Family group conferencing (FGC) is considered to be a promising method for empowerment and community building of people in need of care and their families. However, empirical studies on the effects of FGC show mixed results, and often fail to explain these. In this article, we critically reflect under which conditions FGCs may or may not become successful, on the basis of a small-scale longitudinal research of four cases in which FGC was used, supplemented by analysis of research on FGC, interviews with social workers and observations of trainings of social workers who intend to apply FGC. Our data point to four conditions for successful application of FGC, concerning (i) the presence of a (positive) network, (ii) the need for formal care in addition to informal care by way of the FGC, (iii) active protection against paternalism and humiliation and (iv) taking seriously client’s reluctance to ask social network members for help. The possible risks and conditions, we formulate, hopefully help social workers to decide case by case whether the use of FGC indeed promises to be helpful or, conversely, it may be harmful.

中文翻译：

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了解家庭小组会议的成败：深入的多案例研究

家庭小组会议（FGC）被认为是增强有需要的人及其家人的能力和社区建设的有前途的方法。但是，关于FGC影响的实证研究显示出好坏参半，并且常常无法解释这些结果。在本文中，我们基于对使用FGC的四个案例的小规模纵向研究，并辅以对FGC的研究分析，与社会工作者的访谈以及对FGC的访谈，来批判性地反映FGC在何种条件下可能成功或不成功。对打算申请FGC的社会工作者进行培训的观察结果。我们的数据指出了成功应用FGC的四个条件，涉及（i）存在（阳性）网络，（ii）除了通过FGC进行非正式护理外，还需要正规护理，（iii）积极防御家长主义和屈辱，（iv）认真对待客户不愿向社交网络成员寻求帮助的情况。我们制定了可能的风险和条件，希望能帮助社会工作者逐案确定FGC的使用是否确实有帮助或相反地有害。