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Ground Rules established by the counselor:
-Be respectful.
-Be courteous.
-Be kind.
-Confidentiality is key! If it is said in here, it stays in here.
-Use accountable talk. "I agree with you, but..."

Rules established by the group could include:
-What type of information can be shared with others, and what must remain confidential?
-What are the consequences of breaching confidentiality?
-What types of activities will we use to discuss various topics?
-How will we hold each other accountable?

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Group norms and rules for the group will be discussed and established prior to signing the informed consent.

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American Counseling Association Code of Ethics

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American Counseling Association Code of Ethics

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Upon completion of this counseling small group, students will master the following category 1 mindset standards:
M.1.  "Belief in development of whole self, including a healthy balance of mental, social/emotional and physical well-being,"
M.3. " Positive attitude toward work and learning,"
M 4. "Self-confidence in ability to succeed," and
M 5. "Belief in using abilities to their fullest to achieve high-quality results and outcomes," (American School Counselor Association, 2021, p. 2).

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Category 2 behaviors that will be mastered include:
B-LS 3. "Time-management, organizational and study skills"
B-LS 7. "Long- and short-term academic, career and social/emotional goals"
B-SMS 2. "Self-discipline and self-control"
B-SMS 6. "Ability to identify and overcome barriers"
B-SMS 7. "Effective coping skills"
B-SS 2. "Positive, respectful, and supportive relationships with students who are similar to and different from them," (American School Counselor Association, 2021, p. 2).

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Districts must require that written parental consent must be obtained in order for students to participate in certain activities (2 Texas Education Code § 33.003). Guidelines will be in place to obtain parent or guardian permission for students to participate in the small group counseling.

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Any materials or curriculum that will be used during guidance or counseling sessions must be available for parents to preview during school hours (2 TEC § 33.004(b)).

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Counselors must screen potential group members in order to select group members whose needs align with the goals of the group, and will not interfere with the progress or well-being of other members (American Counseling Association Code, 2014) as described in Section, A.9.a.

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Counselors must respect the privacy of all group members and will only ask for personal information if it is relevant to the counseling process, according to section B.1.b (ASCA, 2014).

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Section B.1.c (ASCA, 2014) states that a counselor must protect counseling members' confidential information. Pertinent information can only be shared with their consent or if it can be justified both legally and ethically.

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The school counselor will explain to the counseling group members when she may need to disclose confidential information (ASCA, 2014, section B.1.d).  Such circumstances include when the student or related individual is in imminent danger (ASCA, 2014, section B.2.a).

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Stage 1: Getting Acquainted/Setting Norms/Building Trust

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Stage 1: Getting Acquainted/Setting Norms/Building Trust

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The norms of the group will first be set by establishing the overall goals of respect, positivity, and productivity. Group members will brainstorm a list of identifiable actions that represent each of these norms.

Group members will make connections with each other by playing an ice-breaker BINGO game where they ask each other questions from their BINGO cards to discover what they have in common.

Psychological safety of the group will be established by playing a game where one member is blindfolded and must fall back and trust another group member to catch him or her.

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Stage 2: Working Together to Accomplish Individual and Group Goals

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Stage 2: Working Together to Accomplish Individual and Group Goals

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Members of the group will learn to value themselves and value others by taking turns telling each other what they appreciate about their contributions to the group.

Group members will be encouraged to believe the group
will make a difference by sharing weekly updates about growth and successes when taking tests.

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Group members will reflect on individual and group accomplishments by setting small manageable individual goals for each test they take and then sharing success stories with one another.  Group members will learn to respond to each other with encouragement.

Each member will apply the skills and knowledge they gained to predict how their levels of anxiety will decrease in the future.  They will visualize what they will look like and feel like when they take tests in the future.  They can act it out for one another and predict their future levels of anxiety.

Members will also identify people in their lives who will be able to provide them with support in maintaining their goals or helping them grow in confidence. The school counselor will continue to check with students, gradually decreasing the frequency of check-ins until they feel fully confident that they no longer need support from the counselor.

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Anxiety Busters is a group of third-grade students who are ages eight to nine-years-old.  These students have been identified as having test anxiety through a self-assessment survey.  The survey asked students to rate themselves regarding their perceptions of their levels of anxiety before and after exams.

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Informed Consent for students in schools requires the student to have knowledge of all of the components associated with informed consent, in which there is voluntary engagement in counseling services that are being provided and understanding the implications (both positive and negative) associated with engaging in counseling sessions (Stone, 2014).

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The style of leadership that would be best for the Anxiety Busters counseling group is participative leadership because this is the most effective leadership style. Using this leadership style, the school counselor will offer guidance to group members but also participate in the group and allow for input from other members of the group. By using this leadership style, group members will feel more engaged in the process of achieving their goal of eliminating test anxiety and may be more motivated and creative. Also, this leadership style tends to make each member of the group feel valued (Cherry, 2021).

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It is important to get the information regarding small group counseling for 3rd grade students who struggle with test anxiety. The information about the counseling sessions should be shared with teachers and staff, students, and parents.

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Methods of Communication about Small Group Counseling Sessions 

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Methods of Communication about Small Group Counseling Sessions 

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1. Daily school announcements
2. Flyers put into students' daily folders
3. Emails and phone calls to students' parents
4. Posting the small group counseling session on the counseling page on the school website.
5. Personal invitations
6. QR codes posted around the building and campus website with information regarding the small group counseling.

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All third-grade students will complete a Testing Strategies Survey self-assessment to identify those who suffer from test anxiety (Corbett, 2022). This assessment contains 15 "yes or no" questions that ask students to rate themselves regarding perceptions of their levels of anxiety while taking the reading and writing benchmark tests. Once students are identified as suffering from test anxiety, they will go through the pre-screening process.

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1. Interviewees must accept the ground rules.
2. They must agree to keep all information shared confidential.
3. They must understand the limits to confidentiality.

(Missouri Professional School Counselors and Counselor Educators, 2015).

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Clear Creek Independent School District's current policy regarding informed consent states, "students seeking advice about schedules, colleges, scholarships, tutorials or personal problems
are to contact a school counselor. In the event of a personal crisis, a counselor may request the
assistance of a district psychologist. Written consent from a student's parent/guardian is
required prior to a psychological examination, test, or treatment" (Clear Creek Independent School District Student Handbook, n.d.).

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Students may feel encouragement from the small group as they share stories of instances of where they felt anxiety and feelings of being overwhelmed (Psych-Mental Health Hub, n.d.).

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Students will know from listening to other students in this group that experience test anxiety that their experiences are not unique as they are shared struggles (Psych-Mental Health Hub, n.d.).

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Students will learn factual information about possible treatment options, including breathing techniques, and overall health improvements by getting a plenty of rest and less caffeine (Psych-Mental Health Hub, n.d.).

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Students will learn new ways to talk about feelings, observations, and concerns with a group of like-minded individuals of the same age (Psych-Mental Health Hub, n.d.).

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Students will find out about themselves through others in the group, building relationships, and create a community with similar characteristics (Psych-Mental Health Hub, n.d.).

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Students will create a group of cohesiveness, building a sense of belonging through valuing one another's experiences (Psych-Mental Health Hub, n.d.).

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Students will be able to express their emotions in a safe environment, including a release of emotional tension (Psych-Mental Health Hub, n.d.).

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Students will learn to take responsibility for their actions (Psych-Mental Health Hub, n.d.).

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The goal of screening is to identify students who will benefit from the group and contribute to other members' success.

The school counselor will tell potential members as a group:
- The topic of this group is overcoming text anxiety.
- We will meet every Tuesday for the last six weeks of school for a total of six sessions of school.
-One group will meet during lunch from 12:30-1:00 and the other group will meet during recess from 1:00-1:30.
- Participation is voluntary, but if they should decide to join the group, attendance at every session is expected unless the student is sick or needs to make up an exam.
- Members are being considered for the group based on their self-assessment results.
- The goals of the group are to help each member identify when they are experiencing anxiety, what causes their anxiety, prevent future anxiety, and gain coping strategies if test anxiety occurs again.
- They will work in a group to help each individual succeed, meet people with similar struggles and make connections, new friendships, and support systems.
- Confidentiality is non-negotiable in the group. The school counselor will also maintain confidentiality unless someone is being harmed, harming himself, or harming others.

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The school counselor will ask each potential member individually:
- Do you understand the ground rules and expectations, and are you willing to adhere to them?
- Do you have any questions about the group?
- Are you interested in joining the group?
- What are your goals for growth through this group?

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The school counselor will select participants based on:
- Students who are willing to follow the rules, put forth effort in achieving personal goals and contribute to others' growth.
- Students who are likely to interact positively with others in the group.
- Those who will benefit from this group and are likely to apply what they learn in future test situations.