Autumn, 2002

Welcome NJCA and NJASGW members! This is our second newsletter, and once again, we would like to extend an invitation to our readers to submit ideas, articles and anecdotes on your group work experiences to this publication. Send your text to me at elaine_howe@yahoo.com. I look forward to hearing from you.

By Jesse DeEsch, PhD

On behalf of the NJASGW Leadership Committee, I invite you to our annual Fall workshop on group work. As in the past three years, we have another national group work leader coming to New Jersey on Saturday, November 16. Rider University is hosting the program for NJASGW, which will be held in the Fireside Lounge of the Student Center. Jim Trotzer, from New Hampshire, a leader in the ASGW will do the six hour program entitled Groups that work: Problem Solving Procedures in Group Work. Details on the presenter and the content of the workshop are included in this newsletter.

NJASGW is conducting this workshop at a minimal fee for our division members, NJCA members, and counselor education graduate students. For others who are not members of NJASGW, we invite you to become part of our group and join us on November 16. With the quality of the program and the minimal fee, it is important to register ahead of time as we are limiting the enrollment to 50. Our goal is to provide professional programs and support to enhance the knowledge of and use of group work for counselors and mental health professionals in all settings.

I want to acknowledge the commitment of the NJASGW Leadership Team in bringing programs such as this to the counseling professionals in New Jersey. It is my pleasure to work with Elaine Howe, George Lockwood, and Gerri Panzera over the last several years in the planning and organization of these workshops. I especially want to thank Elaine Howe for doing this newsletter, George Lockwood for handling all of the registration efforts, and Gerri Panzera for making the site arrangements and being my support here on the Rider Campus. The four of us, as a team, provide the leadership for the NJASGW, a true group effort.

We ask for your support in helping us to continue to bring programs, newsletters, and other professional types of activities to group workers in the state. We ask anyone who is willing to give some time and energy (a relatively minimal amount of time) to let us know of your interests.

We meet two or three times a year, do one or two newsletters, and have at least one professional program a year. With more members giving us time, we can easily increase our services. We would like to increase the number of newsletters, have a spring workshop, and possibly have a NJCA pre-conference workshop in addition to our annual fall workshop. Please contact me if you have any suggestions on how NJASGW can be of better professional service to you.

Contact Jesse DeEsch at deesch@rider.edu or call me at 609-895-5487. We look forward to hearing from you and seeing you on November 16.

By Elaine Howe, M.A., N.C.C.

Dr. Jim Trotzer, PhD is founder and consultant for ETC Professional Services in Hampton, NH, an organization that offers education, training and consultation to schools, organizations, businesses, groups, families, couples and individuals.

A group and systems specialist engaged in consulting, professional writing, clinical practice and training/education, he has over 30 years experience as an educator, clinician, supervisor and consultant. He has conducted more than 18,000 hours of group, individual, couple and family counseling and consultation sessions.

He is a nationally and internationally recognized trainer in group work, systems theory and problem solving treatment paradigms. Dr. Trotzer’s Problem-Solving Group Work model is recognized as timely, pragmatic and innovative and is featured in Raymond Corsini’s Handbook of Innovative Therapy (2^nd edition). He is a Fellow in the Association for Specialists in Group Work and has received ASGW’s pretigious President’s Award in 1989 and 2001 and the Professional Practice Award in 1996. His career has encompassed teaching in Higher Education as a Professor and adjunct professor, private practice as a licensed psychologist, marriage and family counselor and clinical supervisor and consulting.

He is currently teaching at the University of New Hampshire System College for Lifelong Learning. Dr. Trotzer’s workshops are noted for their practical relevance, humor, experiential involvement and professional merit.

By Elaine Howe, M.A., N.C.C.

Here is an overview of the workshop that Dr. Trotzer will present on November 16 at Rider University:

This experiential workshop will demonstrate problem-solving procedures that are applicable to different types of groups (counseling, therapy, psychoeducational and task) in diverse settings (schools, mental health settings, work environments) with varied populations.

Using the presenter’s Problem Solving Group Work Model, participants will address self-selected problems in micro-lab groups of 4-6 members. They will learn and experience techniques that reflect the dynamics of group process, the stages of group development, the problem solving process and the resources available in groups to solve problems. Adapting techniques to the settings and client populations being served by workshop participants will be emphasized. Please join us for this innovative workshop!