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Mommy Chronicles is a place for first-time mothers, over the age of eighteen, with infants younger than 18 months old to come and meet other moms, share their stories, gain support, and find a community. Infants under 18 months old are welcome to attend!!

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Mindset Standards:

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

M 2. Sense of acceptance, respect, support and inclusion for self and others in the school environment

M 4. Self-confidence in ability to succeed

Behavior Standards:

Learning Strategies:

B-LS 3. Time-management, organizational and study skills

B-LS 7. Long- and short-term academic, career and social/emotional goals

B-LS 9. Decision-making informed by gathering evidence, getting others' perspectives and recognizing personal bias

Self-Management Skills:

B-SMS 5. Perseverance to achieve long- and short-term goals

B-SMS 6. Ability to identify and overcome barriers

B-SMS 7. Effective coping skills

B-SMS 10. Ability to manage transitions and adapt to change

Social Skills:

B-SS 1. Effective oral and written communication skills and listening skills

B-SS 4. Empathy

B-SS 5. Ethical decision-making and social responsibility

(American School Counselor Association, 2021)

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Publicity and advertising for this group will be administered through flyers left at numerous local pediatricians' offices, local family medicine doctors' offices, and local obstetrics and gynecology offices. These flyers will be placed at receptionists' desks, check-out desks, and made available for nurses or doctors to place in treatment rooms or to hand directly to individuals.

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Participants will be informed through flyers left at various doctor's offices to accurately target the appropriate population.

Mommy Chronicles is for:

first-time moms

over the age of 18

infants younger than 18 months old

Upon receiving a flyer, the potential participant will contact the host and then the host will determine eligibility through:

Demographics

Willingness

Commitment

Interest

(Missouri Professional School Counselors and Counselor Educators, 2015)

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Informed Consent will be initially given when participants receive the initial invitation/brochure.

Informed Consent will be obtained during the beginning of the first session, and continuously throughout sessions.

(SampleForms, n.d.)

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Rules will be one of the first things discussed at the initial meeting. Failure to adhere to rules and guidelines may grant removal from the group.
Required Rules:

Confidentiality

Equal opportunity to participate and share

Speak with respect and kindness

Try to be punctual

Sharing is not required

Be openminded

Come sober

Rules to Vote on:

Should only one person speak at a time?

Should moms step out to change a diaper?

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1. Mommy Chronicles is a homogeneous group therefore developing relationships and building trust will still take time but it provides comfortability and ease because they share common ground (Missouri Professional School Counselors and Counselor Educators, 2015). Limits of confidentiality will be talked about continuously. For everybody to feel safe sharing vulnerable information, there must be a sense of trust and secrecy among the group.

2. Group members will continually work cohesively and productively through activities, group discussions, the introduction of lesson objectives for each session, regular individual check-ins each session, and frequent conversations on confidentiality and group guidelines (Missouri Professional School Counselors and Counselor Educators, 2015).

3. Before and during attendance in Mommy Chronicles, participants will be made well aware that this is a 6-week support group. Discussion about the group coming to an end will take place to learn how participants feel about the closure of the group. As stated before, confidentiality will be talked about frequently. A follow-up email will be administered four weeks later to document how participants are doing post-mommy chronicles.

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When working with Mommy Chronicles, a participative leadership style is ideal. Having a participative leadership style allows group interactions and information to navigate the counselor in hosting different activities or conversations. It also allows the counselor to give guidance and direction to the group through various activities and sessions while allowing the conversation to flow naturally and travel in different directions (Cherry, 2023).

Having a participative leadership style is the best approach when working with this population because it allows unlisted topics to come up and conversations to travel to what is most important for the participants. Ultimately, we want to empower these mothers and support them through this time. We want these mothers to be able to share, get guidance, and feel supported and that comes from allowing this to be a safe, less structured place.

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Yalom's Therapeutic Factors that we hope participants establish through Mommy Chronicles:

Universality

Altruism

Corrective recapitulation of primary family group

Development of socializing techniques

Imitative behavior

Direct advice

Interpersonal learning

(Yalom ID, 1995)

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B.4.a. Group Work
"In group work, counselors clearly explain the importance and parameters of confidentiality for the specific group" (American Counseling Association, 2014, p. 7)

This ethical requirement emphasizes the counselor's need and plans to continuously hold conversations on confidentiality regarding the group.

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A.9.b. Protecting Clients
"In a group setting, counselors take reasonable precautions to protect clients from physical, emotional, or psychological trauma" (American Counseling Association, 2014, p. 6)

This ethical requirement acknowledges the counselor as the leader and mediator of the group. The counselor is responsible for attending to the needs of all participants.

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American Counseling Association. (2014). 2014 ACA code of ethics. https://www.counseling.org/docs/default-source/ethics/2014-code-of-ethics.pdf?sfvrsn=2d58522c_4

American School Counselor Association (2021). ASCA Student Standards; Mindsets and Behaviors for Student Success. Alexandria, VA: Author.

Cherry, K. (2023, June 27). How to lead: 6 leadership styles and frameworks. Verywellmind. https://www.verywellmind.com/leadership-styles-2795312

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

SampleForms. (n.d.) Free 37+ counseling forms in PDF. https://www.sampleforms.com/counseling-form-in-pdf.html

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

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A.9.a. Screening
"Counselors screen prospective group counseling/therapy participants. To the extent possible, counselors select members whose needs and goals are compatible with the goals of the group, who will not impede the group process, and whose well-being will not be jeopardized by the group experience" (American Counseling Association, 2014, p. 6)

This ethical requirement allows proper pre-screening to ensure individuals are eligible to participate, will positively contribute to the group, and receive benefits from participation in the group.