sample). Such a
record is essential for the following reasons: a) it provides the worker direction as far as a particular
group member is concerned; b) it will be the worker's basis for evaluating the effectiveness of her work
with the client; and c) her treatment goal(s) for each group member becomes the basis for determining
her treatment goals for the group.
3. Group Composition and Formation
-The worker has two major tasks during this stage: (a) the assignment of individual clients to groups
(refer to earlier discussion about criteria for group composition), and (b) formulating group treatment
goals and corresponding plans to achieve them, including group activities or program media.
4. Group development and treatment
-From the generalist practice terminology, this is the action/implementation stage. All the worker's plans
to achieve the goals for individual members are supposed to be implemented during this stage. In the
context of work with treatment groups, Vinter's "strategy of intervention" consisting of various "means
of influence" are applied at this time.
5. Evaluation and Termination
-The last stage of the treatment sequence involves a review of the progress that have been made by the
individual clients and a decision whether or not to continue individual client's membership or the group
as a whole. It is presumed that the worker has been doing periodic evaluations during the previous stage
and that she has modified her goals and action plans as she deemed appropriate. This stage will also
involve preparing the individual clients and/or the group for the impending separation once a decision
to terminate has been made.
STRATEGY OF INTERVENTION
-Vinter's strategy of intervention consists of modes of intervention or means of influence. This engages
the worker in a). actions that immediately treat the client, b) actions that set the conditions for
treatment via the group, or c) both.
DIRECT MEANS OF INFLUENCE:
1.WORKER AS CENTRAL PERSON- object of identification and drives.
2.WORKER AS SYMBOL AND SPOKESMAN- agent of legitimate norms and values.
3.WORKER AS MOTIVATOR AND STIMULATOR- definer of individual goals and tasks.
4.WORKER AS EXECUTIVE CONTROLLER OF MEMBERS ROLES- modifies client’s role and position within
group structure; assists a member who holds a particular position in the group’s structure to perform
more effectively in his position.
INDIRECT MEANS OF INFLUNCE
-These are interventions that modify group conditions affecting one or more group members, ie, they
are employed to influence the group
1. Group purposes - Workers purposes for a group are aims to achieve treatment goals set for
individual members. Group purposes are the composite of individual members' objectives, while
worker's purposes are the composite of individual treatment goals.
2. Selection of group members. The worker's purposes (or goals) for the group serve as her general
guide for its composition. She should ask the following questions: What is my agency's reason(s) for
going into this particular group program? What do we want to accomplish? Who should I put together in
the same group so that my treatment goals are more likely to be achieved? The selection of members is
an important responsibility and can have many consequences.
Among others, the following are affected:
a. Experiences of the members If the group members' experiences are positive and meet their
motives for joining, they are going to enjoy being in the group and will want to remain in the
group thereby making it possible for the worker to achieve his goals.
b. Interpersonal relation Group treatment must develop cohesiveness, solidarity, and mutuality.
Members should be selected based on similar interests, attraction, participation in planned activities,
and ability to form relationships. Effective treatment sequences are more likely if these conditions are
met. Incompatibilities in age, interest, problems, interaction style, and maturity level can hinder group
formation. Compatibility is more important than identical client traits.
3) Nature of group activities
The worker's group goals influence the choice of program media activities, which are crucial tools for
working with groups. It's essential to have knowledge of various activities and understand when to use
them. In selecting members, consider the group's activities and their ability to participate without
constraints. For instance, a shy or withdrawn individual may not benefit from therapy group activities
and may benefit from a one-to-one relationship with the social worker.
4.Size of Group. The size of the group affects members so that the worker has to decide what size will
be most advantageous, given his treatment goal.
5. Group operating and governing procedures.
Worker's may be permissive, allowing group members to decide procedures, leading to manipulation
for power or status. Others rigidly follow parliamentary procedures, creating a formal atmosphere.
Unfamiliar members may feel uncomfortable and silent during group sessions.
6) Group development. The worker's task here is to influence the course of the group's development so
that her goals for the clients are attained. She has to "act continuously to effect treatment at any given
moment and to facilitate the development of a cohesive and viable group
EXTRA GROUP MEANS OF INFLUENCE
-The worker has to deal with these, and use them to benefit clients. He calls this “extra group means of
influence” which include outside activities conducted on behalf of clients. It involves extra group
relations” which refer to the behavior or attitudes of persons in the client’s social environment or to
large social systems within which both clients and others occupy statuses.
FOUR MAJOR AREAS
1. Social roles and relations of client prior to client status- Client's needs or problems which led to
the provision of group service were being manifested in their social relations prior to their
becoming cli ents. These are called role-performance problems, which means that the
individuals failed or were un- able to meet the social expectations from the role or roles that
they perform.
2. 2. SIGNIFICANT OTHERS- This term refers to those per sons outside of the treatment group who
have crucial relations with clients, ie, persons whose influence is important to the client's
functioning those involved in the maintenance of deviant behavior (e.g., parents, siblings), and
those involved in coping with disapproved behavior (parents, teachers, house- parents,
employers). The two categories can involve the same persons, like parents.
3. 3. Social systems of which clients are members- Clients and the "significant others" we have
just de- scribed are members of social systems characterized by certain patterns and conditions
which can be either resources or barriers to the achievement of treatment goals. Examples of
these social sys- tems are schools, hospital wards, rehabilitation centers, factories, etc
4. 4. Social environment of the treatment group- The group's social environment "Includes the
objects, persons, and other units collectively encountered by the group as a social entity.
