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This group is designed to help middle school students aged 11-13 learn to cope with symptoms of anxiety in a healthy way. We will address such symptoms as rumination, excessive fears and worries, irritability, and avoidance of social situations that negatively impact a student’s ability to function in an academic and social setting. One of the group members named it because they said they were planning to attack their anxiety rather than let their anxiety attack them.

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Upon completion of the "Anxiety Attackers" group, the members should master the M1, M2, and M5 ASCA Mindset benchmarks. All the mindsets are important to achieve, but my students will be focused on the "belief in development of whole self, including a healthy balance of mental, social/emotional and physical well-being", a "sense of acceptance, respect, support and inclusion for self and others in the school environment", and a "belief in using abilities to their fullest to achieve high-quality results and outcomes" (ASCA, 2021). The ASCA Behaviors they should show mastery of are B-LS2 "creative approach to learning, tasks and problem solving", B-SMS1 "responsibility for self and actions", B-SMS6 "ability to identify and overcome barriers", B-SMS 7 "effectives coping skills", and B-SS2 "positive, respectful and supportive relationships with students who are similar to and different from them" (ASCA, 2021).

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ASCA (2021). American School Counselor Association Student Standards: Mindsets & Behaviors for Student Success. In schoolcounselor.org.

ASCA (2019). American School Counselor Association School Counselor Professional Standards and Competencies. In schoolcounselor.org.

Celebrate Recovery. (2023). Small group guidelines. celebraterecovery.com. https://www.celebraterecovery.com/resources/small-group-guidelines

Cherry, K. (2023, June 27). How to Lead: 6 Leadership Styles and Frameworks. Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/leadership-styles-2795312

Hauber, K., Boon, A., & Vermeiren, R. (2019). Therapeutic factors that promote recovery in high-risk adolescents intensive group psychotherapeutic MBT programme. Child and adolescent psychiatry and mental health, 13, 2. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13034-019-0263-6

Texas Education Code: Title 2 Chapter 33. (2021, September). statutes.capitol.texas.gov. https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/ED/htm/ED.33.htm#33.000

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I plan to disseminate the information for my small group by first emailing and sending a mail-out form to the parents of potential members. They will receive information about the group, its goals, the duration, and how to opt-out for their child. I will also email out all teachers and staff to make them aware of the group, and that the students are not able to request into the group since they are chosen based on the needs assessment. The members' specific teachers will be told they are part of the group and that the members will be responsible for any work they miss. Lastly, I will send calendar invites for the admin team and other counselors so they have a record of the dates, times, and location of the "Anxiety Attackers" group.

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I plan to inform the participants of my group by calling them to my office individually to give them the pre-test and explain the dynamics, goals, and process of the "Anxiety Attackers" group. This will give them a chance to ask me any questions they may have, or even air any nerves or concerns they have about participating. They will be given the option to opt-out if they are truly against it. I plan to assess participant readiness through an individual interview with each potential member about their interest in the group, what they want to come out of their participation, what their concerns are, how they think the group members should act, and general questions to assess their maturity and readiness to be a part of the group. The results of these interviews will be discussed with the rest of the school counseling team to ensure impartiality and good judgment about each of the members. The members will be assessed individually to ensure honesty and that their answers are not being influenced by others.

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My school district's policy regarding informed consent is to obtain written/signed consent from a parent or legal guardian for any student wanting to or required to participate in any school related activity, including counseling groups. The parents will all be emailed a copy of the informed consent paperwork, along with a mailed out copy that their student may return to me before the start of the first group day. There will be an option for the parents to opt their child out of the group if they so choose. I will also obtain signed assent from each group member prior to the first group day because it is important that they know the rights, privileges, and limitations of the group, as well as giving the students a voice in their participation.

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I plan to utilize this rules and guidelines agreement by discussing it with the members during their pre-test interview and again on Day 1 of the group. The members will discuss it together and all sign the agreement to say they understand the expectations and that they may be dismissed from the group for violating the rules and guidelines. The ground rules are pre-determined by myself and are non-negotiable as far as how the members should behave goes. However, the members will also discuss their own expectations for each other during Day 1 and talk about how they would all like to be treated and addressed for the duration of the group.

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STAGE 1: I plan to build relationships and trust between group members by setting expectations for behavior and sharing early on before the start of the group. The members will also discuss how they would like to be treated and how they will all address problems between members if they arise. The relationships will grow out of mutual empathy and sharing over the duration of the group. Group norms will be established explicitly through a full group discussion so all members agree and have a voice in what those look like. I will also model the group norms each session to enforce and encourage them. I will address the importance of and limits of confidentiality in a small group setting, and explain how each member should hold the others' privacy as a sign of respect. I will also explain that I have to break confidentiality in the case of self-harm or harm to others being expressed.

STAGE 2: I plan to keep the members working cohesively by encouraging calm, honest confrontation if a member is acting out or doing something to offend other members. I will lead those discussions and model how to express concerns to another while reflecting on how our own actions can be improved on as well. I will also keep the group productive by asking them "exit questions" at the close of each session to gauge what they gained from that day and what they can work on before the next session.

STAGE 3: My plan for group closure is to have each member share in 3-4 minutes what their biggest takeaways from the group were and anything they learned from the other members. This will hopefully lead to greater empathy and understanding for each member, and will provide a decent closure to the group. We will all discuss the members' feelings on the group ending, and why confidentiality is still important to maintain. I will be following up with each member at the one-, two- and four-week mark to check on their progress and guide them through any feelings of abandonment or sadness after the group closes.

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My leadership style for the "Anxiety Attackers" group will be a blend of authoritarian and participative leadership. The reason for this is that I believe that for the group to be fully effective, I will need to be firm and make decisions for the group at times, but I can also give them a voice and allow the group members to contribute more to the dynamics and decisions of the group. I will be authoritarian if I feel that a member is out of line, or the group is getting off-track and not being productive. However, I will mostly be participative to let the group members lead the discussions and problem-solve together with my encouragement and light guidance so they can feel empowered in their own counseling journey (Cherry, 2023).

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During the course of this group, I believe that several of Yalom's Therapeutic Factors will be experienced by the group members. First, I feel they will demonstrate "Universality" since they will see that others have similar struggles to them and they will feel less alone in their journey. Second, I hope to see "Development of Socializing Techniques" as the members learn valuable interpersonal and communication skills as they share their experiences and actively listen to others during the group. Third, I hope they have "Instillation of Hope" that the group can help them improve their functioning and give them practical coping skills to combat their anxiety symptoms (Hauber et. al., 2019).

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One of the biggest legal requirements that I feel benefits this small group is Section 33.004 of Title 2 Chapter 33 of the Texas Education Code that states "each school shall obtain, and keep as part of the student's permanent record, written consent of the parent or legal guardian...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: Title 2 Chapter 33, 2021). This protects me as a school counselor by having the parents' written consent for their child to participate, and it also includes them in the counseling process. The parents should always be involved in their student's mental health and aware of what their student is going through, so this ensures that they have first-hand knowledge of the group counseling goals and agenda, as well as their own child's personal progress in the small group.

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Ethical Requirements of Group Counseling

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Ethical Requirements of Group Counseling

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The main ethical requirement that I feel is most pertinent to this small group is B-SS3 under the ASCA's Professional Standards and Competencies that states a school counselor should "provide short-term counseling in small-group and individual settings" (ASCA, 2019). This ethical requirement alone would provide me with the justification for creating and running the group within the school's counseling program since it is a duty we are charged with in our role as a school counselor. It would help ensure that the administration would allow me to conduct the group as a necessary program that will help improve student functioning and success on our campus.