Welcome to IASWG

The International Association for Social Work with Groups (IASWG), Inc. is the premier international association for social workers and allied helping professionals engaged in group work. The purpose of this non-profit, member-driven organization is to promote excellence in group work practice, education, field instruction, research and publication. The goals of this Association are realized through a program of action and advocacy at both the local and international levels. Members include group workers from Australia, Barbados, Belgium, Canada, China, Croatia, England, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Israel, Japan, Lithuania, Namibia, Netherlands, Scotland, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Trinidad-Tobago, and U.S. IASWG is proudly a global organization, and we are pleased to invite you to view our IASWG Standards of Group Work Practice in several languages: French, Spanish and English.

The Time for Group Work

The climate is changing. In many parts of the world, respect for people who are different from ourselves has diminished and communities feel fractured. Dialogue is too often replaced by bombings and vitriol; hate-filled populism blasts reasoned, respectful understanding.

It is not difficult to see why many people feel alienated; they themselves are disrespected and disempowered by increasing inequality, job insecurity and a sense that the important decisions are no longer within their influence.

We need to find ways to become inclusive, to celebrate our differences and to generate a powerful sense of togetherness. There has never been a more urgent time to bring communities together towards a mutual understanding and a respect, not just for humanity, but for the planet as a whole.

Social groupwork can create security where there is uncertainty, a feeling of belonging where there is alienation, and a vehicle for positive communal action where there is a sense of helplessness. It has been used to unite and give voice to people in the aftermath of conditions that seemed beyond repair. Through social groupwork, nations, communities and individuals can repair. This is the hopeful message that IASWG and its members offer to the world.

IASWG stands against oppression and disenfranchisement. As social groupworkers, we stand for and advocate for creating spaces for respectful dialogue to expand our worldviews and perspectives in community with each other.

Contact us. Let us know how you are using group work to repair the world. Ask us how we can help you in this process.

It’s time for group work.