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A Beautiful You is a small psychoeducational and counseling structured group for high school moms who are struggling with the everyday challenges of being a teen mom and working towards the goal of their high school diplomas.  The members of this small group will be recommended by the school counselor through a needs assessment.

This 2-hour long group will begin with a meal and a variety of activities and discussions dealing with self-esteem, depression, decision making, relationships, parenting skills, home life and goal setting.

This will be a closed group with a maximum of 8 participants.  Child care will be provided.

The goal of this group will be to help teen moms balance their home life, workplace (if applicable), education and their children.  Educating them and giving them tools to help them have a successful future, build their self esteem, and  that raising children can be fun even in the times they struggle.

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These mindsets and behaviors will be seen in the group participants:

M 1. Belief in development of whole self, including a healthy balance of mental, social/emotional and physical well-being.
M 2. Self-confidence in ability to succeed.
B-SMS 1. Demonstrate ability to assume responsibility.
B-SS 9. Demonstrate social maturity and behaviors appropriate to the situation and environment.

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Flyers will be made and given to the school counselor to distribute to the teen moms selected by needs assessment.
A plan to send emails and invitations to each young lady that is interested and chosen from needs assessments.

An Open House will be scheduled for the young ladies to be introduced to the volunteers, facilitator and co-facilitator.

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Participants of the group will be informed about the plans of the group through a one on one screening and interview with facilitator.  At the screening, the participant and facilitator will discuss whether the group is right for them. The goal of the group will be explained and if the participant is willing and interested they can be selected for the group.

The facilitator will consult with the co-facilitator to decided the final group members, as this group is a small group of a maximum of 8 participants.

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Once the group participants has been chosen, an informed consent will be given to the student at the Open House meeting.

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At the first session all participants will be given a hand-out of the guidelines and ground rules for the group sessions.

The facilitators will put aside their own beliefs and values and become a mentor.  The facilitator will be aware of the different dynamics within the group.  The group will be a safe environment.

Confidentiality is a very important guideline within the ground rules.  The facilitators are also swore to keep all information confidential.

No one is forced to talk, and everyone has the freedom to pass.

If there is a conflict between participants, the facilitator will ask the participant to talk directly to them and not to each other.  If it exoculates, the participant can be removed from the group.

If a participant has made a threat to harm themselves or any other human being, the facilitator by law will report the threat to the proper agencies and authorities.  If a participant is being abused or if anyone else in the family is being abused, the facilitator will contact the proper agencies and authorities.

If a participant gets upset and needs to leave the room, they have the freedom to do so.

If a participant is speaking too long or seems to be taking over the group, the facilitator will direct the discussion to another participant.

The participants will also have a chance to make their own ground rules as well.

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Stage 1 - A meal is planned for the beginning of each group session.  This will allow 30 minutes of each group and will  be a way for each young lady to socialize and get to know each other and their children, as there will be childcare available for the group sessions.

The ground rules will be presented.  Confidentiality will be stressed.  The goals of the group will be expressed.  The participants will be able to express their goals and what they would like to see happen within the group sessions.

This stage we want to let the participants develop trust and a sense of belonging in the group.  The participants will be able to express themselves in a safe environment.

Stage 2 - At this time, the trust and safety will be maintained in the group, as confidentiality is continued to be addressed at each session.  We will be checking in with each group member to maintain the relationship with each one and to let them know that we are supporting each individual and are here for them.  At this stage, participants will feel comfortable around each other and able to support each other.

Stage 3 -  At this stage in the group, participants will be ready to receive feedback for their overall progress in the group and how proud we are of them and seeing these changes. We will encourage participants to continue confidentiality of the group. Let each of them that this is the end of the group sessions be that they are ready to move on and ready to take what they have learned out into the world and their journeys. At this time we will do a post assessment and the participants will give their verbal feedback.

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The leadership style in the group A Beautiful You will be participative as each young lady's opinion, feelings, experiences and thoughts are important to the group.  The facilitator and co-facilitator will lead the group counseling sessions.

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In the group sessions Yalom's Therapeutic Factors will be present: universality, guidance, instillation of hope, altruism, developing social skills, direct advice and interpersonal learning.  Universality will be very obvious as each of the teen moms will have a commonality of seeing that they are not alone and others struggle with similar issues.  Altruism will be present because participants will want to help and support each other in their struggles.  The facilitator will offer guidance as the group will be offered assistance and support for their future journeys.  Developing social skills will be important as the teen moms will learn to share their feelings and concerns. (Yalom 1995)

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In the ACA Code of Ethics section A.4.b. Personal Values it clearly states  Counselors are aware of—and avoid imposing—their own values, attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors. Counselors respect the diversity of clients, trainees, and research participants and seek training in areas in which they are at risk of imposing their values onto clients, especially when the counselor’s values are inconsistent with the client’s goals or are discriminatory in nature. (ACA 2014)

As a counselor/facilitator this is very important as if we do not follow this we may put judgement upon others. This is like putting your feet in the other persons shoes. We must try to hear and see the issue from their eyes.

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In today's world with everyone on social media, Code of Ethic H.6.d. Use of Public Social Media is very important piece for counselors.  It states:  Counselors take precautions to avoid disclosing confidential information through public social media. (ACA, 2014)

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

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.

Retrieved from

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.