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Slide #1: Brief Description of Stress Less

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Slide #1: Brief Description of Stress Less

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Description:

The name of my group is called Stress Less. I will be working with 9th graders (14-15 years old) students who are considered economically disadvantaged on stress management skills and strategies to reduce anxiety.

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American School Counselor Association (2021) states, “school counselors encourage the following mindsets for all students. M 1. Belief in development of whole self, including a healthy balance of mental, social/emotional and physical well-being” (p. 1).

American School Counselor Association (2021) states, “school counselors provide culturally sustaining instruction, appraisal and advisement, and counseling to help all students demonstrate: self-management skills (B-SMS 6. Ability to identify and overcome barriers and B-SMS 7. Effective coping skills” (p. 1).

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For parents, the school counselor plans on spreading the information by sending out a weekly newsletter that promotes Stress Less along with its benefits, values, and student outcomes. Additionally, it will be posted on the district counseling website.

For students, the school counselor plans on spreading the information by posting flyers around the campus, posting on the counselor corner's social media page, and send out a daily announcement during the students' advisory period.

For teachers and administrators, the school counselors will send out a recommendation form using Google Forms that allows them to recommend a student that they feel would benefit from Stress Less. The Google Form will only be sent to core teachers and to all administrators on campus. The school counselors will give two weeks to give everyone the time and consideration to submit any requests.

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The school counselor will call each of the participants to the counseling office during their elective period where they will discuss the details of Stress Less. The school counselor will talk about the goals, objectives, and topics of Stress Less. In addition, the school counselor will provide a parent consent form to each of the participants. They have one week to bring their permission slip back to the counseling office. Stress Less will meet once a week on Wednesdays from 9:00-9:45 am. Sessions will begin on October 2nd, 2023 where three males and three females who are ninth grade students will participate.

The school counselor will assess the participants readiness to participate, willingness, and interest by evaluating each of the participants’ values and goals. This will be completed using a Google Form where participants will have the opportunity to talk about their interest in group counseling, questions about stress and distress, as well as questions about themselves and their families. The form will discuss the expectations and goals of Stress Less and what students are able to gain from it. The interest form will help the school counselor evaluate the participants’ mindset and goals. When informing the student on Stress Less, the school counselor will provide a QR code to the interest form where they will have one week to complete the survey. If the students do not complete the survey, their participation will be affected.

The school counselor will screen the participants individually during a one-on-one meeting with the student. After all teacher and administrator recommendations are made, the school counselor will determine which students are selected based on the screening and selection process.

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For students to receive counseling services such as participating in group counseling, parents must be notified as well as students must receive parental consent/permission to participate. Because Stress Less is tailored to only ninth grade students, they must have parent permission. The school counselor plans to call the parent and send an email with the attachment of the consent form to the students who have been selected to participate in Stress Less.

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The school counselor will implement and discuss the ground rules when they are screening participants. The ground rules will also be shown to the parents. At the first session, the school counselor will talk through the rules and expectations, so therefore everyone is on the same page. The school counselor will also clarify any concerns or questions students may have in regards to the ground rules.

The ten rules are predetermined by the school counselor as shown in the attachment; however, the group may create or decide additional rules. For example, when a student is speaking and another student wants to add on to their conversation, what does that process look like? Does the student raise their hand or give a signal? Collaborating with the participants on creating additional rules will enhance the group’s dynamics because it provides an opportunity for everyone to share.

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Stage 1: The school counselor plans to build relationships and trust between the group members and school counselor by implementing activities such as “Get to Know Bingo” or team building games that stem from getting to know each other and trust-related activities. The goal is to establish connection and a sense of belonging. The group norms will be established by setting the expectations from the beginning. Reviewing the ground rules is essential. It is important to model and review those expectations at every session and to be explicit about it. In addressing confidentiality, it is significant for the school counselor to tell the group members that saying specific names or identification breaches the limits of confidentiality. What is said in the group stays in the room and cannot be shared or talked about. If someone breaks confidentiality, they will be removed from the group.

Stage 2: The school counselor plans to keep the members working together cohesively by modeling and reviewing the ground rules, giving reminders on the group’s goals, and offering support and praise. Furthermore, the school counselor will chime in to alleviate any conflict or arguments within the group. The school counselor will monitor the process by facilitating a conversation, typically at the end of each session that discusses their goals and take-aways from each topic or session. In addition, the school counselor will provide positive feedback and thank the participants for sharing and being vulnerable.

Stage 3: For group closure, the school counselor plans to put together a portfolio for each of the participants as well as facilitate an “ending conversation” on the key points and take-aways from stress management and healthy coping techniques such as mindfulness. The school counselor will conduct and assess a post-assessment using Google Forms that will quiz the student’s knowledge on stress management, terminology, as well as ask any feedback for the next group. In addition, the school counselor will provide online resources for students to further enhance their well-being. Additionally, the school counselor will discuss the importance of confidentiality even when the group ends. It is important for everyone to maintain confidentiality and continue to be supportive to each other. To conclude, the school counselor will thank everyone for their trust and participation, provide additional resources to the student and families, and conduct a follow-up session after two weeks of when the session officially ends to check-in with the students.

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In working with the participants of Stress Less, the leadership style that I feel would work the best is participative leadership (democratic). Cherry (2023) declares, “democratic leaders offer guidance to group members, but they also participate in the group and allow input from other group members. In Lewin’s study, children in this group were less productive than the members of the authoritarian group, but their contributions were of a higher quality” (para. 2). When discussing topics that are more sensitive and vulnerable like stress, it is important to structure conversations, model, and guide students in working together as a team. Giving the students input and letting them collaborate on different ideas builds trust and commitment.

A participative leadership (democratic) approach would work best for my specific population because being an authoritarian where one tells the group what to do without barely any input from the group will break the group apart in terms of trust and relationship-building. Participative leadership displays collaboration, communication, and commitment to the entire group, which are all three key aspects in creating a positive and effective group environment.

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Stress happens on a daily basis. Adolescents manage school, work, and personal matters, which can cause stress and anxiety. Members of Stress Less may demonstrate universality, which is the idea that we are not alone in our problems. In knowing that we all struggle, it may be helpful to realize that others struggle too. In addition, interpersonal learning may occur during Stress Less as students collaborate and learn from each other (Yalom ID, 1995).

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Local Administrative Law: Bastrop ISD (2023) states, “the district has implemented programs to address the following mental health, behavioral health, and substance abuse concerns: mental health promotion and early intervention; building skills to manage emotions, establish and maintain positive relationships, and engage in responsible decision-making, substance abuse prevention and intervention, suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention (interventions after a suicide in a community), grief, trauma, and trauma-informed care, positive behavior interventions and supports, BISD MTSS Model which includes Tier 1 classroom management support, Response to Intervention for both academics and behavior, Social Emotional Learning, and Trauma Informed Practices, positive youth development, and safe, supportive, and positive school climates” (p. 63).

This local law states that the district is responsible for providing resources and interventions to students and families. As a future school counselor who will conduct group counseling, it is important to know that it is the role of the school counselor to support, address, and promote programs and interventions to support the students’ mental health and well-being.

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19 Tex. Admin. Code §239.15

19 Tex. Admin. Code §239.15 discusses the school counselor’s knowledge, skills, and standards. “The certified school counselor must know and understand the characteristics and educational needs of special populations” (19 Tex. Admin. Code §239.15).

This is significant to know because the participants of Stress Less are considered economically-disadvantaged students. So therefore, the school counselor must understand the leadership style and ways to engage the students in a positive and welcoming environment. Unintended Consequences (2023) states, “in particular, children living in poverty exhibit lower executive function (impulse control, emotional regulation, attention management, task prioritization, working memory, etc.) because their energy is focused on basic survival functions. The impact on test scores due to economic disadvantage is significant” (para. 2). As the school counselor conducting a group session, knowing who the participants are and where they come from is essential while maintaining an effective group session.

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

Bastrop ISD. (2023). Bastrop isd student handbook. https://www.bisdtx.org/cms/lib/TX02218757/Centricity/Domain/3914/2023-2024%20Student%20Handbook.pdf

Cherry, K. (2023, June 27). How to lead: 6 leadership styles and frameworks. Very well mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/leadership-styles-2795312

Unintended Consequences. (2023).

Economically disadvantaged students face a big challenges and it impacts test scores. https://www.needanotherlook.com/economically-disadvantaged#:

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