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New Beginnings: Adjusting to Life in the Military

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New Beginnings: Adjusting to Life in the Military

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Being in the military can be challenging but being a brand-new military member is much more difficult. More than fifty percent of members enlist into the military immediately after graduating high school, making this one of life’s major milestones for many young adults. While this is a great achievement which can be extremely rewarding, it also brings hardship and emotional pain as many individuals have not been away from their friends and families for extended periods of time until after joining the service. New members’ age ranges from eighteen to thirty-two, most of them falling into the former half and needing assistance, counseling, and emotional support to adjust.

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Upon completing the program, participants will master the following ASCA mindsets and behaviors:

M 1. Belief in development of whole self, including a healthy balance of mental, social/emotional and physical well-being
M 4. Self-confidence in ability to succeed
M 5. Belief in using abilities to their fullest to achieve high-quality results and outcomes
B-SMS 6. Ability to identify and overcome
barriers
B-SMS 7. Effective coping skills
B-SMS 10. Ability to manage transitions
and adapt to change

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In order to inform various audiences, flyers will be created and be placed throughout the mental health building. Additionally, a mass email will be sent out to the entire base with a first come, first serve sign-up spreadsheet.

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Participants of the group who volunteered to join will be sent a confirmation email with details for a pre-assessment one week prior to the start of the group. On 26 September, participants will attend a mandatory pre-assessment that will entail a questionnaire to evaluate interest and readiness and confirm participation. Participants will be screened individually as this will ensure privacy and give the opportunity for questions with the counselor on personal basis.

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During the first group session on 03 October, selected participants will complete and return the attached group informed consent form to the counselor, which will also be available to the participant's supervisor in case there is a safety concern.

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Participant Guidelines and Ground Rules 

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Participant Guidelines and Ground Rules 

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I will be using this resource to set ground rules by enforcing the importance of open-mindedness and ensuring that all participants are respectful to each other along with ensuring confidentiality. We will complete the ground rules worksheet together and share it as a group so everyone has a mutual understanding.

Rules that are predetermined include being professional, speaking respectfully, and active participation by everyone. Rules that can be determined by the group include themes for sessions to make the group dynamic more fun and an icebreaker for everyone to open up.

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Stage 1: In order to build trust and a good relationship between group members and myself, I will genuinely listen to each participant and understand them. I will try to make the participants feel comfortable and how the experience in counseling can help them. Group norms will be established through consistently running the sessions the same way unless an issue arises and through explicit leadership. Confidentiality will be addressed to establish trust by reminding the group before and after each session what it means to build and keep trust in one another.
Stage 2: I will make sure each member is working cohesively and productively as we work through lessons by tracking their progress and asking questions throughout each session and having honest conversations about the group dynamic.
Stage 3: Because this stage can be very difficult, I plan to end the group with a positive closure through reflection and ensuring the participants can create a group amongst themselves if they'd like to continue and that they can email me if they ever need someone to talk to.

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When working with the group, I will use a democratic leadership style as not only is this my natural leadership style but also proven to be the most effective one (Cherry, 2022).

This would be the most effective approach with my group because the group members would feel engaged and participate in discussions when they observe other group members and myself volunteering to tell personal stories.

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Yalom's therapeutic factors that I can potentially see during group sessions are universality and installation of hope. Universality because members will realize that though they feel alone in a new environment away from friends and family, they can relate to one another. Installation of hope can be observed in the session because the group members can inspire one another through their stories (Yalom, 1995).

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A.7.a. Advocacy
Counselors advocate at individual, group, institutional, and societal levels to address potential barriers and obstacles that inhibit access and/or the growth and development of clients. As a counselor, I take it upon myself to take a stand for the group I am counseling, especially because the military life can be extremely challenging and I want to provide the group with all the resources available to them that they may not know about.

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A.9.b Protecting Clients
In a group setting, counselors take reasonable precautions to protect clients from physical, emotional, or psychological trauma. As a group counselor, I will ensure the safety of the participants by asking them about their physical, emotional and psychological concerns and addressing them appropriately.

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American Counseling Association. (2014). 2014 ACA code of ethics. https://www.counseling.org/docs/default-source/default-document-library/2014-code-of-ethics-finaladdress.pdf

American School Counselor Association (2021). ASCA
Student Standards; Mindsets and Behaviors for Student Success. Alexandria, VA: Author.

Cherry, K. (2022, May 23). What Are Prominent Leadership Styles and Frameworks You Should Know? Verywell Mind. Retrieved September 9, 2022, from https://www.verywellmind.com/leadership-styles-2795312

Missouri Comprehensive Guidance and Counseling Program-Responsive Services
Small Group Counseling Module
Retrieved from https://dese.mo.gov/sites/default/files/guid-respon-serv-small-group-counseling-guide-2015.pdf

Yalom, I. D. (1995). The theory and practice of group psychotherapy. 4th ed. New York, Basic Books.