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This group consists of fourth and fifth-grade students that attend Sweetwater Intermediate School. The students that have been selected to join this group have shown characteristics of a bully or have trouble identifying a bully versus being mean. The school counselor will be providing whole group lessons based on the understanding of being a bully or being mean throughout the second six weeks of school. The students selected for M.U.S.T.A.N.G.S Unite Against Bullies will receive additional support and resources in the form of a small group, twice a week during their lunchtime for the next six weeks.

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Mindsets:

1. Sense of acceptance, respect, support and inclusion for self and others in the school environment

Behavior Standards:
Learning Strategies, Self-Management Skills, Social Skills

Learning Strategies

1. Long-and short term academic, career and social/emotional goals

Self-Management Skills

1. Effective coping skills

2. Personal safety skills

Social Skills

1. Positive, respectful and supportive relationships with students who are similar to and different from them

2. Empathy

3. Social maturity and behaviors appropriate to the situation and environment

(American School Counseling Association, 2021)

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In order to inform stakeholders of the small group, its purpose, and the students it is intended to serve, several avenues will be utilized. First, a small informational paragraph will be included in the weekly parent email newsletter and posted on the school website. This information will include a link to a google form for parents who wish to refer their student to the group. Second, campus staff will be sent an email with information regarding the group and a link to a google form referral sheet. Finally, a reminder and a link to the referral form will be included in the staff weekly announcement slides.

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The school counselor will conduct individual interviews of the students who are referred for the small group. The purpose of the interview will be to determine if each student will be a good fit for the small group. The counselor will inform the students of the purpose of the group, the number of meetings, what the student can expect from the group sessions, and what the student might gain from participating in the group. The counselor will also explain participation expectations from group members and confidentiality. The counselor will use this interview to gauge the interest and commitment level of each student and make an informed decision on which students would best benefit from being included in the small group (Missouri Professional School Counselors and Counselor
Educators, 2015.

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Students will take the informed consent home to be completed by a parent. They will return it to the school counselor. Additionally, during the pre-screening interview, the counselor will explain the purpose of the group and explain confidentiality. Counselors will ask the student for consent to join and participate in the group.

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1. I will respect the privacy of others.
2. What is said in the group, stays in the group.
3. I will listen and make eye contact when others are speaking.
4. I will not tease others or put others down. We are here to support one another.
5. I will always try my best to participate.
6. I will respect others' opinions.

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The Participative Leadership Style (Democratic) will be used.

In democratic leadership, the school counselor selects the students to participate and sets expectations for the group intervention. Students are encouraged to share their thoughts, ideas, and opinions. In the group, everyone is heard and contributes by actively participating in the decisions by having input in developing a plan and finding solutions to problems. Since students are part of the decision-making, their commitment to change will bring positive results. Moreover, students are empowered to voice their thoughts positively and be productive leaders (Cherry, 2021).

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According to the Missouri Professional School Counselors (2015), the 3 stages of a group are getting acquainted and setting the norms of the group. working together to accomplish a group goal, and ending the group.
Stage 1 is getting to know one another and how the group operates. This is when confidentiality is established. The group will continue to respect one another by not sharing the information shared in the group. Group members will learn the explicit rules and expectations of the meeting times. During this stage, members will also learn the implicit rules as they learn to trust one another, and they will set the expectations for how to treat one another by sharing and participating. Group members should understand they can safely share things and that information will be kept confidential. The first few meetings will be spent in this stage while the leader and group members work through setting and pushing boundaries. Once trust between members and the leader is established, the group will move into stage 2.
Stage 2 is performance and goal work. The group will be reminded to respect one another by not sharing the information shared in the group. This group's objective is to become familiar with the definitions of words and behaviors associated with bullying. They will work through books studies that will teach them empathy, the perspective of all those involved when bullying happens, and how these behaviors can change a person's character. They will also work through learning coping skills for dealing with negative feelings and the various outlets they have to help deal with their emotions.
Stage 3 is closure and reflection. By the last meeting, the students will have become close, and they will most likely be reluctant to leave the group setting. The leader will help them transition during the last meeting by helping the students discuss and understand the people and places they can go for assistance when dealing with the feelings and behaviors that contribute to bullying actions.

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According to Yalom (1995), the M.U.S.T.A.N.G group members will utilize the therapeutic factors of instilling hope, universality, developing social techniques, getting direct advice and having interpersonal learning.
Instillation of Hope will come from establishing with the students that they can have faith in the lessons to help them build and establish skills to deal with negative emotions and bullying behaviors.
Universality will be realized when the group participates in various group activities where they will experience others' stories and experiences that are similar to their own.
Development of socializing techniques will come with the lessons teaching empathy and seeing things from another point of view. They will share and give advice to their groupmates, and they will begin to understand the implicit rules of the group.
Direct Advice will come from their groupmates and the leader for strategies and tools for problem-solving.
Interpersonal learning will be gained through participating in the group activities while reflecting on their own experiences and receiving feedback from the others in the group,

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Texas Administrative Code is part of the legal and ethical standards that provide support to the school counselor. This is a place where the school counselor can find specific codes that will help support the programs, resources, and the specific duties that are required. M.U.S.T.A.N.G.S Unite Against Bullies program is formed to support students that have struggled with bullies or need the extra resources not to show bullying tendencies. This group would be supported by the Texas Administrative Code § 239. 3(c), ¨ counsel individuals and small groups using appropriate counseling theories and techniques in response to students' needs¨. When school counselors are aware of the struggles students are facing, the TAC allows the school counselor to provide necessary support to students in need. This will provide the students with resources that will help them in their future.

Not only is TAC a great resource for school counselors to have understanding over the legal aspects of a school counselor. The Texas Education Codes for school counselors is a great resource tool to have readily available. The TEC provides a detailed description of the qualifications of a school counselor, program descriptions that are relevant to better support the students and school, and how to make sure that all students and parents are receiving the necessary information about the program.

Before school counselors are able to support students in small group or one-on-one counseling sessions, the students' parents must be informed. This provides the parents a chance to understand the reason why it is important for the student, where it will be conducted, and how long the sessions will last. This is legal information that must be addressed before any students attend short counseling sessions. This is based on the TEC 33.033, which states that school counselors must receive consent from the parents before school counselors can provide one-on-one sessions or small group counseling (2 TEC § 33.033). As a school counselor, it is also important to receive the students assent of wanting to attend the school counseling sessions or small group sessions. This allows the student to have a decision to join in the small group/or one-to-one sessions, even though the parents might have the overall decision. Providing the student with a voice in a decision process will encourage cooperation during the sessions.

Education, 19. Tex. Admin. Code § 239.15

School Counselors and Counseling Programs, 2 Tex. Edu. Code § 33.033

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The American Counseling Association provides school counselors with a code of ethics that guides counselors in supporting students to become well-rounded individuals that have the resources to succeed in the real world. As school counselors we must acknowledge and support all students from diverse backgrounds, keep the well-being of the students at the forefront, provide a well balanced relationship with students and parents, and provide support to students that will follow the ethical standards of ACA.

ACA is broken down into nine main sections and understanding the different sections will only make for a better school counselor for the students. For the M.U.S.T.A.N.G.S Unit Against Bullies, the school counselor will need to address a couple different areas of the Ethical Standards. The first section that the school counselor must pay close attention to is Confidentiality and Privacy. This section provides great details about building trust with the student(s) that will be participating in the small group. Having the students understand that what is said/or discussed in the small group is confidential, up to a point. That only specific individuals (Teacher/Administrator/Parents/ Authorities) will be provided information (if necessary). The reason why a school counselor would need to break confidentiality is: (B.2.a) Self-harm or expressed harming others, (B.2.c) court order, or (B.2.d) serious disease (American Counseling Association, 2014). When it comes to small groups and students under 18, parents will be provided (B.5.b)consent forms regarding the reason for the small group and what the student will be provided during these specific times (American Counseling Association, 2014).

School counselors deal with a lot of information that pertains to students' social, emotional, and learning needs. There are times that confidentiality must be broken based on the laws that are in place for school counselors. Understanding the different situations and laws that are set in place for the school counselor to abide by, at times it might be very difficult to break confidentiality but it will be in the best interest of the student.

In Section C: Professional Responsibility (American Counseling Association, 2014). School counselors must have a reason for providing a small group called M.U.S.T.A.N.G.S Unit Against Bullies. School counselors must have a clear understanding of why this group is important for the school and the students. As counselors we must advocate for the students that need additional support and resources, having data and observations that help support the cause of this specific group is vital.

The last section that is must to understand is Section A: The Counseling Relationship. (A.4.b) It is important for school counselors not to push their beliefs and values onto students. This is because school counselors must be aware of the diversity of the families. Each family has their own set of beliefs and values they live by daily and it will break the code of ethics if school counselors impose their beliefs onto students. School counselors should gain prior knowledge of the students background history before they begin any small group sessions. This will allow the school counselors to have a better understanding of each student and access resources that will better support the students during the specific timeframe.

American Counseling Association. (2014). 2014 ACA code of ethics. https://www.counseling.org/knowledge-center

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American Counseling Association. (2014). 2014 ACA code of ethics. https://www.counseling.org/knowledge-center

American School Counselor Association. (2019). ASCA School Counselor Professional Standards & Competencies.  https://www.schoolcounselor.org/getmedia/a8d59c2c-51de-4ec3-a565-a3235f3b93c3/SC-Competencies.pdf

Cherry, K. (2021, August 11). Leadership styles and frameworks you should know. Personality Psychology. https://www.verywellmind.com/leadership-styles-2795312

Education, 19. Tex. Admin. Code § 239.15

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. http://www.missouricareereducation.org/doc/smallgroup/SmallGroupCounseling.pdf

School Counselors and Counseling Programs, 2 Tex. Edu. Code § 33.033

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