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1: Mindful Mustangs Group Action Plan PDF

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1: Mindful Mustangs Group Action Plan PDF

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M 1: Belief in development of whole self, including a healthy balance of mental, social/emotional, and physical well-being
M 3: Positive attitude toward work and learning
M 4: Self-confidence in ability to succeed

B-SMS 1: Responsibility for self and actions
B-SMS 2: Self-discipline and self-control
B-SMS 7: Effective coping skills
B-SS 9: Social maturity and behaviors appropriate to the situation and environment

(American School Counseling Association, 2021)

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This initial group was created in response to a specific grade level’s needs from a needs assessment. Potential group participants were already identified by the teachers, and publicity isn’t needed because the group size is full. For future groups using the same topics and goals, parents and teachers will receive an electronic flyer via email and ClassTag briefly describing group purpose, topics, the outcomes of the initial group, and contact information for referring a student. These will be sent monthly with the monthly newsletter. Teachers will be regularly contacted about needs for support. Teachers will be reminded at the monthly staff meeting about the availability of support and that they can refer by sending an email to the counselor.

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Five students were referred for the small group by the second grade teachers. After getting parental consent (discussed in slide five), students will be pulled individually during Mustang Time to discuss the group.

The counselor will bring up student difficulties that the student knows the counselor is aware of, such as speaking negatively about self, past expressions of grief regarding family, and incidents that have impacted the student’s conduct grade negatively. The counselor will empathize with the difficulties these factors are causing for the student, let the student know he isn’t alone in these struggles, and provide the hope of solutions and change.

The group components will be described: number of weeks, day and time, number of participants, and specific goals of the group. Counselor will fully explain confidentiality, the exceptions, and the expectations regarding that. Counselor will fully explain expectations for participation, including taking turns speaking, listening, staying on topic, being respectful of differences, and contributing to the group goals. The counselor will ask the student to explain the rules, confidentiality, and the goals back to her and will re-discuss as needed.

The counselor will ask if the student would like to be in the group. The counselor will remind the student that change is the ultimate goal of the group and that the student is in charge of making his own change. Counselor will ask student about openness to learning new methods and creating his own positive change.

(Missouri Professional School Counselors and Counselor Educators, 2015)

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It is not explicitly stated in the district policies whether permission slips are needed for either individual or small group counseling, but it is the expectation from the district counseling leaders that permission slips are done for small groups (FFEA — Counseling and Mental Health: Counseling, 2020). A sample Victoria ISD small group permission form is attached.

To gain consent, each referred student’s guardian is called, and the group purpose is explained. The guardian will either give or deny verbal consent. If the guardian verbally consents, a written consent form is sent home.

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A PDF of group rules is attached. There are two main rules that were combined and adapted from page 26 of the Professional School Counselor Small Group Counseling Guide (Missouri Professional School Counselors and Counselor Educators, 2015). Both are detailed and will be detailed with the students. Those rules were predetermined by me, but the boys are welcome to add elaborations for each. The quick phrases will allow for quick redirection if needed. The students may come up with a way to designate whose turn it is to speak if they would like.

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Stage 1:
This stage will need the most work because these students all have behavior difficulties. They are not aggressive or harmful, which would not make them a good fit for the group (Missouri Professional School Counselors and Counselor Educators, 2015), but they could easily keep the group off track. That difficulty should be acknowledged and discussed. Students can be reminded of their individual chats and how each agreed they wanted change and would put the work in.

The group will decide what system they’d like for taking turns to speak. The leader will have two options available (raising hand or having a speaking object) for the group to choose from rather than letting the group brainstorm and potentially be silly or get off track.

Students will be reminded of their commitment to confidentiality but will also be advised to not share anything they wouldn’t want heard on the playground. The initial activities listed in the group plan will hopefully give a sense of universality and bonding.

Stage 2:
Having detailed lesson plans will be beneficial to keeping this group on track. The activities are psycho-education and discussion-based, but there can not be much freedom to sidetrack with a group of students who are skilled at that. These students will benefit from structure and routine. When students are retrieved from class, the leader can remind them of basic behavior expectations before bringing the group to meet. Checking in on student success with behavior is built into each week in the plan. The leader will also visit with the teachers for further feedback. A big emphasis will be put on successes of any size. The successes will be celebrated as a group in a method of the group's choice (applause or snaps). Students need to believe the group is successful to be invested in it (Missouri Professional School Counselors and Counselor Educators, 2015).

Stage 3:

Each week will begin with a statement such as “We’re on week three of six. How many more meetings do we have?” to add predictability. Review of material previously learned and regular check-ins on progress are built into each week’s plan. As part of closure, the “How I’ve Grown” activity allows for reiteration of the growth made. The group will conclude right before the semester ends, but members will be followed up with individually in the spring semester.

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For this group, I would use authentic leadership because the key factor in authentic leadership is building relationships (WGU Texas, 2020). This group of boys frequently experiences negative feedback from adults at school, and each has also expressed difficulty, instability, or absence in relationships with the adults at home. I believe this group in particular would benefit from the positive, authentic relationship because I believe it would boost each student’s sense that he is indeed likeable and can receive positive and safe adult attention. Authentic leaders are also, as the name states, authentic. They are aware of their strengths and weaknesses and are okay with showing their authentic selves with imperfections. I think that would be useful to this group because part of this group’s struggle is unrealistic expectations regarding perfection in schoolwork. They could benefit from seeing an adult with imperfections.

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From Yalom’s Curative Factors of Group Treatment (1995), the hope is that this group would instill universality and include development of socializing techniques. These students have expressed believing they are the only ones struggling with getting wrong answers, and universality would aid that. Gaining better social skills to improve classroom behavior is the ultimate purpose of this group.

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10: ASCA School Counselor Professional Standards and Competencies 

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10: ASCA School Counselor Professional Standards and Competencies 

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B-SS 1 - Design and implement instruction aligned to ASCA Student Standards: Mindsets & Behaviors for Student Success in large-group, classroom, small-group and individual setting

B-PA 2 Identify gaps in achievement, attendance, discipline, opportunity and resources

(American School Counselor Association, 2019)

These standards will help justify spending time on a needed group. It is explicitly stated that small groups are part of the counselor’s duties and that these particular topics and skills are appropriate. As noted in a previous slide, the group includes working on ASCA Student Mindsets and Behaviors.

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American Counseling Association Ethics Code B.5.b describes informing parents about confidentiality and making sure consent is gotten from the parent legally allowed to make medical decisions (American Counseling Association, 2014). It describes making sure parents know their child’s information will be kept confidential except under certain circumstances. This factor is important to help prevent potential disagreements with parents requesting more information about what their children are discussing.

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American Counseling Association. (2014). 2014 ACA code of ethics. https://www.counseling.org/docs/default-source/default-document-library/2014-code-of-ethics-finaladdress.pdf

American School Counselor Association. (2019) ASCA school counselor professional standards and competencies. Alexandria, VA: Author.

American School Counselor Association. (2021). ASCA student standards: Mindsets and behaviors for student success. Alexandria, VA: Author.

Garcia, G. (2016). Listening to my body. Skinned Knee Publishing.

John, J. & Oswald, P. (2020). The good egg. Scholastic.

Missouri Professional School Counselors and Counselor Educators. (2015). Professional school counselor small group counseling guide: A professional school counselor’s guide to planning, implementing, and evaluating school-based counseling groups. Missouri Comprehensive Guidance and Counseling Program.

Victoria ISD. FFEA — Counseling and mental health: Counseling (2020). https://pol.tasb.org/PolicyOnline/PolicyDetails?key=1191&code=FFEA

WGU Texas. (2020, April 23). What is authentic leadership? WGU Blog https://www.wgu.edu/blog/what-is-authentic-leadership2004.html#close

Yalom ID. (1995). The theory and practice of group psychotherapy (4th ed.). Basic Books.