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The counselor will assume a democratic leadership style, in which the students are seen as active participants who have a hand in the group's decision-making process. Research done on 10-year-olds showed that this leadership style was more effective than alternative styles, resulting in less aggression and more positive attitudes among group members (Lewin, Lippitt, & White, 1939). This group will be comprised of 11-14-year-olds who would also benefit from having some autonomy and feeling like their voice is heard in the group. In order for the group to reach it's highest potential, there has to be buy-in from group members, and it would be easier for them to buy-into something they have a shared responsibility and power in.

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The Texas Education Code states that "each school shall obtain, and keep as part of the student's permanent record, written consent of the parent or legal guardian" as determined by guidelines established by the board of trustees (Texas Education Code).  It also states that "the consent form shall include specific information on the content of the program and the types of activities in which the student will be involved" (Texas Education Code). Informed consent is vital to the counseling process. As the students in this group are all minors, parental consent will be required in order for the students to participate. Consent is part of the process of keeping children safe and allowing parents to have control over what types of activities they deem are fit for their children, given what the parents know about their children's mental status, current health, and overall wellbeing.

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Ethical Considerations: Cultural Sensitivity and Awareness of Diversity 

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Ethical Considerations: Cultural Sensitivity and Awareness of Diversity 

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The Association for Specialists in Group Work states that "group workers continuously seek information regarding the cultural issues of the diverse population with whom they are working both by interaction with participants and from using outside resources" (Pender & Thomas, 2008, p. 116). It is of utmost importance that counselors educate themselves on the population they will be serving. In diverse counseling groups, students may have ethnic, racial, religious, political, and socioeconomic backgrounds that differ from the counselor's. In order for the group to run smoothly and participants to feel safe, the counselor has to understand fundamental characteristics of their students' identities and how these qualities affect a student's experience and outlook on the world. Counselors also need to be aware of how their own backgrounds, values, and experiences may differ from those they serve and take caution to not impose their values and perception of the world onto their students. These differences should not create a barrier between the counselor and students; the counselor should aim to meet students on common ground and focus on the collective goals of the group.

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Installation of Hope: The group members will adopt an attitude that they can and will change as a result of their effort and participation in this group, and they will walk away with better emotional regulation skills than they had before.

Universality: The group members will get adequate opportunities for self-disclosure throughout the sessions that will make it apparent to other members they they are not alone in their experiences.

Catharsis: The group members will get plenty of opportunities to divulge both verbal and written accounts of how they are affected by their experiences. They will be in a safe space to feel and share about strong emotions they have.

Direct advice: The group members will receive some direct advice as the counselor teaches them about specific tools they can use to manage their emotions.

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This counseling series will be broken into six small group sessions that occur weekly for 30 minutes each. The population being counseled will be middle schoolers ages 11-14. The type of group will be a structured counseling group that is closed membership. All dates, curriculum, timeframe, and group membership will be established prior to the first session. The group will be homogenous in that the participants will all struggle with the same issues but heterogeneous in that the group will include students of different genders, races, and backgrounds.

The topic of the series is going to be “emotional regulation”, and each week will focus on a specific tool that helps regulate difficult emotions. Students will become “calm captains” of their lives, learning to control their emotions and create calm during moments of heightened unpleasant emotion. Students will learn how to identify their emotions, recognize when they are triggered, and be able to de-escalate and function through the emotion. The “tools” being featured in each lesson will be concepts adapted from Dialectical Behavior Therapy, or DBT, which is a therapy developed by Marsha M. Linehan (Linehan, 2015). Each session will focus on instruction on how to use one of the DBT tools.

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Stage 1: The counselor will build relationships and trust with the group members through being vulnerable with them and sharing personal (but appropriate) experiences that are relevant to the activities. The group will work together to establish norms during the first counseling session, and norms will written on a poster to be hung on the wall for all to see. All students will be informed that what is shared in group is to stay in the group and everyone's confidentiality should me honored and maintained. Breaking confidentiality will be grounds for removal from the group. Also, students will be informed that the counselor will have to break confidentiality if they share that they may harm themselves or others, that they are being abused, or that a court or other legal proceedings order the release of information.

Stage 2: The counselor will ensure that members are working cohesively and productively by creating a sense of camaraderie through shared goals. The counselor will remind the students that they all struggle with the same issues and voluntarily chose to be in the group to resolve their issues. The counselor will emphasize that this is a collective effort that requires cooperation in order to be effective. The counselor will check in with group members at the beginning of each session by asking them to share about their "homework" assignments from the previous session. This will indicate the level of participation in the group and how successfully students apply their new skills outside of the group.

Stage 3: The group will have closure activities aimed at wrapping up the group while also maintaining positive relationships and avoiding feelings of abandonment. The students will discuss what their favorite tools were that they learned from the group and how they have changed as a result of the group. The will also provide each group member one compliment as a way to show gratitude for each other's participation and end on a positive note. Students will end the last session by creating a group poster in which they write down meaningful memories from their time together. The poster can then be kept by the counselor for anyone in the group to see as they wish.

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It is of utmost importance that guidelines and ground rules are set at the very beginning of the first counseling session. This is to solidify expectations to create a safe, healthy environment in which everyone can share and feel comfortable. Some ground rules will be set by the counselor, as they will be essential to the functioning of the group. Other rules may be determined collectively by the group. This will help give students voice and choice and create a sense of buy-in and unity among the group.

Near the beginning of the first counseling session, each member of the group will be given a "Participant Guidelines/Ground Rules" handout (Missouri Professional School Counselors, 2015, p. 26), as seen below. The counselor and students will then discuss each rule together, writing what the rule "looks" and "sounds" like. Issues surrounding confidentiality, equal sharing, respect, promptness, voluntary participation, and open-mindedness will be addressed in rules created by the counselor. Any other rules may be determined by the group. These may be more specific rules, such as which attention signals will be used for turn-taking and regrouping. After rules and guidelines for sharing have been completed, students will fold their papers in half and glue them into the front of their journals, which they will be using throughout the counseling sessions.

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Students will be informed of the group by being notified directly by the counselor. The counselor will visit each student during their advisory period and pull the student aside privately to inform them that they have been selected to participate in small group counseling. Students will then schedule a time, which will also be during advisory, to be formally interviewed for the group. Students will be screened individually and interviewed privately in the counselor's office.

During the interview, students will be given a brief summary of the purpose of the group, some examples of planned activities, and the logistics of the group. Students will then be asked to rate on a scale from 1-5 their level of interest, their commitment to the group, and their ability to participate in sessions. Scores will be recorded and other notes will be taken by the counselor throughout the interview to help make a final decision on the eligibility of the student to join the group.

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This group will be advertised to teachers and administrators through email. The school counselor will email teachers asking for referrals for the program. The referral forms will ask teachers to rank the students on various skills related to emotional regulation. The forms will include an open-ended written portion as well in which teachers can explain their recommendation of the student in further detail. Announcements and reminders about the referrals will also be given during routine staff meetings.

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The counselor will require informed consent from parents and assent from students in order for students to participate in the group. Students will be given a copy of a consent form to get signed by a parent or legal guardian. A sample consent form has been acquired from the Missouri Comprehensive Guidance and Counseling program (Missouri Professional School Counselors, 2015, p. 24), which is attached below. In general, a consent form should include a brief overview of the group counseling sessions, their purpose, their duration, logistics, and basic requirements for participation.

The counselor will also create an assent form that students will be required to sign in order to participate. The assent form will look similar to the consent form and share many of its essential elements, as well as emphasize that this group is voluntary.

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M 1. Belief in development of whole self, including a healthy balance of mental, social/emotional and physical well-being

B-SMS 1. Demonstrate ability to assume responsibility

B-SMS 2. Demonstrate self-discipline and self-control

B-SMS 7. Demonstrate effective coping skills when faced with a problem

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

[Emotion Regulation Image]. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.medbridgeeducation.com/blog/2019/04/emotion-regulation-an-essential-aspect-of-social-communication/

Lewin K, Lippitt R, White K. (1939). Patterns of Aggressive Behavior in Experimentally Created "Social Climates". The Journal of Social Psychology,

Linehan, M. (2015). DBT Skills Training Handouts and Worksheets. New York: The Guilford Press.

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

Pender, D., Thomas, R. (2008). Association for Specialists in Group Work: Best Practice Guidelines 2007 Revisions. The Journal for Specialists in Group Work, 116. Retrieved from https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/513c96_93df348d51134a08b789df5374b6dfb7.pdf

Texas Education Code. § 33.003-33.004 (2019).

[Tips for Emotional Regulation Image ]. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.yyccounselling.com/single-post/2018/05/28/Tips-for-Emotional-Regulation

Yalom ID. (1995). The theory and practice of group psychotherapy (4th ed.). New York: Basic Books. Retrieved from https://blackboard.angelo.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-2412142-dt-content-rid-23463028_2/courses/23318.202020/22772.202020_ImportedContent_20200224082829/yalomscurativefactorsofgrouptherapy.pdf