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Stress Smarts is a small group that will address anxiety (sense of fear and worry) among high school students

Group Goals

Students will develop an understanding of anxiety and what is happening in the body and brain.

Students will learn to recognize anxious feelings.

Students will understand and develop coping strategies to deal with anxiety.

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The American School Counselor Association presents mindsets and behaviors necessary for students' achievement. The Stress Smarts small group, helping students address anxiety (extreme worry or stress), would fall under the Social/Emotional Domain of the ASCA Students Standards as it would "help students manage emotions and learn and apply interpersonal skills (The ASCA Student Standards: Mindsets & Behaviors for Student Success Describe the Knowl, 2021). The group would also indirectly affect the remaining two domains of Academic Development and Career Development, as social/emotional development affects both academic and career development.

Participants will master the following. ASCA Mindsets and Behaviors as a direct result of participating in the Stress Smarts group:
Category 1: Mindset

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

M 4. Self-confidence and the ability to succeed.

Category 2: Behavior Standards
Self-Management Skills

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 3. Positive relationships with adults to support success.

B-SS 4. Empathy

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Information regarding the small group Stress Smarts will be disseminated to parents, students, teachers, and administrators through varying means. Counselors or group administrators will advertise this group through the following:

A flyer included in daily announcement slides presented to students daily during homeroom class.

These flyers will also be posted around the high school campus advertising the group.

Personal invitations will be sent via email to individual students who are pre-selected as good candidates for this group.

Parents will be notified of the upcoming Stress Smarts group through email using Skyward.

Faculty will be sent an email advertising the upcoming Stress Smarts group, along with requests for possible student candidates.

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The Stress Smarts small group will help students address issues pertaining to anxiety and stress. It will be necessary to screen participants so that this closed group will function in a way that is beneficial to all group participants and provide each member an "opportunity for personal growth" (Missouri Professional School Counselors and Counselor Educators, 2015).

After advertising has been completed, students who both volunteered and were referred by teachers or parents will be screened by the group leadership. Each student will be screened individually by addressing the following with each potential participant as recommended by the Missouri Professional School Counselors and Counselor Educators (2015):

Description of the group (topic, logistics of meeting, expectations, reasoning behind consideration, voluntary participation)

Student gains (group goals and individual goals, getting to know others, learn new skills)

Expectations of group members (commitment, confidentiality)

Participation expectations (contribute, listen, respect others, help others)

After screening, participants will be selected. Each participant will be notified by email and in person.

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There is limited information at my local campus regarding small group counseling as it is not a prevalent practice to date, but in accordance with the Education Code, Section 33.003, prior to any student participating in counseling, the high school campus obtains written parental consent as it is stated that "the board of trustees...shall adopt guidelines to ensure that written consent should be obtained from the parent, legal guardian, or person entitled to enroll the student."

In researching the topic, I did identify information regarding small group counseling consent:

It is obtained prior to the screening process (Missouri Professional School Counselors and Counselor Educators, 2015).

Identifies the group counseling topic.

Confidentiality and breach of confidentiality for duty to protect should be addressed as a part of informed consent.

Risks and benefits associated with participation in group counseling are addressed (School Counseling Informed Consent Form, n.d.).

Student assent is obtained as well, addressing the information above and ensuring that students understand and are informed of the above items.

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This resource would be utilized in the Introduction Session (first session) to establish guidelines and ground rules for the group.

The group would brainstorm what each rule "looks like" and "sounds like" in order to implement the democratic leadership style as stated earlier. Asking for the participant's input in this activity will ensure student buy-in to follow the ground rules as stated.

The group members should have an opportunity to add rules at the end of the brainstorming session as they see appropriate. The rules should be added to a poster and posted in the group meeting area to be referenced on a regular basis.

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According to the Missouri Comprehensive Guidance and Counseling Program (2015, pg 7), "all groups are unique, but the stages of groups are predictable." The following lays out the stages of group dynamics as it applies to the small group counseling session Stress Smarts.

•       Stage 1- Relationships and trust are built in stage one. Group norms will be established through the first lesson: Establishing the Ground Rules. When rules are established, participants begin to trust they will be respected. When the leader participates in this discussion and encourages input from the members (democratic leadership style), the leader establishes trust within the group. It is necessary in the first session to review confidentiality and the importance of maintaining confidentiality, but also to make the members aware that this is not guaranteed as there are limits to confidentiality. The members must know there are some exceptions to this rule. It is important at this "storming/norming stage" that any group member who exhibits acting out behavior be addressed in a respectful but necessary way.

•       Stage 2- It is important during this "performing stage" that the participants see value in the group and believe that the work that is being done will have a valuable impact. Students should see the leader modeling respectful behavior while interacting with the participants. By using an exit ticket at the end of each session, the group leader could check in with participants to gauge their progress.

•       Stage 3- Stage 3 is sometimes referred to as the "mourning stage" and can have a powerful impact on the group members as they work to transition to applying the necessary skills without the support of the small group meeting on a weekly basis. It is important in the final session to review what has been learned and discuss how these changes can be sustained over a long period of time. It is important to establish follow-up plans in the last session so participants will be aware of the support that will continue to be available to them.

(Missouri Professional School Counselors and Counselor Educators, 2015, pg 7)

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Cherry states that "leadership styles are classifications of how a person behaves while directing, motivating, guiding, and managing groups of people (Cherry, 2023, para 1).

In establishing and leading a small group such as Stress Smarts, it would be necessary to guide the participants in a way that helped them feel safe and heard through the group process. According to Cherry (2023), the most effective leadership style is the participative (democratic) leadership style. With this style, the leader "offers guidance to group members, but [leaders] also participate in the group," and group members have input. Because of this, the group members are more motivated to contribute to the group. They feel like they are part of a team and, as a whole, are more likely to buy into the goals of the group.

Through my experience as a classroom teacher, I have seen the benefits of guiding groups of students through a democratic leadership style. High school students are more likely to buy into the process if they have an opportunity to provide authentic input and feel heard or listened to. This type of leadership would be the most beneficial in a small group such as Stress Smarts.

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In Irvin Yalom's work, Theory and Practice of Group Psychotherapy, he identified 11 primary therapeutic factors for group therapy.

During the Stress Smarts small group, several of these factors could potentially be a factor.

Installation of Hope: Those who suffer from the effects of anxiety can feel overwhelmed and hopeless. After joining a group, making relationships with others who struggle with similar problems, and sharing successes as the group works through coping strategies, participants can begin to see that with knowledge and practice, strategies can be effective.

Universality: Those who suffer from the effects of anxiety often isolate themselves to avoid anxiety-inducing people, activities, or expectations. Through this group, participants can begin to feel the benefits of connecting with others who suffer some of the same pain and begin to realize that they are not alone or their situation is not unique to them.

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Legal & Ethical Requirements: Group Work: Screening Process

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Legal & Ethical Requirements: Group Work: Screening Process

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American Counseling Associate (ACA) Code of Ethics: Group Work A.9

According to the American Counseling Association (ACA) Code of Ethics (2014), Section A, Article 9, Group Work counselors should "screen prospective group counseling/therapy participants" and select participants whose needs and goals line up with the needs and goals of the group. It also goes on to state that through the screening process, the counselor will select members in a way that the group members' well-being will not be jeopardized because they have participated in said group.

This would be a vital ethical requirement in the Stress Smart small group. The screening process could be a step easily overlooked to save time or quickly begin a needed group, allowing all who showed interest to be involved in the group, but as indicated in the ACA ethical standards, a needed aspect in establishing a group in order to protect those students who are participating and ensuring each participants well-being.

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Legal & Ethical Requirements: Group Work, Best Practice in Planning

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Legal & Ethical Requirements: Group Work, Best Practice in Planning

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According to the Association for Specialists in Group Work (ASGW), Best Practice in Planning (A.8), group workers recognize "that professional growth is a continuous, ongoing, developmental process throughout their career" (Thomas & Pender, 2008, 113).

Section A.8 goes on to state the following:

a. Group Workers remain current and increase knowledge and skill competencies through activities such as continuing education, professional supervision, and participation in personal and professional development activities.
e. Group Workers keep abreast of group research and development.

As a counselor conducting group counseling sessions, it would be vital to be up to date in current effective group counseling techniques as well as counseling research in order to implement a plan that is effective and ensures the overall well-being and development of all participants.

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References

ACA 2014 Code of Ethics. (2014). American Counseling Association. Retrieved September 17, 2023, from https://www.counseling.org/resources/aca-code-of-ethics.pdf

The ASCA Student Standards: Mindsets & Behaviors for Student Success. (2021). American School Counselor Association. Retrieved September 17, 2023, from https://www.schoolcounselor.org/getmedia/7428a787-a452-4abb-afec-d78ec77870cd/Mindsets-Behaviors.pdf

Cherry, K. (2023, June 27). How to Lead: 6 Leadership Styles and Frameworks. Verywell Mind. Retrieved September 17, 2023, from 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 September 17, 2023, from https://www.missouricareereducation.org/doc/smallgroup/SmallGroupCounseling.pdf

School Counseling Informed Consent Form. (n.d.). Renton Prep. Retrieved September 17, 2023, from https://rentonprep.org/school-counseling-informed-consent-form/

Thomas, R. V., & Pender, D. A. (2008, June). Association for Specialists in Group Work: Best Practice Guidelines 2007 Revisions. The Journal for Specialists in Group Work, 33(2), 111-117. https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/513c96_93df348d51134a08b789df5374b6dfb7.pdf

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

Books.