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The purpose of this group is to help eighteen-year-olds who have been bullied throughout their lives develop a healthy self-esteem. Facilitating a safe environment where members feel connected, understood, and are able to share their experiences without judgement is a priority. This counseling group will also encourage members to build meaningful connections with other members.

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The mindset standards will be accomplished by members through participating in group activities.

The mindset standards are:

M 2. Sense of acceptance, respect, support, and inclusion for self and others in the school environment.

M 4. Self-confidence in ability to succeed.

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Advertisement for this group will include creating posters to display around the high school campus. I will send an email asking teachers and counselors to recommend students that they think could benefit from this type of group.

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The participants will be informed in person. The assessment will be administered through an in-person evaluation. I will ask the participants questions to determine if they are a good fit for the program. The participants will be screened individually and during this screening I will share the expectations of the group, the weekly schedule for meeting, and allow them to ask any questions that they may have.

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Once all five group participants have been selected, they will receive a packet that will include a consent form that will need to be signed by their parent or guardian and one of the posters that was advertised around the campus. The packet will be sent home and need to be returned before the start of the first session.

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The ground rules will be discussed with all participants individually prior to having the first group session. The group rules include:

1. Maintaining confidentiality of all group members.

2. Being respectful to other group members.

All the other rules will be discussed and agreed upon during the first group session.

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Stage 1 - Building a relationship among group members/myself by listening and creating a safe environment where there is no judgement. Confidentiality will be addressed at the beginning of the first session and consequences for breaking confidentiality will also be discussed (being removed from the group, etc.)

Stage 2 - I will include activities to keep members working productively. Regular check ins that encourage participants to express their feelings towards their progress will help me gauge progress.

Stage 3 - Group closure will be discussed regularly through activities and during check ins. The last session will be ended with a reflection activity where members will share what they learned and what they will take with them into their next chapter of life.

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Legal and Ethical Requirements: Consult With Staff

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Legal and Ethical Requirements: Consult With Staff

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Consulting with school staff, parents, and community members to promote student success is a requirement under the Texas Education Code.

This requirement supports my role as a counselor by allowing me to reach out to school staff members to see if they know a specific student who can benefit from my group. The recommendation can help the student become a participant in my group and give them the opportunity to gain support/resources and connect with other students who have also been bullied.

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EDUCATION CODE CHAPTER 33. SERVICE PROGRAMS AND EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES

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EDUCATION CODE TITLE 2. PUBLIC EDUCATION SUBTITLE F. CURRICULUM, PROGRAMS, AND SERVICES CHAPTER 33. SERVICE PROGRAMS AND EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES SUBCHAPTER A. SCHOOL COUNSELORS AND COUNSELING PROGRAMS Sec. 33.002. CERTIFIED SCHOOL COUNSELOR. (a) From funds appropriated for the purpose or other funds that may be used for the purpose, the commissioner shall distribute funds for programs under this subchapter.

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I believe that a participative leadership style will be most effective for this group. Participative leadership offers guidance and also allows input from other participants (Cherry, 2023). I believe that this leadership style will work best with this group because I want to help guide the participants with their self-love and healing journey, but also want to encourage them to do the work on their own. Once the group ends, participants will need to be able to apply what they learned throughout the sessions in their everyday life.

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Leadership styles are classifications of how a person behaves while directing, motivating, guiding, and managing groups of people. There are many leadership styles. Some of the most widely discussed include: authoritarian (autocratic), participative (democratic), delegative (laissez-faire), transformational, transactional, and situational.

Great leaders can inspire political movements and social change. They can also motivate others to perform, create, and innovate. As you start to consider some of the people who you think of as great leaders, you can immediately see that there are often vast differences in how each person leads.

Fortunately, researchers have developed different theories and frameworks that allow us to better identify and understand these different leadership styles.

Lewin's Leadership Styles

In 1939, a group of researchers led by psychologist Kurt Lewin set out to identify different styles of leadership.﻿﻿ While further research has identified more distinct types of leadership, this early study was very influential and established three major leadership styles that have provided a springboard for more defined leadership theories.

In Lewin's study, schoolchildren were assigned to one of three groups with an authoritarian, democratic, or laissez-faire leader. The children were then led in an arts and crafts project while researchers observed the behavior of children in response to the different styles of leadership. The researchers found that democratic leadership tended to be the most effective at inspiring followers to perform well.

Authoritarian Leadership (Autocratic)

Authoritarian leaders, also known as autocratic leaders, provide clear expectations for what needs to be done, when it should be done, and how it should be done. This style of leadership is strongly focused on both command by the leader and control of the followers. There is also a clear division between the leader and the members. Authoritarian leaders make decisions independently, with little or no input from the rest of the group.

Researchers found that decision-making was less creative under authoritarian leadership.﻿﻿ Lewin also concluded that it is harder to move from an authoritarian style to a democratic style than vice versa. Abuse of this method is usually viewed as controlling, bossy, and dictatorial.

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Authoritarian leadership is best applied to situations where there is little time for group decision-making or where the leader is the most knowledgeable member of the group. The autocratic approach can be a good one when the situation calls for rapid decisions and decisive actions. However, it tends to create dysfunctional and even hostile environments, often pitting followers against the domineering leader.

Participative Leadership (Democratic)

Lewin's study found that participative leadership, also known as democratic leadership, is typically the most effective leadership style. 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.

Participative leaders encourage group members to participate, but retain the final say in the decision-making process. Group members feel engaged in the process and are more motivated and creative. Democratic leaders tend to make followers feel like they are an important part of the team, which helps foster commitment to the goals of the group.

Delegative Leadership (Laissez-Faire)

Lewin found that children under delegative leadership, also known as laissez-faire leadership, were the least productive of all three groups. The children in this group also made more demands on the leader, showed little cooperation, and were unable to work independently.

Delegative leaders offer little or no guidance to group members and leave the decision-making up to group members. While this style can be useful in situations involving highly qualified experts, it often leads to poorly defined roles and a lack of motivation.

Lewin noted that laissez-faire leadership tended to result in groups that lacked direction and members who blamed each other for mistakes, refused to accept personal responsibility, made less progress, and produced less work.

Observations About Lewin's Leadership Styles

In their book, The Bass Handbook of Leadership: Theory, Research, and Managerial Applications, Bass and Bass note that authoritarian leadership is often presented solely in negative, often disapproving, terms. Authoritarian leaders are often described as controlling and close-minded, yet this overlooks the potential positives of stressing rules, expecting obedience, and taking responsibility.

While authoritarian leadership certainly is not the best choice for every situation, it can be effective and beneficial in cases where followers need a great deal of direction and where rules and standards must be followed to the letter. Another often overlooked benefit of the authoritarian style is the ability to maintain a sense of order.

Bass and Bass note that democratic leadership tends to be centered on the followers and is an effective approach when trying to maintain relationships with others. People who work under such leaders tend to get along well, support one another, and consult other members of the group when making decisions.

Additional Leadership Styles and Models

In addition to the three styles identified by Lewin and his colleagues, researchers have described numerous other characteristic patterns of leadership. A few of the best-known include:

Transformational Leadership

Transformational leadership is often identified as the single most effective style. This style was first described during the late 1970s and later expanded upon by researcher Bernard M. Bass. Transformational leaders are able to motivate and inspire followers and to direct positive changes in groups.

These leaders tend to be emotionally intelligent, energetic, and passionate. They are not only committed to helping the organization achieve its goals, but also to helping group members fulfill their potential.

Research shows that this style of leadership results in higher performance and more improved group satisfaction than other leadership styles. One study also found that transformational leadership led to improved well-being among group members.

Transactional Leadership

The transactional leadership style views the leader-follower relationship as a transaction. By accepting a position as a member of the group, the individual has agreed to obey the leader. In most situations, this involves the employer-employee relationship, and the transaction focuses on the follower completing required tasks in exchange for monetary compensation.

One of the main advantages of this leadership style is that it creates clearly defined roles. People know what they are required to do and what they will be receiving in exchange. This style allows leaders to offer a great deal of supervision and direction, if needed.

Group members may also be motivated to perform well to receive rewards. One of the biggest downsides is that the transactional style tends to stifle creativity and out-of-the-box thinking.

Situational Leadership

Situational theories of leadership stress the significant influence of the environment and the situation on leadership. Hersey and Blanchard's leadership stylesis one of the best-known situational theories. First published in 1969, this model describes four primary styles of leadership, including:

1. Telling: Telling people what to do

2. Selling: Convincing followers to buy into their ideas and messages

3. Participating: Allowing group members to take a more active role in the decision-making process

4. Delegating: Taking a hands-off approach to leadership and allowing group members to make the majority of decisions

Later, Blanchard expanded upon the original Hersey and Blanchard model to emphasize how the developmental and skill level of learners influences the style that should be used by leaders. Blanchard's SLII leadership styles model also described four different leading styles:

1. Directing: Giving orders and expecting obedience, but offering little guidance and assistance

2. Coaching: Giving lots of orders, but also lots of support

3. Supporting: Offering plenty of help, but very little direction

4. Delegating: Offering little direction or support

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Leadership styles are classifications of how a person behaves while directing, motivating, guiding, and managing groups of people. There are many leadership styles. Some of the most widely discussed include: authoritarian (autocratic), participative (democratic), delegative (laissez-faire), transformational, transactional, and situational. Great leaders can inspire political movements and social change.

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I believe that the instillation of hope, universality, and receiving direct advice are all going to be present during group sessions. This group of participants all have a background with being bullied and have developed low self-esteem due to that. This group can instill hope in them and help them believe that they can heal. They will be surrounded with other people who have been bullied too so they will see that they are not alone. They will give and receive advice on strategies to help them gain self-confidence.

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Legal and Ethical Requirements: Parental Consent

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Legal and Ethical Requirements: Parental Consent

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Section 33. 003 states that written parental consent is required for students to participate.

This requirement supports me in my role as a counselor that is conducting group counseling sessions because I understand the importance of parental involvement/support with participants who have been bullied/mistreated at school. Students may not always share those experiences with their parents, so it is great to receive confirmation that the parent is aware of what their child has experienced and that they support their child receiving help.

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EDUCATION CODE CHAPTER 33. SERVICE PROGRAMS AND EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES

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EDUCATION CODE TITLE 2. PUBLIC EDUCATION SUBTITLE F. CURRICULUM, PROGRAMS, AND SERVICES CHAPTER 33. SERVICE PROGRAMS AND EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES SUBCHAPTER A. SCHOOL COUNSELORS AND COUNSELING PROGRAMS Sec. 33.002. CERTIFIED SCHOOL COUNSELOR. (a) From funds appropriated for the purpose or other funds that may be used for the purpose, the commissioner shall distribute funds for programs under this subchapter.

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Cherry, K. (2023). How to lead: 6 leadership styles and frameworks. How to Lead: 6 Leadership Styles and Frameworks (verywellmind.com)

Texas Legislature. (n.d.). Texas Education Code § 33, Subchapter A: School counselors and counseling programs. https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/ED/htm/ED.33.htm#33.000

Yalom ID. (1995). The theory and practice of group psychotherapy (4th ed.). New York: Basic Books. Yalom's Curative Factors of Group Treatment (blackboardcdn.com)