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2 Texas Education Code § 33

ASCA Ethical Standards for School Counselors - American School Counselor Association (ASCA). (n.d.). https://www.schoolcounselor.org/About-School-Counseling/Ethical-Responsibilities/ASCA-Ethical-Standards-for-School-Counselors-(1)

Cherry, K. (2023). How to Lead: 6 Leadership Styles and Frameworks. Verywell Mind. 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

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

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The Texas Education Code (TEC) Section 33.005 b2 states that a professional school counselor must provide "a responsive services component to intervene on behalf of any student whose immediate personal concerns or problems put the student's continued educational, career, personal, or social development at risk."
The development of this group provides a responsive service to students identified with generalized anxiety that is directly affecting their academic and social/ emotional success.

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The ground rules and expectations will be discussed during the first session. These ground rules will serve as a guide to the participants to create their own version. A confidentiality agreement will be reviewed and discussed. Each participant will sign the agreement acknowledging that they understand and agree to confidentiality.

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The American School Counselor Association Section A7 stated that school counselors are responsible for "offering culturally sustaining small-group counseling services based on individual student, school and community needs; student data; a referral process; and/or other relevant data."

The Lunch Bunch Butterflies group is a data-based small group that is based on the needs of particular students who struggle with generalized anxiety and need intervention to increase their academic and social/emotional success.

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Instillation of Hope
Through the activities and discussions, participants will believe they cope with their anxiety and increase their academic and social/emotional success.
Universality
The group sessions will consist of eight female students, allowing the participants to see that they are not the only ones who struggle with anxiety.
Interpersonal Learning
Through the sessions, the participants will have opportunities to learn from the other participants and give and receive positive feedback. By interacting with others dealing with anxiety, participants can learn about their own struggles with anxiety.
(Yalom ID, 1995)

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The transformational leadership style will be used to achieve the desired student outcomes from the group counseling session. Transformational leadership is a powerful leadership style that has the ability to inspire and motivate followers to reach their fullest potential (Cherry, 2023). It involves crafting a vision for the future, effectively communicating it to the group members, and granting them the power to achieve it. Transformational leaders are seen as charismatic and facilitators of discussion and connection. This style of leadership is particularly effective for this situation where change or innovation is required because it can create a sense of enthusiasm for learning, understanding, and coping with anxiety. Overall, transformational leadership is a potent tool for creating positive change and achieving the goals of the group.

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Stage 1- During this stage, trust must be established, and relationships must start forming (Missouri Professional School Counselor and Counselor Education, 2015). The ground and confidentiality rules must be acknowledged at the beginning of every session to build trust. A pre-assessment will be given to determine the knowledge level of anxiety and its different effects on the participant's life. Each session will also begin with an Icebreaker that helps to build relationships between the participants and me. Starting the group the same way every session creates predictability and reliability, making it easier for group participants to open up and form relationships and trust.

Stage 2- To keep members working cohesively and productively, discussion and connections between members must be facilitated as the activities progress. Keeping the feeling of the group positive and promoting the idea of how knowledge of anxiety provides empowerment will help the participants believe that the group will make a difference. The activities encourage discussion and establish connections among participants to build camaraderie.

Stage 3- To close the group, a post-assessment will be given, and a closing activity will be completed. The participants will see their growth by comparing the pre and post-assessments. The closing activity will be something that they can take with them to continue the bond established in the group. It will be found that I will be checking in on each group member during the following weeks. It will also be established that the confidentiality agreement they signed is always in effect. Just because the group is over does not mean that the confidentiality ends.

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Before students can participate in the group, parental consent must be obtained. During the individual meetings with each student, they will receive the parental consent form. The student will understand that this has to be completed to participate in the group. If a student is having trouble obtaining consent, we will talk to the parents through phone calls or meetings.

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The screening process for this group will involve disseminating data from teacher/ parent concerns, academic records, and information gathered from Individual Student Achievement Committees (ISAC) to determine participants that would benefit. After determining the participants, I will meet with each participant individually. During the meeting, the group's purpose, goals, and design will be discussed. This discussion will allow each participant to voice their expectations and concerns of the group. Ideally, all students selected will want to participate, but other alternatives can be determined if a student is adamant that they do not want to participate.

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As this will be a closed group, the information for the Lunch Bunch Butterflies will be disseminated in the following ways:
Administrators
A summary of the action plan will be presented to administrators, so they see the purpose and goals of the group.
Teachers
Contact with the students' teachers would have already been made due to collecting the observations and academic data needed to create the group. After the group is established, an email will be sent to the teachers to let them know so they can observe and help document any changes in the students.
Parents
Parents will receive a note explaining the purpose of the group and expected outcomes. It will also address the necessary confidentiality and parental consent.
Students
A personal invitation will be sent to the student's email two weeks before the first session. This will allow them time to ask questions and get their parental consent note signed.

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Mindsets Standards
M 1. Belief in the development of whole self, including a healthy balance of mental, social/emotional and physical well-being
Behavior Standards
Self-Management Skills
B-SMS 1. Responsibility for self and actions
B-SMS 6. Ability to identify and overcome barriers
B-SMS 7. Effective coping skills
Social Skills
B-SS 2. Positive, respectful, and supportive relationships with students who are similar to and different from them
B-SS 8. Advocacy skills for self and others and ability to assert self, when necessary
B-SS 9. Social maturity and behaviors appropriate to the situation and environment
(ASCA, 2021)

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For this small group counseling, we will focus on helping female students diagnosed with or exhibiting symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder in 6th-8th grades. This group will be a part of the counseling sessions I hold during lunch, named the Lunch Bunch. They will be identified as the Lunch Bunch Butterflies to represent the feelings and negative impacts of anxiety and the idea of being able to change it.