Abstract
The word “prevention” is being attached to many programs in health, education, and psychology. Hospitals offer prevention groups for many health concerns such as suicide, obesity, and coronary prevention. Schools offer a wide range of prevention programs, too: groups to prevent bullying, alcohol and drug abuse, teen violence, and academic failure. Family and marriage counselors have also joined the surge in the use of prevention groups by offering domestic violence prevention, teen pregnancy prevention, and divorce prevention groups focusing on strengthening communication and problem-solving skills. The term “prevention” is being widely used partly because of accomplishments documented by research with prevention groups. We must be careful, though, and not assume that just because a group is labeled prevention, that it adheres to the principles of a prevention group or that it will be successful. We will outline and define the principles of a prevention group and list the advantages of using a group-centered prevention format.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
American Psychological Association. (2013). Report of Healthy Development Summit II: Changing frames and expanding partnerships to promote children’s mental health and social/emotional wellbeing. Washington, DC: Society for Child and Family Policy and Practice.
Clanton Harpine, E. (2013a). After-school prevention programs for at-risk students: Promoting engagement and academic success. New York: Springer.
Clanton Harpine, E. (2013b). Prevention groups. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.
Conyne, R. K., (2004). Prevention groups. In J. L. DeLucia-Waack, D. A. Gerrity, C. R. Kalodner, & M. T. Riva, (Eds.), Handbook of group counseling and psychotherapy (pp. 621–629). Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.
Conyne, R. K., & Clanton Harpine, E. (2010). Prevention groups: The shape of things to come. Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice, 14, 193–198. doi:10.1037/a0020446.
Conyne, R. K., Horne, A. M., & Raczynski, K. (2013). Prevention in psychology: An introduction to the prevention practice kit. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.
Corey, M. S., & Corey, G. (2006). Process and practice groups (7th ed.). Belmont: Thompson Brooks/Cole.
Gazda, G. M., Ginter, E. J., & Horne, A. M. (2001). Group counseling and group psychotherapy: Theory and application. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Greenberg, M., Weissberg, R. P., O'Brien, M. U., Zins, J. E., Fredricks, L., Resnick, H., & Elias, M. J. (2003). Enhancing school-based prevention and youth development through coordinated social, emotional, and academic learning. American Psychologist, 58, 466–474. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.58.6–7.466.
Holtz, R. (2004). Group cohesion, attitude projection, and opinion certainty: Beyond interaction. Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice, 8, 112–125.
Kulic, K. R., Horne, A. M., & Dagley, J. C. (2004). A comprehensive review of prevention groups for children and adolescents. Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice, 8, 139–151.
Kutash, K., Duchnowski, A. J., & Lynn, N. (2006). School-based mental health: An empirical guide for decision-makers. Tampa: University of South Florida, The Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute, Department of Child & Family Studies., Research and Training Center for Children’s Mental Health.
National Prevention Council. (2011). National prevention strategy. Washington, DC: U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Surgeon General.
Rotheram-Borus, M. J., Swendeman, D., & Chorpita, B. F. (2012). Disruptive innovations for designing and diffusing evidence-based interventions. American Psychologist, 67, 462–476. doi:10.1037/a0028180.
Tolan, P. H., & Dodge, K. A. (2005). Children’s mental health as a primary care and concern: A system for comprehensive support and service. American Psychologist, 60, 601–614. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.60.6.601.
Weisz, J. R., Sandler, I. N., Durlak, J. A., & Anton, B. S. (2005). Promoting and protecting youth mental health through evidence-based prevention and treatment. American Psychologist, 60, 628–648. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.60.6.628.
Yalom, I. D., & Leszcz, M. (2005). The theory and practice of group psychotherapy (5th ed.). New York: Basic Books.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2015 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Clanton Harpine, E. (2015). What Is Group-Centered Prevention?. In: Group-Centered Prevention in Mental Health. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-19102-7_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-19102-7_1
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-19101-0
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-19102-7
eBook Packages: Behavioral ScienceBehavioral Science and Psychology (R0)