The task that are listed above also goes with the activities that are listed in activities and information column. The activities provided gives the students the opportunity to share what they have learned, realized how far they have become, and it also allows them to share what they have learned from others which gives off a positive perspective not only to themselves but to others as well. Also, by taking this moment of reflecting it could give other members ideas to carry with them to help in the future.

The second goal could be to normalize discussing divorce and the experiences and feelings that occur around divorce. We will discuss how peer support is important and validates what they experience and feel. 

The third goal is to provide a safe and supportive space to talk about divorce related concerns and to develop a support system. 

The fourth goal would be to discuss teens’ feelings such as anger, guilt and shame that occur. 

The fifth goal is to assist teens in developing coping skills. 

The sixth and final goal will be to give hope for the future for these teens who have been impacted by parental divorce. 
 
 Then, we will need to set objectives that match our goals but must be measurable such as: students will be able to identify when they have feelings of anger, students will demonstrate one strategy to react to their feelings of guilt when it occurs, students will be able to explain what occurs in a divorce and what their responsibilities are compared to their parents, and students will identify two non-judgmental friends or relatives that they can talk to about their feelings. 
The goals and objectives will be connected to the activities of each session. Some of the REBT techniques that would work for teens who are coping with stress from their parents divorce might benefit from 

(Ackerman, 2021).

(Benham et. al., 2021)

12–17-year-old (U.S. Census Bureau, 2017a). Using data from the 2009 American Community Survey, Elliott and Simmons (2011) demonstrate that “about 18% of men and 44% of women with a divorce in the past year were living with children under 18. This equates to over a million children experiencing a divorce in the past year, with the

median age of these children around 9.8—about the onset of adolescence,” (Pearce et al., 2018). 

Children’s reactions to divorce vary based on developmental level and age (Kelly, 2000). Erik Erikson argued that adolescence is an important time because adolescents are forming their own identities. It might be difficult for an adolescent to be experiencing a divorce and trying to figure out their purpose in life. During the process of a parent’s divorce, adolescents may experience grief, sadness, anger, blame, anxiety, and fear and the emotional distress may interfere with their everyday life (Avila, 2013).

 

In an American Academy of Pediatrics (2014) video, a seventeen year old girl discusses how she struggles to feel comfortable discussing her parents’ divorce with her friends or her boyfriend. Kids of divorce sometimes feel like they are to blame for the divorce or they feel like they made the situation worse such as the case of the video (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2014). Therefore, grouping teens together by developmental level will help to normalize their experience and will allow for the creation of an ongoing support system (Yauman, 1991). 
Robson (1982) suggested that group counseling is most appropriate for children 9 to 12 years of age as well as for adolescents, whereas for children ages 6 to 8 years, both individual play therapy and group counseling are appropriate.  According to Yauman (1991) specific strategies used in these groups include listening to the positive features of the divorce, using bibliotherapy and movies to indirectly announce issues, and using board games to encourage discussion and role play. 

 

 

·       The first goal could be to help teens to gain a realistic idea of the divorce process and provide them with information. 

·       The second goal could be to normalize discussing divorce and the experiences and feelings that occur around divorce. We will discuss how peer support is important and validates what they experience and feel. 

·       The third goal is to provide a safe and supportive space to talk about divorce related concerns and to develop a support system. 

·       The fourth goal would be to discuss teens’ feelings such as anger, guilt and shame that occur. 

·       The fifth goal is to assist teens in developing coping skills. 

·       The sixth and final goal will be to give hope for the future for these teens who have been impacted by parental divorce.

 

Following the group goals that were offered in Avila (2013), after this, the students will also be introduced to each other and the group facilitator in order to

build trust within the group.

 

 

It would be helpful for the group to start to develop trust by asking the group members to identify their fears and start to explore them (Corey et al., 2018).  Corey et al. (2018) offered an idea in which students would split in pairs, discuss their fears, and then join another pair and share with them also. This is less threatening than talking with a whole group. This will also create a commonality between many students so they can share at a deeper level as they continue (Corey et al., 2018). 

 

Ice-breakers should be chosen based upon the ages and developmental stages of the group members, as well as the intention of the ice breaker and the length of time of the group meeting. The types of ice-breakers that are relevant for teens are ones that involve getting to know the teen and team building ice-breakers. There are many resources available with long lists of ice-breakers for teens such as mantelligence (n.d.). For this topic at hand, an ice breaker that allows the teens to get to know each other better to build rapport and trust with each other are best. The purpose would be to have them get to know each other better and start to feel comfortable opening up to each other about their personal lives so they can start to work as a group for the next session. 

 

Studer and Allton (1996) suggested a counsellor designed "Divorce Concerns" pretest that would be given at the initial session and then again as a posttest at the conclusion of the group for evaluative purposes. A few of the questions are “One of the greatest concerns I have regarding my parents is…” and “One of the greatest concerns I have about my future relationships is ….” and “One of the concerns I have regarding this group is …”

 

 

At the ending of the closing of the session, the participants will be given permission slips for their classroom teachers each week the group met so that attendance could be maintained. The participants will also be given homework to write in their journals that they were given. Some of the questions or prompts will be self-reflective and their group experience and some will be about helping to start the work in that second session. For example, the students might be asked to answer: how do I see myself in this group?, How do I feel about being in the group?, What would I like to leave this group having learned or experienced?, One personal concern or problem I would hope to bring up is…, My most dominant reaction to being in the group so far is… (Corey et al., 2018). 

Finally, students will be reminded of the rules and guidelines of the session again and confidentiality will be reiterated as an important one for them to follow. This is important as they leave the group setting and enter into normal life and then come back to the group session again next time. An inspiring quote will be read to encourage a positive attitude and everyone will say their good-byes. 

"A bird sitting on a tree is never afraid of the branch breaking, because her trust is not on the branch but on it's own wings. Always believe in yourself."
Author Unknown

For them to transition from the storming to the norming stage, members need to overcome six obstacles  with the help of a skilled counselor. 

The first obstacle is Establishing Trust, according to Corey & et al. (2018), During the storming stage, the members are still wondering if the group is safe and whether or not they could trust others. Trust between members will build slowly, especially when members see that the counselor and others do not judge them. It is important to note that when the confidence is high between members, they actively participate. However, when trust is lacking, they are quit. The counselor would need to develop a sense of trust between members by asking members about their impression of what was said? Or what Normas are being broken by what happened? What is okay or not okay about what was said? By asking these questions, the group opens up about what they think is going on, how they can help others understand the real issue, and trust is built (Thompson & White 2010). 

The second obstacle is defensive behaviors in the group. Members might feel attacked by other members' comments and feel the urge to defend themselves aggressively. This behavior might be one of the hardest for the counselor and other members. However, a skilled counselor will not respond negatively toward an opposing member, which will help the problematic behavior diminish (Corey & et al.). The counselor could reflect on the opposite member's emotions and ask the member to explore those feelings more, which will help the member think about the underlying reasons for his reactions. 

The third obstacle is resistant toward others in the group. The counselor's job is not to ask the member why he is resistant but to ask the member(s) if their behavior is helping or hindering the group's progress? By asking these questions the counselor could help the group transition to the next stage smoothly Thompson & White (2010).

The fourth obstacle is the struggle for control. According to Corey et al. (2018), members try to control the group by assigning responsibility and making decisions. The counselor's job is to help the group members understand that their need to be in control is self-protection and the desire to stay private. The counselor here will help the members who are struggling with management to understand their struggle to keep control is, so they don't have to do in-depth work. The counselor could help that member by reminding them of why the activity will not achieve the goal set for the group development Corey et al. (2018).

The fifth obstacle is conflict. Conflict is bound to happen in any group counseling. According to Corey et al., conflict is a normal process of any healthy relationship; actually, conflict avoidance is problematic. When members are avoiding conflict, they are still not trusting the counselor and other group members. In this case, the counselor would teach members the importance of working through conflict constructively. It is also essential for the counselor to acknowledge that some members come from families that avoided conflict or that conflict meant that someone was hurt, sensitive, or a loser. These members may have never learned how to deal with conflict in a healthy way, while others might have learned how to deal with conflict but can't understand why others cannot deal with conflict. 

The sixth obstacle is confrontation. According to Corey et al., Confrontation is positive feedback meant to build another person up, not tear them down. Confrontation does not share mean words with others or say what a person thinks about another. Some members may not understand the true meaning of confrontation, and that's when the counselor could model the right way to confront another person by giving positive feedback.

For this stage, we choose the spaghetti and marshmallow tower project (play-day website). This construction group activity could be fun for our high school students and a good ice breaker and trust-building activity. This project will also teach the students about the importance of teamwork to accomplish a difficult task. We believe it would be good at the storming stage because it will help the students get to know each other and build a stronger bond. While working on this activity, members could get upset with each other because they lack trust in one another or want to control the outcome of the action. This activity will be a clear demonstration to our High- School students of the importance of working together, communicating their feelings about their parents' divorce, and how important it is for them to work together to overcome their struggles and feelings of shame and anger.

 

 

20 dry spaghetti noodles

One marshmallow

One roll of masking tape 

1 yard of string.

The group needs to figure out how to build the tallest structure with the equipment providing placing the one marshmallow on top of the tower. The design needs to stand for 5 seconds at least. 

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·      American Academy of Pediatrics (Producer), (2014). 54.1 Case: A 17-Year-Old Discusses With a Social Worker How Her Parents' Divorce Has Affected Her. Sonis. [Video/DVD]   American Academy of Pediatrics. https://video.alexanderstreet.com/watch/54-1-case-a-17-year-old-discusses-with-a-social-worker-how-her-parents-divorce-has-affected-her-sonis

·      Avila, C. (2013). A Handbook to Help Adolescents Cope with Divorce [Unpublished Masters  Thesis]. University of Virginia.   http://scholarworks.csun.edu/bitstream/handle/10211.2/4922/Avila-Catrina-   thesis-2014.pdf;jsessionid=6BEBFD47B145B8BF80B5A8D599A19E3E.server1?sequence=1

·      Benham, A., Brensor, A., Clark, L., & Danno, M. (2021, June 20). Coping with parental divorce: A group counseling experience for high school students. Padlet. https://padlet.com/lauracrank/itz4fwsu1s0x1tis. 

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