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I Feel… is a small group counseling series that is designed for young elementary students, primarily grades kindergarten through 2nd grade.  This series will consist of 4-6 weekly sessions where students will be introduced to a variety of emotions, how to name their emotions, and ways to regulate emotions.

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Students will master the following Mindset and Behaviors upon completion of I Feel...:

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

B-SMS 1. Responsibility for self and actions.

B-SMS 2. Self-discipline and self-control.

B-SMS 7. Effective coping skills (American School Counselor Association, 2021).

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Publicity for the small group will occur across multiple media forms. The teachers will have information regarding the small group sent to them through district email. They will also be provided with a printed flyer containing a QR code to make a referral. Parents will be made aware of the small group opportunity through a Class Dojo post, which will also include a referral link.

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In order to select participants for the group I would attempt to follow the TAP process of telling about the group, asking about their interest, and then picking the members (Missouri Professional School Counselors and Counselor Educators, 2015). However, due to the age of the students I will have to rely heavily on referral and feedback from teachers and parents. When explaining about the group I will need to be sure to use age appropriate language, such as "we will be learning about emotions". Gaining information like whether the child is seeing a counselor will most likely have to come from the parent/guardian. The biggest factor in deciding the group's members will be through needs of the individual.

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Ground rules would be set at the first session and then reviewed at each following one. As the leader of the group, I would guide the conversation of rules needed. Some definite rules needed would be confidentiality, one person speaking at a time, and good listening. Due to the age of the students I would probably also include hands to yourself. I would also guide the students on coming up with some on there own. We would also model what these rules look like.

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Obtaining consent for participation in a small group is required by our local school district. I have created this consent form that will be sent home to parents. Once consent is obtained, verbal assent will be obtained from the students. Confidentiality will be explained and reviewed at the beginning of each session.

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Stage 1 - During the first stage, norms will be established by discussing the rules and expectations. The rules will be modeled for further understanding. The students will become acquainted with each other through ice breaker activities.

Stage 2 - The second stage will consist of reviewing the goals of the group periodically throughout the sessions. During this stage the group will be learning how to identify emotions and strategies to regulate these emotions.

Stage 3 - At the third stage, the group will review everything that has been learned. The strategies will be reviewed and discussed how to implement them independently. The group will discuss use of these strategies for future growth.

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Throughout the small group sessions, I would be more likely to use the authoritarian leadership. This leadership tends to be in control of the group and the decision-making (Cherry, 2023). I would utilize this leadership style because of the age group I would be working with throughout the small group. Young elementary students would require guidance and leadership in what is expected and in discussion.

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American School Counselor Association (2021). ASCA student standards: Mindsets and behaviors for student success.https://www.schoolcounselor.org/getmedia/7428a787-a452-4abb-afec-d78ec77870cd/Mindsets-Behaviors.pdf

American School Counselor Association. (2022). ASCA ethical standards for school counselors. https://www.schoolcounselor.org/getmedia/44f30280-ffe8-4b41-9ad8-f15909c3d164/EthicalStandards.pdf

Cherry, K. (2023). How to lead: 6 leadership styles and framework. 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.

School Counselors and Counseling Programs, 2 Tex. Edu. Code § 33.002-33.007

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

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Some therapeutic factors that may be present throughout the small group sessions could include:

Universality - The students may begin to see that they are not the only ones struggling with controlling their emotions.

Development of socializing techniques - The students may develop some more appropriate social skills and interpersonal skills by becoming aware of other's emotions.

Imitative behavior - The students may see that another student is able to react to an emotion with appropriate behavior and they begin to imitate these reactions (Yalom, 1995).

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The American School Counselor Association (2022) discusses the role of the school counselor pertaining to small groups in section A.7 Group Work. This section explains that a school counselor is to find needs of students and provide small group counseling based on those found needs.

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School counselors are to provide responsive services to any students experiencing immediate concerns or problems (2 TEC § 33.005). One of the ways school counselors can provide these services to meet the needs of the student is through small group counseling.