"De-Stress & Success" Group Padlet by Princess Danna Mirua

Group Action Plan:

pmirua1 — 2025-09-12 01:45:43 UTC

Many college students face stress due to their busy schedules, constant deadlines, personal hardships, and extracurricular programs. This program is meant to help new and experienced students identify, understand, and learn to manage their anxieties. Through this program, students will learn methods and practices to help manage both academic and personal hardships while providing them a safe and accepting environment to share their experiences.

Student Mastery:

pmirua1 — 2025-09-13 00:48:27 UTC

Specific mindsets that students will master upon completing this group are:

M1. Belief in development of whole self, including a healthy balance of mental, social/emotional and physical well-being
M2. Sense of acceptance, respect, support and inclusion for self and others in the school environment
M4. Self-confidence in ability to succeed

Specific behaviors that students will master upon completing this group are:

B-LS 4. Self-motivation and self- direction for learning
B-LS 7. Long and short-term academic, career and social/emotional goals
B-SMS 1. Responsibility for self and actions
B-SMS 5. Perseverance to achieve long and short-term goals
B-SMS 6. Ability to identify and overcome barriers
B-SMS 7. Effective coping skills
B-SMS 9. Personal safety skills
B-SS 2. Positive, respectful, and supportive relationships with students who are similar to and different from them
B-SS 4. Empathy
B-SS 6. Effective collaboration and cooperation skills

American School Counselor Association. (2021). ASCA Student Standards: Mindsets & Behaviors for Student Success: K‑12 college‑, career‑, and life‑readiness standards for every student. Alexandria, VA: Author.

Publicity of the Group

pmirua1 — 2025-09-13 01:06:48 UTC

The publicity and outreach of this program will happen in many different forms. Flyers will be shared on each campus building's bulletin board, students will receive an email regarding the program offered, Professors will receive a separate email asking them to share this resource with their classes and with any students who they may feel are heavily struggling with stress, and the counseling page will also have a section sharing information regarding this program. Counselors who are already meeting with students may share this resource for those they believe may benefit, and weekly meeting reminders will be shared on the campus calendar.

Initial Interview & Screenings

pmirua1 — 2025-09-13 01:28:22 UTC

Students who initially sign up for the program will schedule a meeting with the group worker to discuss information regarding what the group is about, their experiences with stress, their expectations and goals for the program, the ethical and confidential expectations and limitations of group counseling, and their feelings about group counseling.

Students will also complete a survey to measure the stress they experience, their confidence in their ability to achieve their goals, their prior experiences with group counseling, and how likely they are to participate in the group. This will help determine the readiness of the student and if this program fits their needs.

Attached above is a questionnaire with questions that will be incorporated into the survey.

Southern Utah University. (n.d.). Stress questionnaire [PDF]. https://www.suu.edu/caps/documents/stressquestionnaire.pdf

Obtaining Consent

pmirua1 — 2025-09-13 02:40:31 UTC

At Angelo State University, each student looking to participate in counseling services is required to sign an informed consent form.

Students will receive consent forms that discuss different aspects of what counseling is, the process of counseling, and confidentiality limitations within counseling. If there are any minors attending the group, parent consent forms will also be required before the student is allowed to attend the group sessions.

At the beginning of each session, students will be encouraged to keep confidentiality and be reminded of limitations within confidentiality.

Rochester Institute of Technology. (2020, June). Student Consent Form: Counseling and Psychological Services. https://www.rit.edu/counseling/sites/rit.edu.counseling/files/documents/CaPS-Student-Consent-Form-June2020.pdf

Establishing Ground Rules

pmirua1 — 2025-09-13 04:27:51 UTC

I plan to implement these guidelines by establishing these ground rules at the first group session. They provide a strong foundation for a safe, structured, and open environment for students to share their thoughts, feelings, and expectations. The guidelines will also be shared at the beginning of every session to remind students of the expectations and requirements for being able to participate in the sessions.

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.

The Three Stages of Group Dynamic

pmirua1 — 2025-09-13 05:02:08 UTC

During the first stage, the focus will be on establishing trust, boundaries, connections, and expectations of the students participating. Limitations of confidentiality will be discussed, and questions will be answered to ensure students are aware of any breaches that could occur. Confidentiality between what is shared will also be highly encouraged to help create a safe and open environment for students to share in. Another important factor of this stage is establishing the goals students may have for this group. Lastly, helping the students connect by helping them identify similar struggles they may face and helping them establish a sense of understanding amongst themselves.
The second stage will focus on reviewing group engagement and progress. At this stage, I believe it is crucial to listen to the input and feelings that the students may have regarding their personal progress. It would also be helpful to gauge and ask about how each member feels regarding their group and if it is an environment in which they feel they are learning and growing.
The final stage will be reviewing the goals that the students had and whether they felt as though they met them, discussing the lessons that were taught and what the students were able to learn from them, and whether they felt that a group setting was beneficial to their experience. It is also important to remind the students of their expectation of confidentiality after the group ends. Lastly, for students who feel as though they are still in need of guidance and help, connecting them with another counselor and other resources can be beneficial for their growth and meeting their expectations.

Leadership Style

pmirua1 — 2025-09-13 14:52:35 UTC

Establishing a participative leadership style would be the most effective in this counseling group. Cherry (2023) shares that "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". This form of leadership would help establish a safe and welcoming environment for the students, while helping them understand that their participation is a choice throughout the program, even though it is very highly encouraged.

Cherry, K. (2023, June 27). How to Lead: 6 Leadership Styles and Frameworks. Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/leadership-styles-2795312

Yalom's Therapeutic Factors

pmirua1 — 2025-09-13 15:04:39 UTC

Therapeutic factors that I may potentially see in my group are:

Instillation of Hope: While practicing new methods for managing their stress and anxiety, students may feel as though they can overcome their stressors.
Universality: Students may come to an understanding that they are not alone in their experience with stress and anxiety.
Altruism: When new students may be joining for the first time, students who have actively been participating and showing up to the group may be able to share methods and techniques they have learned with the newcomers.
Interpersonal Learning: Through lessons and discussions, students may use the lessons to reflect on their experiences and thoughts to help them find new ways of thinking/coping.

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

Legal & Ethical Requirements

pmirua1 — 2025-09-13 15:15:34 UTC

The 2014 ACA Code of Ethics shares a strong foundation for the values, principles, and standards that each counselor should hold. It shares how counselors should uphold ethical counselor-client relationships while also sharing how different situations should be handled to ensure the safety and integrity of the counseling space.

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

Legal & Ethical Requirements

pmirua1 — 2025-09-13 15:25:00 UTC

Although my group will be held in a university setting, this ethical standard and guide is informative on the ethical standards school counselors should follow. It is meant to help ensure the integrity, professionalism, beliefs, and expected behaviors that counselors should have when working with students. This guideline helps create a safe, inclusive, and healthy environment for students to grow and learn in

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

References

pmirua1 — 2025-09-13 15:30:19 UTC

American Counseling Association. (2014). ACA Code of Ethics. https://www.counseling.org/docs/default-source/default-document-library/ethics/2014-aca-code-of-ethics.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, June 27). How to Lead: 6 Leadership Styles and Frameworks. Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/leadership-styles-2795312

Southern Utah University. (n.d.). Stress questionnaire [PDF]. https://www.suu.edu/caps/documents/stressquestionnaire.pdf

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