In Hong Kong, the knowledge of multiple family groups (MFGs) among social workers has been limited, in particular, in adapting MFG activities to a Chinese context. In this paper, we describe our experience of employing this group approach to assist Chinese parents who are taking care of children with special needs; state the challenges of implementing it and report the families' perception of helpful and unhelpful aspects of the MFG experience. In the perspective of the parents, two activities, namely preparing a joint meal and surrogate parenting have proven efficacious for parents to understand their child's strengths and explore alternate ways of parenting. [Copyright of Journal of Social Work Practice: psychotherapeutic approaches in health, welfare and the community is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02650533.2012.706217]
