Introduction

This essay is about interpersonal group work question. I would provide a critique of an aspect of group work theory using my personal group work experiences to support my findings as a leader of the interpersonal group work on NHS Youth Persons Advisory Service and Training of teachers to deliver high quality Sex and Relationships Education Programmes.

To be able to perform or carry out my duties as a leader of the NHS Youth Persons Advisory Service and Training of teachers to deliver high quality Sex and Relationships Education Programmes, hence, there was a need for me to know the aims and objectives of the interpersonal group work, my roles and responsibilities as a group leader. According to Yukl [2002.7] defines 'leadership as the process of influencing others to understand with concepts and agree about what needs to be done and how it can be done effectively, and the process of facilitating individual and collective efforts to accomplish the shared objectives'.

As a leader, therefore It was my duties to fully informed all the members of the interpersonal group, the aims and objectives of the interpersonal group work on NHS Youth Persons Service and Training of teachers to deliver high quality Sex and Relationships Education Programmes, their roles and responsibilities. Therefore, I had to set up all the necessary management procedures by which problems can be defined and ways in which the interpersonal group work members can convey their problems and prevent any power of superiority i.e. social, culturally, economically acceptable definitions of the problems.

And also since the involvement of all the members of the NHS Youth Persons Advisory Service and Training of teachers to deliver high quality Sex and Relationships Education Programmes was very important, as a leader, it was my responsibilities to make sure all the necessary steps were taking in lines with the aims and objectives of the project, as a result, I had to stimulates the members interests, say and do things to build their confidence and their ability to successfully perform the work and maxima participation [Evans, 2001].

As a leader of an interpersonal group work members, it was also important to point out that interpersonal group work has its own pitfalls, which does not occur in isolation but closely related to other variables such as social, cultural, academic background and gender. With refers to our interpersonal group work on NHS Youth Persons Advisory Service and Training of teachers to deliver high quality Sex and Relationships Education Programmes. I made some suggestions for the way forward i.e. access to information or resources for the project, but allowed every members of the interpersonal group to have a say and these was done, because to make sure all members were given equal opportunities and if not it would affect the performances of the interpersonal group work [Douglas, 2000].

The strategy for development in any interpersonal group work or organization would not differ in principle from our interpersonal group work on NHS Youth Persons Advisory Service and Training of teachers to deliver high quality Sex and Relationships Education Programmes. However, the prerequisites for the development of each members need to be taken into account, in particular as they affect the choice of methods, setting and targets (Tuckman, 1996). It was also important to point out that when developing any action plan or strategy, the notion of having 'correct' methods is not sufficient [Evan, 2001].

However, developing any method of intervention strategy for groups would require acting collectively, getting people together to think about common problems may have positive spin-offs in terms of encouraging social support networks [Brammer, 1979]. Gitterman et al (2004) stated that when people worked together, they develop new skills and confidence, share their experience, recognize common problems and devise creative solutions, and these would influence the social, cultural, and political contexts, which may be damaging to self drive and well being in general.

Fook ( 2002 ) noted that interpersonal group work tend to increase individuals ability to choose and influence, somehow as a leader, my participation in the interpersonal group work has enhanced my abilities to communicate effectively, confidence, problem solving and empowered [Brown, 1992]. It was however important to note that dilemma could arise in relation to who gets to participate, Norman [1997] argue that groups do not necessarily speak with one voice and some interest groups can be dominant and serve to exclude others. Douglas (1995) argue that if the rhetoric of participation is in place then the non-participation of certain group give fuel to the view that their difficulties are to do with their own inadequacies. Douglas [1995] maintains that it is essential to discriminate positively so that some people do not feel neglected and it is equally important that participation is well put in place and avoids the criticisms that it is a little more than a widow dressing activity, which gives the impression of open and democratic, decision making.

Leading an interpersonal group work such as NHS Youth Persons Advisory Service and Training of teachers to deliver high quality Sex and Relationships Education Programmes was not an easy one, all was due to the different factors such as background, working with diverse and more numerous numbers of colleagues, as Axelrod [2003] stated that communication would need to be very clear. This would call upon an individual's level of self-and-other awareness and active listening skills prove successful, along with the awareness of the need to adapt to the new work groups. This in itself could cause challenges to understanding effective leadership process, due to the diversified interpersonal work group [Bender, 2001].

The major problem faced by the members of the NHS Youth Persons Advisory Service and Training of teachers to deliver high quality Sex and Relationships Education Programmes was issue of power, as a leader, I had several meetings with interpersonal group members both individual and collectively, and these act as reinforcement and assurance to the members of the interpersonal group work, in every meetings with the group, the aims and objectives of the project were made more clearly to them, how to achieve it with each members co-operation and also allowed them to aired their concerns, and just as Pearse et al [1992] noted that for people to be free and they need to acquire a critical awareness of the world in which they live.

According to Fook [2002] who noted that it would be necessary to create structures to motivate people who feel powerless so that they can leap into joining up with others and recognize they needs and are motivated to act to change things. As a result, these would make the interpersonal group members felt valued since their ideas were heard, looked into, whether accepted or not [Alter et al, 1993] . However, this issue of power did not stopped there, because there was some minority who still felt they were not heard, as Croft and Beresford [1992] argue that participation of the group members can be mere tokenism, which perpetuates the unrepresentativeness of the group. There are several practical and philosophical reasons why it is important to participate apart from the expressed desire of the people involved as Croft and Beresford [1992, p36] stated it makes more efficient and cost effective services, ensures accountability, encourages people's independence and self-determination, is consistent with people's human and civic rights.

A group or groups of like minded people among the people with different academic background, social and cultural who recognize themselves as having common experiences about group dynamic process or group work would come together to discuss and review their concerns and as Heginbothan [1991, p176] 'group work' is refer to as 'take stock of their situations, identify mutual problems and share in the process of clarifying options'. 

Conclusion:-

This essay began with interpersonal group work question. And also provide a critique of an aspect of group work theory using my personal group work experiences to support my findings as a leader of the group work on NHS Youth Persons Advisory Service and Training of teachers to deliver high quality Sex and Relationships Education Programmes.

I would say at this point that some of the problems the interpersonal group work encounter were evidenced by different scholars mentioned in this essay. In this respect, the 'how' of the interpersonal group work would only be understood in the light of Pettigrew et al's [1990] argument from an analysis of 'process'. The interpersonal group process would be referring to the actions, reactions and interactions of various interested parties as they negotiate around the proposals for change. However, understanding the strategic for change process requires an understanding of the contexts in which they occur- history, locality, patterns of intra and inter- organisational relations, as well as broader cultural social , academic background and experiences in which the 'organisation' is embedded.

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