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Healing Hearts small group is organized to support 3-5 grade (ages 8-10) children who suffered loss of a parent to illness. The group creates a safe, structured, and developmentally appropriate space in which children could work through grief, exchange experiences, and develop strength with peer support and counseling direction. Group sessions will include evidence-based interventions such as art therapy, journaling, narrative, and relaxation exercises, which will make it possible for children to express feelings in developmentally safe ways while learning coping behaviors that are constructive.

This group is necessitated by studies showing that children who encounter loss in their parent figure are at significant risk of academic regression, behavior problems, and emotional distress without specialized support (Worden & Silverman, 1996; Hadar, Cohenca-Shiby, & Bar-Zomer, 2024). The small group counseling conducted in schools gives a chance to validate sorrow, reduce feelings of aloneness, and teach kids to adjust academically and socially (Morgan & Roberts, 2010; National Alliance for Children's Grief, 2022). While confronting grief in a nurturing setting of friends who share backgrounds, the group helps students overcome such experiences with more resilience and confidence.

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Members of Healing Hearts will master key social-emotional strengths that correspond to the ASCA Mindsets & Behaviors (ASCA, 2014). The following are of especially direct relevance to children in grief, as related to coping, resilience, and connecting with people:

M 1: Belief in development of whole person, i.e., mental, social/emotional, as well as physical well-being.

M 2: Confidence in oneself to be successful despite personal loss.

M 3: Sense of belonging in school community.

B-SMS 7: Show effective coping ability in handling a concern.

B-SMS 10: Show ability to manage transitions and adapt to new situations.

B-SS 2: Build positive and constructive relationships with peers.

These specific results also corroborate with publication that cites grief groups as catalysts that assist in reclaiming a feeling of affiliation, rebuilding resilience, and reclaiming participation in academe (Morgan & Roberts, 2010).

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In order to reach all stakeholders in a successful measure, a multi-level scheme will promote the group:

Faculty Meetings: Explain group purpose, offer referral criteria, and hand out forms.

Parent Communication: Flyers and emails advertise the value of group counseling, and direct connectivity with potential at-risk students.

School Communication Channels: Announcements in newsletters, counselor website updates, and voluntary daily announcements.

Referral by Direct Means: Teachers, administrators, and the school nurse will be urged to refer students who exhibit grief difficulties.

Community Links: If available, community grief support group partnerships will be used to offer support to families.

This approach offers widespread awareness and equal access while being mindful of grief as a personal aspect (Hadar et al., 2024).

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This screening assists in ensuring group member's readiness in an emotional sense, of adequate development level, and motivated:

Notifying Families: Parents are issued a letter outlining the purpose, objectives, and intentions of the group. Teachers help in choosing potential members.

Individual Screen Interviews: The counselor will meet individually with each of the students to consider level of comfort, sharing, and ability in group work.

Readiness Evaluation: Screening measures coping strength, motivational level, and social skill, as well as ensuring that students in distress requiring one-on-one counseling are not screened.

Outcome: Through judicious member selection, group protection, unity, and therapeutic success are promoted by the counselor (Corey, Corey, & Corey, 2018).

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Policy: The ACA Code of Ethics (2014) and ASCA Ethical Standards (2021) mandate counselors to obtain child assent and gain parental consent in minor cases.

Implementation: Parents receive a consent form detailing purpose, schedule, activities, benefits, risks, and confidentiality limits. Children complete an assent form written in age-appropriate language.

Importance: Informed consent and assent establish guidelines, respect autonomy, and model ethical practice (Remley & Herlihy, 2020).

Outcome: Creating informed consent helps to establish credibility with students as well as parents, providing a basis for productive group contributions.

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Ground rules help us create a safe, respectful, and effective group space:

Determined by Counselor: Display respect for confidentiality (within limitations), be an active listener, avoid put-downs, and display respect for pass rights.

Co-Developed by Group Members: During the first session, students will help develop rules (e.g., taking turns, raising hands, how to ask for a break). Here, students are empowered and more attached to group culture (Gladding, 2019).

Use of Resource: The Participant Guidelines and Ground Rules handout will serve as a structure with flexibility that will work age-appropriately.

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It will also align with group counseling's three stages of group development (Corey et al., 2018):

Stage 1 – Start: The icebreakers, creative exercises, and introductions establish ground of trust. Confidentiality boundaries are defined, as are legal/ethical boundaries. Group norms are agreed upon.

Stage 2 – Working: Coping measures (e.g., mindfulness, writing/journaling, creative art) and opportunity of peer support are included in structured sessions. The counselor works at creating harmony, oversees the group, and gives feedback continuously (Yalom & Leszcz, 2020).

Stage 3 – Termination: Termination involves memory projects, reflection exercises, and reinforcing coping mechanisms. Feelings of loss associated with group termination are explored by counselors, resilience is emphasized, and confidentiality remains after termination of the group (Worden & Silverman, 1996).

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A facilitative/democratic style of leadership will be taken. This style blends counselor guidance with potential for student voice, so that children can coproduce their healing journey in a safe manner. Occasionally, a supportive stance of leadership is required in order to acknowledge feelings and illustrate empathy (Gladding, 2019).

This combination is also in agreement with research showing that in grief groups, non-rigid, developmentally suitable leadership is effective, in that children do well under guidance, support, and freedom of expression (Morgan & Roberts, 2010).

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These are therapeutic factors that are expected (Yalom & Leszcz, 2020):

Universality: Students discover they are not alone in their grief, normalizing their experiences.

Instillation of Hope: Watching peers cope and bounce back fosters self-confidence.

Altruism: The students develop self-esteem by providing support and empathy to students.

Cohesion: Group relationships that provide security and membership, central to recovery (National Alliance for Children's Grief, 2022).

These predictors favor resilience and support coping, offsetting academic and affective risks of unresolved grief (Hadar et al., 2024).

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Confidentiality and Limits Thereon

Confidentiality lies at the root of trust in group counseling, while administrative guidelines must be spelled out in explicit terms. Counselors are required to violate confidentiality when there is disclosure of danger towards oneself or others, or suspected abuse/neglect (Texas Education Code, 2019; ACA, 2014). Elaboration of such guidelines in child-friend terms makes it explicit and eliminates confusion.

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Informed Consent and Assent

Both parent permission and child assent must also act as conditions of participation. The ASCA Ethical Standards (2021) and ACA Code of Ethics (2014) require counselors to outline in explicit terms group purpose, risks, benefits, and confidentiality expectations. This upholds participants' rights, fosters counselors' responsibility, and enhances family-school connections (Remley & Herlihy, 2020).

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American Counseling Association. (2014). ACA code of ethics. https://www.counseling.org/Resources/aca-code-of-ethics.pdf

American School Counselor Association. (2014). Mindsets & behaviors for student success. https://schoolcounselor.org/getmedia/742f2dd9-5c3c-482f-8e48-4a5ef61a8d22/Mindsets-Behaviors.pdf

American School Counselor Association. (2021). ASCA ethical standards for school counselors. https://schoolcounselor.org/Standards/Ethical-Standards

Corey, M. S., Corey, G., & Corey, C. (2018). Groups: Process and practice (10th ed.). Cengage Learning.

Gladding, S. T. (2019). Groups: A counseling specialty (8th ed.). Pearson.

Hadar, L., Cohenca-Shiby, M., & Bar-Zomer, J. (2024). School functioning following parental loss: The perspective of bereaved children and adolescents. OMEGA – Journal of Death and Dying. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/00302228241241907

Morgan, S. B., & Roberts, J. (2010). Helping bereaved children and adolescents: Strategies and interventions for school counselors. Journal of School Counseling, 8(29), 1–31. https://www.jsc.montana.edu/articles/v8n29.pdf

National Alliance for Children’s Grief. (2022). Understanding childhood grief. https://nacg.org

Remley, T. P., & Herlihy, B. P. (2020). Ethical, legal, and professional issues in counseling (6th ed.). Pearson.

Texas Education Code. (2019). Title 2. Public education. Subtitle F. Curriculum, programs, and services.

Worden, J. W., & Silverman, P. R. (1996). Parental death and the adjustment of school-age children. Omega: Journal of Death and Dying, 33(2), 91–102. https://doi.org/10.2190/P77L-F6F6-5W06-NHBX

Yalom, I. D., & Leszcz, M. (2020). The theory and practice of group psychotherapy (6th ed.). Basic Books.