Crossing Boundaries: Group Work with Persons with AIDS in Early Recovery from Substance Abuse

Complex problems often require complex solutions. Social work group workers have long recognized that the whole is more than the sum of its parts and that a unique synergy takes place when more than one person is involved in the helping process. This chapter provides an example that illustrates the crossing of a number of boundaries. Group composition differences created boundaries as well. Differences also existed in relation to their struggle with the “virus,” as they referred to AIDS. Organizations that have labored long and hard to fill the treatment gap in the substance abuse field have been the self-help groups, such as Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, and a number of groups focusing on family members and friends of addicted persons, such as Al-Anon. The chapter highlights the impact of boundary crossing for both the coleaders and the members associated with each excerpt.