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Improving safe, respectful and responsible behavior choices.

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Throughout and upon completion of this group, students will show mastery of the following Behavior Standards:
B-SMS 1. Demonstrate ability to assume responsibility
B-SMS 9. Demonstrate personal safety skills
B-SS 2. Create positive and supportive relationships with other students
B-SS 3. Create relationships with adults that support success

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Parents: Parents will be given an overview of the group plan in the form of a letter being sent home with all pertinent information, as well as an emailed copy of the same information. Information will include the group description, group meeting dates/times, and group lesson topics.
Students: Students will receive a monthly calendar with only their own specific group meetings listed.
Teachers: All teachers will be given a paper and digital copy of the monthly calendar overview with all groups scheduled by group name. Teacher will be emailed individual lists with the names of their specific student participants to maintain confidentiality.
Administrators: Administrators will receive a copy of the monthly calendar overview in both paper and digital form, as well as digital access to a comprehensive list of all specific student groups and lesson plans.

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Rosemarie Smead/s "TAP-in" process will be used for pre-group screening student interviews (Missouri Comprehensive Guidance & Counseling Programs, 2015, p. 22). Students will be interviewed one-on-one in order to build trust and allow for open conversation.

The counselor will-
Tell about the group:

share the group topic and goals

tell student why they are being considered

explain confidentiality rules and expectations

describe what active participation will look like

Ask the student about his/her interest and commitment:

Are you interested in the group? Why/Why not?

Are you seeing a counselor outside of school?

Are you willing to follow the rules and expectations of the group?

Do you have any questions about the group?

Pick members:

Consider the student's willingness to participate

Consider the student's reasoning for wanting to be in the group

Consider the student's ability to connect and communicate

Consider the student's recent exposure to crisis situations

Consider the student's participation in counseling services outside of the school

Things to consider before final selections:

Students who might physically hurt themself or others need to be met with separately.

Students who will not treat others in the group with consideration and kindness will be met with separately.

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Parental consent will be required before group participation is allowed. A paper copy will be sent home with the students for the parents to fill out, and a digital copy will be emailed as well (with the option to reply with digital consent for documentation). A group-specific version of the attached Informed Consent Form will be used (Missouri Professional School Counselors and Counselor Educators, 2015).

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The attached document from the Missouri Professional School Counselors and Counselor Educators (2015) will be used to guide the creation of Guidelines and Ground Rules for each group. The counselor will start the discussion with the following two ground rules:
1. We will respect privacy and confidentiality, unless someone is being hurt or going to hurt someone else.
2. We will treat each other with respect.
The counselor will then guide students to create the other safe, respectful and responsible behaviors and expectations that will ensure group success. While the counselor will act as a guide during the creation of the expected behaviors, the ideas and statements themselves will be created by the students.

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Even though all groups are unique, "the stages of a group are predictable" (Missouri Professional School Counselors and Counselor Educators, 2015, p. 7).

Stage 1: Students get to know each other and work to establish trust within the group by making personal connections. Students will work together to establish norms and will build trust through get-to-know-you activities. In the beginning the counselor will spend time reminding students of confidentiality expectations. The counselor will explicitly explain the importance of confidentiality and the relationship between trust and confidence. The counselor will also explain how easily that trust can be broken when confidence is breached.

Stage 2: Students begin to work together to accomplish group and individual goals. The counselor will guide students to work through any conflicts that arise in order to maintain productivity. At the end of each group session the counselor will check in one-on-one with at least two students to see how they feel they are progressing with the group goals.

Stage 3: Students reflect on their accomplishments as a group and individual growth. Students are tasked with applying knowledge and skills to their everyday lives. The counselor will encourage students to share something positive they have learned about other members of the group. The counselor will remind students of the bond they have built and encourage members to continue to be a safe, respectful, and confidential friend to others in the group as they interact throughout the day. The group will be asked if they would like to have a follow up lunch or gathering in the near future to continue to check in on progress.

(Missouri Professional School Counselors and Counselor Educators, 2015, p. 7)

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The leadership style I plan to use with this group is Participative Leadership. Cherry (2020) describes this type of leadership from Lewin's study as the most effective leadership style (para. 9).

In my opinion, and based on Lewin's study and Cherry's (2020) review, the Participative Leadership style would be most effective in this group for the following reasons:

The leader offers guidance to the group but also participates in the group.

This will build a trusting relationship between group members and the leader.

In Lewin's study children in this type of group showed higher quality contributions.

It is important for kids to actively participate in the group if they are to make progress.

The leader encourages group participation but retains the final say in decision-making.

As the students in this group are shown to struggle with safe, respectful, and responsible behavior it is is essential for the leader to maintain the final say in case the group take a turn towards being counter productive.

The leaders makes group members feel like an important part of the team.

Students must feel like they are valued members of the group if they are to actively participate and improve their knowledge and skills.

(Cherry, 2020, para. 9-10)

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Factors that could potentially be seen within this group include:
Altruism- I think members of this group have the potential to feel useful in helping each other problem solve.
Direct Advice- Through Participative Leadership I will be able to encourage students to offer each other suggestions and strategies for problem solving.
Instillation of Hope- Group members generally want to be successful and "good" at school. They want the suggested solutions to be effective in helping to modify their behavior.
Universality- Many of our students believe they are the only ones who struggle with particular behaviors. This will be a great opportunity to show students that we all have struggles and none of us are perfect.

(Yalom ID, 1995)

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Ethical Requirement: Explanation of Limitations of Confidentiality

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Ethical Requirement: Explanation of Limitations of Confidentiality

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According to the American Counseling Association Code of Ethics (2014) B.1.d. Explanation of Limitations, counselors are required to inform students of the limitations of confidentiality and explain when confidentiality must be breached (p. 7).

I will use the attached resource from Hansen (2009, p. 7) during the first group session to explain to students the importance of confidentiality as well as specific limitations. I want students to know that my number one job is to keep them safe, so in cases of self harm, harm to others, abuse, neglect, or court proceedings I must spend up on their behalf. Each student will sign a copy of this document, and I will sign as well, as a promise to students and a source of documentation. I will also refer to the similar signage hanging in the counseling office at the beginning of each meeting session as a reminder.

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Legal Requirement: Texas Administrative Code

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Legal Requirement: Texas Administrative Code

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Texas Administrative Code Title 19, Part 7, Chapter 239, Subchapter A, Rule 15 states the standards required for the School Counselor Certificate. Under Standard 2 the school counselor must provide small group counseling based on the needs of students. In accordance with this Administrative Code, this Social Skills group has been planned based on the data-driven, researched needs of these specific students.

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19 Tex. Admin. Code §239.15

American Counseling Association. (2014). Code of Ethics. Alexandria, VA: Author.

American School Counselor Association (2014). Mindsets and Behaviors for Student Success: K-12 College- and Career-Readiness Standards for Every Student. Alexandria, VA: Author.

Cherry, K. (2020). Leadership styles and frameworks you should know. VeryWell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/leadership-styles-2795312

Hansen, S. (2009). Confidentiality guidelines for school counselors. https://meckes.weebly.com/uploads/5/8/2/9/58298161/confidentiality_for_school_counselors.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://dese.mo.gov/sites/default/files/guid-respon-serv-small-group-counseling-guide-2015.pdf

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