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Friendship Builders is a group focused on building friendships one lesson at a time. Friendship Builders is a small group comprised of 8-9 year old students in 3rd and 4th grade who are identified as at-risk due to their challenges with peer social interactions. The Friendship Builders group focus is to develop the student's social skills through targeted and engaging lessons that address making friends, and to provide a safe and supportive environment for students to acquire needed social skills.

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Teachers will receive an email to 3rd and 4th grade teachers with a flyer attached that discusses the group. It will include a nomination form to nominate 3rd or 4th grade students that would benefit from the group. The parents of the teacher nominated third and fourth grade students will receive a letter explaining the small group.

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The counselor will meet individually with the nominated students to explain the Friendship Builders group, discuss the expectation and the rules, give the why behind the group, and determine if the students are interested in participating.

The students will be asked what they expect to gain from the group and why being a part of the group is important to them.

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In alignment with the Pasadena ISD's student handbook, a consent form will be sent home to parents or guardians along with a welcome letter explaining the purpose of the group and how the group will benefit their student.

The students will receive a separate consent form that details the reason for the group, group expectations, and an explanation of confidentiality and when disclosure is warranted. This students will sign the agreement during the first session.

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It is important to establish group rules during the first session. The following form will be used to create additional ground rules; however, the top 3 rules will be discussed and the students will work together to create additional rules:

1. Confidentiality is key. The importance of confidentiality will be discussed and what happens if there is a breach.

2. Active listening without interruptions. The importance of providing your undivided attention will be discussed.

3. Respect the speaker. Respect each other's opinions or contribution to the group.

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Stage 1: Breaking the ice. I will start with an icebreaker to allow students to talk about their hobbies are interest. I will also share information about myself to show cohesiveness and vulnerability.

We will go into the ground rules and discuss the norms and discuss confidentiality. The students will add any ground rules they agree to, and they will sign a document that outlines the rules and norms to symbolize their agreement to abide by the rules.

The group will also discuss how I will have to disclose information if their is allegations of harm to themselves or others, even if the harm happened several months or years ago. I will explain students are expected to keep information disclosed in the group confidential.

Stage 2: This is the performing stage of the group (Missouri, 2015). I will provide frequent check-ins with the group members and help ensure the group is being productive and working towards their common goal of communicating with peers. The check-in will be done during the opening of the meeting to inquire about any challenges they may have experienced the prior week. The students will also be asked to participate and support each other by actively listening.

Stage 3: During this mourning stage, the group will be coming to a close and discuss what they learned from the meetings (Missouri, 2015). They will discuss one key takeaway that they can implement going forward to help build confidence in their ability to interact with their peers.

Confidentiality will be discussed, so the students are aware of the importance of safeguarding the information even when the group ends. If a student breaches confidentiality, a discussion will be held with the group about the importance of confidentiality. I will also have a private discussion with the student to determine if there is an underlining issue with the group that caused the student to disclose group information.

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I will use a democratic leadership style; more specifically, a facilitative leadership style. Everyone in the group will work collaboratively to reach a common goal (Missouri, 2015). I feel this leadership style will help bring the group closer and the students can work through any thing that would hinder their progress together.

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Group members will display factors such as instillation of hope and universality. Universality is a factor because the students may feel a sense of belonging after learning they are not the only students struggling with making friends (Missouri, 2015). The students may feel hopeful that they can apply newly learned social skills, which is the Instillation of Hope factor.

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According to the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) B.1.H, Inform parents/guardians of the confidential nature of the school counseling relationship between the school counselor and student, while recognizing parents/guardians have inherent legal rights to student information (2022).

This helps the student to feel safe to know that when they share openly in a group, that information is protected. It provides a supportive and trusting relationship with the parent.

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The students will master the following skills upon completion of the group (ASCA, 2014):

Mindset: M 4. Self-confidence in ability to succeed

Behavior: B-SS 1. Effective oral and written communication skills and listening skills

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According to the American School Counselor Association (ASCA), A.2.B Students should be informed of the purposes, goals, techniques, rules and procedures for receiving counseling. This includes informed consent and the limitations of confidentiality (2019).

This helps the student to feel safe to know that when they share openly in a group, that information is protected.

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American School Counselor Association. (2022). ASCA ethical standards for school counselors. https://www.schoolcounselor.org/About-School-Counseling/Ethical-Responsibilities/ASCA-Ethical-Standards-for-School-Counselors-(1)

American School Counselor Association. (2019). ASCA school counselor professional standards and competencies. https://www.schoolcounselor.org/getmedia/a8d59c2c-51de-4ec3-a565-a3235f3b93c3/SC-Competencies.pdf

American School Counselor Association. (2014). ASCA mindsets & behaviors for student success: K-12 college- and career-readiness standards for every student. https://www.schoolcounselor.org/getmedia/7428a787-a452-4abb-afec-d78ec77870cd/Mindsets-Behaviors.pdf

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.

https://www.schoolcounselor.org/getmedia/7428a787-a452-4abb-afec-d78ec77870cd/Mindsets-Behaviors.pdf