The Office Group
| Published date | 01 September 1965 |
| Date | 01 September 1965 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/026455056501100307 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
107
now
been
running
for
a
long
time
the
members
are
reluctant
to
end
such
sessions
while
the
Probation
Order
continues
to
run.
One
order,
shorter
than
the
others,
because
there
were
fewer
offences
taken
into
consideration,
was
discharged
though
the
group
member
continued
to
attend.
Discharge
of
the
other
orders
on
the
grounds
of
&dquo;good
progress&dquo;
is
anticipated
shortly.
In
my
view
the
group
can
be
a
great
aid
in
assessing
the
likelihood,
or
not,
of
future
offences
and
phrases
like
&dquo;Cowboys
and
Indians&dquo;
which
relegate
the
offence
to
a
less
mature
stage
and
indicate
a
more
mature
level
of
thinking
should
be
carefully
noted.
The
general
practice
appears
to
be
that
a
certain
proportion
of
the
length
of
the
order
must
have
been
served
before
application
for
discharge
can
be
considered.
I
would
wonder
if
this
should
continue
to
be
so
for
it
is
of
importance
that
an
officer’s
time
be
used
to
the
best
advantage
and
if
further
offences
are
unlikely
then
earlier
discharge
should
be
considered
irrespective
of
the
period
served.
The
importance
of
time
in
a
group
setting
cannot
be
over
estimated.
In
my
view,
the
opening
stages
of
a
session
cannot
be
rushed.
One
must
await
the
right
moment,
and
the
right
comment,
and
be
ready
to
use
it
when
it
comes.
Similarly,
I
do
not
feel
able
to
accept
the
idea
of
a
group
operating
to
a
time
programme.
The
termination
of
a
group
session
must
be
the
result
of
a
decision
taken
care-
fully
in
the
light
of
what
is
happening
at
the
time.
To
some
degree,
this
is
self
regulated
by
the
group
who,
even
though
conversation
does
not
always
flag,
will
begin
to
show
signs
of
tiredness
after
usually
approximately
the
same
interval
of
time.
Though
I
then
intervened
to
&dquo;wind
up&dquo;
the
session
there
was
usually
a
short
period
when
they
just
sat
on,
a
little
reluctant
to
leave.
The
waiting
room
quartet
wait
no
longer.
They
generally
arrive
when
I
am
alone
in
the
building.
They
arrive
noisily
and
crowd
into
my
small
room.
There
is
an
easy
atmosphere
but
one
in
which
there
is
mutual
respect.
They
are
not,
and
never
have
been,
just
clients
or
cases.
They
are
people.
They
make
contact
with
the
world
usually
by
&dquo;small
talk&dquo;.
They
guard
their
individuality,
their
personal
thoughts,
feelings
and
fears.
They
want
to
be
adults
not
&dquo;kids&dquo;.
They
want
people
with
time
to
share
with
them
the
task
of
finding
themselves.
The
group
sessions
will
soon
end,
but
no
doubt
another
group
will
soon
begin.
You
see,
though
the
present
group
began
by
accident,
a
stranger
received
education
too.
THE
OFFICE GROUP
Miss
M.
K.
McCullough
I
HAVE
BEEN
in
a
great
many
casework
discussion
groups,
and
find
that
they
tend
to
develop
in
much
the
same
way.
This
is
particularly
true
of
the
&dquo;office
group&dquo;
-that
is
a
group
made
up
of
colleagues
who
work
together.
Since
this
is
a
widely
used
technique
both
in
pre-
and
in-service
training
I
felt
that
a
comment
might
be
of
interest
and
possibly
stimulate
other
people
to
examine,
and
comment
on,
their
experiences.
The
first
few
meetings
of
a
new
group
usually
go
smoothly
and
according
to
plan.
The
members
meet
with
the
senior
officer
as
group
leader
and
discuss
cases
presented
in
turn,
sometimes
varying
this
by
consideration
of
a
general
point
of
casework.
Interest
is
mainly
on
the
intellectual
examination
of the
prob-
lems
being
discussed
with
emphasis
on
case
histories
and
diagnosis.
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