Focusing on how groupwork can be learnt and taught, the authors of this accessible and lively book consider what is essential in effective work with groups. They develop a practice model which is applicable to a wide range of approaches and actively promotes anti-oppressive groupwork. It has been extensively trialled and refined in a mainstream social services agency. Using `activities' to promote the reader's understanding and involvement, The Essential Groupworker describes how to plan, set up and maintain a working group. The authors look at the ways in which power and power relations, and individual and group identities influence the success or failure of a group. They show how to evaluate outcomes and apply knowledge gained through experience, and consider ways of approaching group endings. Written for students, practitioners and educators, The Essential Groupworker will stimulate effective and creative groupwork practice in a wide variety of settings.