This group will run weekly, for 6 sessions.  Brave Buddies is designed to help children better understand death and grief, manage difficult emotions, such as sadness and anger, and learn how to support others going through similar experiences. Through these group sessions, children will gain the tools they need to navigate their grief, cope with their feelings in a healthy way and know who to turn to for help. Children in Brave Buddies will learn healthy coping skills to help them thrive at school, enhancing their engagement in the classroom, encouraging positive behaviors, and fostering empathy and support for peers facing similar challenges and emotions. Children in Brave Buddies will also be able to practice their oral and written communication skills, as well as their listening skills, by participating in a counseling group.

• Students will demonstrate understanding and application of effective coping skills to manage their feelings and emotions (B-SMS 7)

• Students will create positive and supportive relationships with other students (B-SS 2)

• Students will be able to identify relationships with supportive adults that they can turn to in times of need (B-SS 3)

Secondly, this group could be advertised through a parent letter sent home with all students with a detailed overview of the group and how to get in contact with the group leader/counselor if the parent felt that their child would be a good candidate for the group.  

• Describe the group in age appropriate language, tell them when and how often the group will meet and check for understanding.

• Tell the student what they may learn or gain from participating.

• Tell them briefly about the expectation for participation, i.e. you will have a chance to speak and share ideas; touch briefly on confidentially

• Gauge the student’s interest, e.g. “Are you interested in participating in a group like this with other students?”

After the brief student interviews are complete, I would organize student names into a list of potential candidates and those that are not interested or do not seem to be a good fit.

As the group leader, these would be my pre-determined rules:

• All group members must respect confidentiality.

• One person speaks at a time and everyone has an opportunity to participate and share.

• All group members will treat each other with respect, i.e. kind and encouraging words.

• All group members are encouraged to actively participate, however, group members have the right to pass on a question or turn to speak if they are not comfortable or do not wish to share.

• Group members will be encouraged to have an open mind and accepting heart – no judgement zone.

The students can add their own ground rules, which may look something like this:

• Treat others the way you want to be treated

• Take turns talking and wait for your turn to speak

• Have fun! :)

Stage 2: To make sure that all members are working cohesively and productively, as well as sharing talk space, the group leader needs to be very conscious of participation and talk time. It is easy in a group for one or two members to “take a back seat” and let others do the participation and talking, either by choice or because other members are more confident or extroverted. The group leader could facilitate a system of moving around the room (turn taking) to answer questions or offer thoughts or use a name call randomizer to make sure that all members have equal time to answer and share. Genuine and gentle encouragement should be given to members that are more reserved to share and praise and acknowledgement when they do share in a session. In the case of a member monopolizing talk time, a more direct approach should be taken; that member should be appropriately interrupted and redirected. To check in on progress, all members will take a pre-assessment survey to begin the sessions and a post assessment survey at the conclusion of the sessions. Also, a quick review of previous sessions (lessons) will be reviewed at the beginning of each session with member participation, i.e. “Who remembers what ___ means?” or “Who can give me an example of ___?” This will gauge progress on group learning.

Stage 3: The final session will be one of reflection. An overall review of concepts learned and discussion of application or generalization of skills learned, i.e. what we have learned about grief and learned coping skills to use in real life situations when experiencing overwhelming emotions and who to turn to for help. This session will also review the bond that group members have made, which leads into the importance of maintaining confidentially. Students will be encouraged to remember that this group is special because of the trust made and that it is important to maintain that trust and confidentiality even after the group is over.  There will be an opportunity for each member to share final thoughts, what they learned or favorite thing about their time in group. Group leader will share with members that there will be one follow session (and when) to see each other in group, catch up with one another and refresh skills.

• Altruism - group members might feel useful and helpful to others in the group by offering advice, hope or simply by relating to their new peer in a way that no one else has before. This could cause the person to feel pride and altruism that they are able to help another student, especially if they are further along in their grief journey.

• Universality - group members can see that they are not alone. Losing a loved one such as a parent or sibling is not a common occurrence at a very young age and kids may feel that none of their friends can relate or they may be embarrassed or too sad to talk about it with their friends. Participating in a grief group with other children that are going through something similar would give a sense of comfort and universality; they would quickly see that they are not the only one struggling with this life circumstance.

• Instillation of Hope - group members can learn (and see that others are learning) coping skills to manage feelings of sadness and anger related to their grief.

• Imitative behavior - this can occur when younger students or students that are not coping as well with their grief observe the words and actions of another student that is more emotionally developed. That peer can learn from the stronger peer model within the group and may begin to imitate actions and feelings, such as use of coping skills and feelings of hope.

• Interpersonal learning - like imitative behavior, interpersonal learning can occur in a grief group for children as they receive feedback and support from their peers and group leader and learn new ways of relating to each other in this very special, niche of a group.

• Catharsis - this can definitely occur in a grief group because the topic is so sensitive and emotional for some. A student could demonstrate strong affect and emotions while talking about the loved one that they lost.

B-SS 3(b) states that School Counselors should provide support for students, including individual and small group counseling, during times of transition, heightened stress, critical change or other situations impeding student success.

The grief group Brave Buddies is in line with this ethical component of school counseling. Children suffering from grief will likely also experience negative impact to their success in school which may be seen in their academics, behavior and/or relationships with others. Brave buddies is a group designed to support, empower and prepare students that have experienced a critical change in their young lives, specifically the death of a loved one.

The grief group Brave Buddies is not only designed to support students (it’s primary purpose), but the group leader should also be a source of information to teachers that have the student in their classroom that has experienced recent trauma and loss. The group leader should provide information related to the trauma children experience associated with the loss of a close family member, as well as tips in supporting the student. Coping skills to manage emotions that are learned in Brave Buddies can be communicated to the teacher so that generalization can best occur in the child’s natural school setting, i.e. the classroom.