A Practitioners' Mutual Aid Group: Connection and Leadership During the Pandemic

Mary Frances H Beno; Willa J Casstevens; Será Godfrey-Kaplan; Moe Karroumi; Joan Letendre; Lynn Meir; Kelsey Tevik; Deirdre Weliky

doi:10.1921/gpwk20242219

Authors

Mary Frances H Beno Independent Researcher https://orcid.org/0009-0000-1698-521X
Willa J Casstevens Buena Vista University https://orcid.org/0009-0007-2436-2953
Será Godfrey-Kaplan Hope Avenue Therapy https://orcid.org/0009-0007-0675-3889
Moe Karroumi McLean Hospital https://orcid.org/0009-0008-6081-6200
Joan Letendre University of Connecticut
Lynn Meir Commonpoint Queens
Kelsey Tevik Lutheran Social Services of Illinois https://orcid.org/0009-0007-1751-5544
Deirdre Weliky Private Practice https://orcid.org/0009-0009-0661-0583

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1921/gpwk20242219

Keywords:

groupwork, leadership, mutual aid, crisis, pandemic

Abstract

This article focuses on group leadership during times of crisis, using an example of a social work practitioners’ mutual aid group formed during the second year of the Covid-19 pandemic in the United States. As the group learned, external crises change over time and this can impact group formation and the development of mutual aid, as well as leadership. We observed that group leadership supported group participants to and through Bolsinger’s (2020) adaptive phase of development during the pandemic and its associated personal stressors. This occurred during the storming – and into the norming – stages of the group (Tuckman, 1965; Bonebright, 2010). Ongoing participant reflection and group meta-reflection yielded broader understanding of interactions between stages of group development, and phases of crisis. In addition, it highlighted an associated need for flexible leadership that is sensitive to the changing external stressors during times of social or environmental crisis. Such leadership can also undergird the development of mutual aid among group participants, an important consideration at any time.

Author Biographies

Mary Frances H Beno, Independent Researcher

Mary Frances H Beno, PhD, MSW, LCSW, is an Independent Researcher in Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA.

Willa J Casstevens, Buena Vista University

Willa Casstevens, PhD, MSW, LCSW, LISW, is a WScholar in Residence at Buena Vista University, Storm Lake, Iowa, USA.

Será Godfrey-Kaplan, Hope Avenue Therapy

Hope Avenue Therapy, LLC, Waltham, Massachusetts, USA

MSW, LICSW

Moe Karroumi, McLean Hospital

Salem State University, McLean Hospital, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

MBA, MTSW Certificate in Social Work

Joan Letendre, University of Connecticut

Joan Letendre, PhD, MSW, LCSW, is a Retired Associate Professor from the University of Connecticut, USA.

Lynn Meir, Commonpoint Queens

Lynn Meir, MSW, LCSW, is a Clinical Social Worker at a Mental Health Clinic (Commonpoint Queens).

Kelsey Tevik, Lutheran Social Services of Illinois

Lutheran Social Services of Illinois, Chicago, Illinois, USA

MSW, LCSW

Deirdre Weliky, Private Practice

Private Practice, Bayside, New York, USA

PhD, MSW, LCSW

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