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The group name is Girl Talk.  Anger is a strong negative emotional response to frustration or other underlying feelings.  Anger management is the ability of a person to express his or her emotions with non-violent or destructive behaviors. Managing one's anger means developing an understanding of the causes of angry feelings, underlying emotions, and his or her response to negative events or triggers.   The group demographics include female students in grades 6th through 8th.

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The mindsets and behaviors that the students will master by the end of the unit lessons are as follow:

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

M 2. Self-confidence in the ability to succeed

M 6. Positive attitude toward work and learning

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

B-LS. 9. Gather evidence and consider multiple perspectives to make informed decisions

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

B-SMS 7. Demonstrate effective coping skills when faced with a problem

B-SS 9. Demonstrate social maturity and behaviors appropriate to the situation and environment
(American School Counselor Association, 2014)

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Before the screening process, parents will receive a letter requesting consent for the student to participate in a screening/interview for the anger management group. After the screening of students for participation in the group, six to eight group members will be selected and four alternate group members.   A letter providing details and the purpose of the counseling group will be sent to parents along with a letter for parental consent for students to participate in group counseling.  If any of the parents do not consent to their child participating in group counseling, an invitation and consent form will be sent to alternate group members to make up the total group members of no more than eight students.
Handout:
(Missouri Professional School Counselors and Counselor Educators, 2015)

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During the first group counseling session, the group will utilize the handout to review the ground rules and expectations.  I will adjust this handout so there are only 10 rules total. I will leave at least two blank spaces for students to add rules they feel are important for overall individual and group achievement. Rules and expectations will be preset by the counselor regarding the  participation by everyone, the confidentiality of sessions, being respectful through listening and words, and being on time.
Handout:
Missouri Professional School Counselors and Counselor Educators. (2015)

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The anger management counseling group consists of 7th-grade female students that have each been referred due to aggressive behavior, fighting, and other aggressive-disruptive behaviors.   The students have received three or more discipline referrals.  Therefore, due to the nature of the temperament of the student involved, cooperation and positive participation may be a challenge.  For a successful group outcome, the three stages of group dynamics will be addressed in the following ways:

Stage 1:  The group roles and expectations will be shared, discussed, and communicated to each group member.  The group members will share their unique perspective on how the rules, expectations, and norms will help make for a positive and successful group.  Group members will be reminded throughout the initial session of valuing other's opinions and respectfully disagreeing.  The counselor will model how to respectfully disagree with other members and appropriate ways of showing respect through listening.  The counselor will also emphasize the importance of confidentiality between group members, which allows others the ability to share safely and openly during group sessions (Missouri Professional School Counselors and Counselor Educators, 2015).

Stage 2:  Group members will be encouraged to participate in the new learning and modeling of appropriate behaviors.  Group members will participate in role-playing and various self-reflections activities.  Activities will include positive communication through grouping activities that allow each person to share their experiences and positive changes.  The counselor will guide members into identifying accomplishments throughout each counseling session.   Furthermore, the counselor will remind the group of participation expectations, confidentiality, and respecting/valuing each other's opinions and experiences (Missouri Professional School Counselors and Counselor Educators, 2015).

Stage 3:  The final session will be a celebration of all behavior achievements (small and large).  The counselor's goal is to send each student off with strategies, tools, and resources that will help them display appropriate anger management strategies that they can apply to various situations.  The group will close with a reflection of their growth from the unit lessons and homework assignments. The counselor will explain that she will be checking in with students and staff to further assist students in maintaining and transferring the skills and information they have learned (Missouri Professional School Counselors and Counselor Educators, 2015) .

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The legal requirement identified is located in the Texas Education Code Section 33.005 Comprehensive School Counseling Programs subsection b (2): 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. This legal requirement supports school counselors because the requirement establishes the responsibility of counselors to provide counseling services to address students’ problems that impedes their academic, social, and emotional achievement.

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The counselor will meet with students as a group in the campus library for the screening process. An explanation of the topic and benefits of participating in the group will be provided to the students. The counselor will explain the purpose of the group, review the counselor’s rules and expectations of group members, such as participation, being on time, working cooperatively, confidentiality between the group members. The counselor will explain the limits of confidentiality .  The number of session times, location, and the length of counseling sessions will be shared (Missouri Professional School Counselors and Counselor Educators, 2015). After the counselor provides the details about the anger management group, including why the student was invited to participate, the counselor will ask the student to share any concerns or questions the student may have. The counselor will ask the student to explain in her own words the topic of the group, the purpose, and the potential benefit for the participating in the group.  Students will complete a questionnaire inquiring about the student's interest in being part of the group, any outside services the student may already be receiving, any rules or expectations that the student may find difficult to follow, and if there are any students she will not be comfortable participating in group counseling (Missouri Professional School Counselors and Counselor Educators, 2015).  After screenings have been completed, the counselor will review the student responses and determine which students will work well together and promote individual/group growth.

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The Yalom's therapeutic factors that are present in the anger management group are instillation of hope, universality, development of socializing techniques, direct advice, and interpersonal learning.  Through the group counseling sessions, group members will be encouraged to believe not only the anger control methods utilized but in their abilities to effect positive changes in their behavior (Yalom ID, 1995).  Group members will find unity in knowing they are not the only ones in the school suffering from anger control issues.  Students participating in the group counseling sessions will ideally develop better social skills of getting along with others and appropriately reading social cues in various situations (Yalom ID, 1995).  Students will be challenged to learn new ways of managing and/or controlling their anger.  Finally, group members will receive direct advice or feedback on strategies and techniques to utilize for anger management.  The students will practice utilizing the advice and/or feedback provided to effectively change their behavior (Yalom ID, 1995).

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When working with the group, I will use a transformational leadership style. I chose this type of leadership style because I believe that every student can exceed and be successful in meeting their goals. A transformational leader instills positive hope for success in the people they lead.  In reference to leading a small group, “through the strength of their vision and personality, transformational leaders can inspire followers to change expectations, perceptions, and motivations to work toward common goals” (Cherry, 2019, para 4).  Students in this group will be challenged to change their perspective about their thoughts/beliefs and reactions to triggers. Students will need continued motivation to effect positive change in their behavior.

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The formation of the anger management counseling group is based on data from the school information system and teacher’s report.  The group is formed to address the problem of specific students that have received three or more referrals to the discipline office.  The group will not be advertised through announcements or general school flyers. Instead, a flyer outlining the details and objectives of the group will be specifically sent to identified students. Students that show an interest will be pre-screened and/or interviewed to become a member of the counseling group. Upon acceptance into the group, additional group information will be sent home to the parent via the student.

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The ethical requirement that supports school counselors is ethic code A.9.a. Screening. School counselors are expected to screen potential group counseling members to ensure the member is the best fit for the counseling group and the member will not impede individual or group achievement (American Counseling Association, 2014). The ethical standard sets a guideline for the formation of counseling groups for expected success and achievement through services provided.