Virtual Group Work Guide Book

Year Submitted: 2025
Published Date: 05 December 2025

Tags: Technology, Information ＆ Communication Technology, Zoom/Team, Organisational Leadership, Knowledge Management, Knowledge Platform / System / Software, Knowledge Sharing, Community Of Practice, CoP Framework, Knowledge Governance, Digitalisation, Digital Twins

About this Content

Aims

This project hopes to align with the movement to leverage on technology for existing interventions. The hope is to synergize the power of group work and the benefits of technology to create better experiences, outcomes and accessibility for group work participants.

This project aims to provide a guiding framework for practitioners conducting virtual group work practices with the aid of a Virtual Group Work Guide Book. The Virtual Group Work Guide Book covers:
1. Basics of virtual group work practices
2. Assessment and considerations to determine applicability and suitability to start virtual group work
3. Principles of engagement via virtual platforms
4. Guide on appropriate tools, manpower and set up required to implement virtual group work sessions
5. Ethical considerations
6. Risk management and safety on a virtual platform
7. Future plans ahead for technology and group work interventions

Background

The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically changed the landscape in which social workers have had to practice. Policies and safe management practices such as social distancing and closures or shortening operating hours of social service centres limited the provision of physical and face-to-face services. Social workers were challenged to learn to see and seize opportunities to practice in new ways by deviating from traditional face-to-face interventions and to creatively redeploy resources towards embracing technology as necessary means to continue providing essential psychosocial services.

One particular area that needed such creativity and re-imagination is the way social workers provided therapeutic group work services. Groups are the basic expressions of human relationships. In group work practice, clients come together to problem-solve and provide mutual aid support. Group work relies on the use of group dynamics and mutual influence for maximum effectiveness. However, with COVID-19 restrictions, it was no longer possible for groups to meet physically. In order to evolve with the current landscape and ensure that clients can continue receiving the necessary support, social workers need to tap on endless possibilities offered by technology to transition physical group work onto an online platform. This allows social workers to bring psychosocial support into the home of every client.

Methods

To have a general overview of the current landscape, extensive literature review was conducted to better understand the relationship between technology-based interventions in social work practices and readiness of the profession to move towards technology in social work practice. For the purpose of the project, a more specific research was dedicated towards finding existing resources that highlights the needs and experiences of virtual group work for social work practitioners.

Qualitative data was obtained through consultations with subject matter experts and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs). The FGDs recruited a total of 20 participants from four social service sectors, namely Healthcare, Eldercare, Rehabilitation and Community. The FGDs attempted to 1) glean insights on current best practices of virtual group work from practitioners with virtual group work experience, 2) understand current challenges and reported benefits and 3) identify concerns regarding use of virtual group work as an intervention modality. The data gathered and feedback obtained have informed the contents in the guide book.

The guide book went through 2 major revisions before publication. The revisions were guided by feedback from FGD participants and subject matter experts.

Results

The team developed a 50-page Virtual Group Work Guide Book which also comprises of easy to read info-graphics, 2 instructional video guides (created and filmed in-house) and a downloadable resource sheet.

Conclusion

The project challenged the team to explore possibilities offered by technology to revolutionise social work practice. The Virtual Group Work Guide Book is a step towards promoting and supporting the integration of technology in one aspect of social work interventions - group work sessions.

Lessons Learnt

Drawing from our team members experience in conducting virtual group work over the past two years, it is evident that considerations for conducting physical group work can be different from virtual group work. A consideration that kept coming up during the FGDs is the need to consider the target population for the guide book, along with the suitability of client profile for physical group work, as compared to virtual group work. While people may think of limitations brought about by conducting group work on a virtual setting, such as the perspective of having to be tech-savvy, these are possible issues that can be mitigated through teaching and guidance. What the project hoped to highlight was then how the virtual platform has its own merits, and that it is able to draw out its unique strengths, such as ease of convenience for participants, while also complementing the traditional face-to-face group work sessions.

For the team, it was also an ongoing learning experience to navigate through the constantly changing work and social environments due to the pandemic, which influenced the way the project was ultimately conducted. It was also a skill to strike an equilibrium in taking the feedback from participants into consideration, while ensuring that the team does not lose sight of the intent of developing this virtual guide book.

Additional Information

This project is funded by the Centre for Allied Health & Pharmacy Excellence (CAPE).

Keywords

Therapeutic Group Work, Virtual Group Work, Psychosocial Support

Innovators' Details

Connect with this contributor!

CAPE: Center for Allied Health & Pharmacy Excellence - cape@nhghealth.com.sg

Project Attachment

937_TTSH_CAPE FY20_Virtual Group Work Guide Book.pdf