1. Be kind and respectful of each others. 

2. What you say in here, stays in here with confidence and confidentiality. (unless someone is hurting you, you want to hurt someone or you want to hurt yourself.) 

3. You are not required to share, unless you choose to do so. 

We will also create and sign our social contract in the first session. Additional rules will be discussed, agreed upon and established with the group during the first session. The rules will be reviewed before students sign their informed consent.

During the first session the group will go over the Participant Guidelines/Group Rules worksheet (MPSCCE, 2015) together, to determine the norms for our group. We will walk through each example and discuss what each rule "looks like" and "sounds like". Utilizing this worksheet will set the group up for success, because they will be able to work through each rule together.

Stage 1: To build relationships and trust we will begin by playing a get to know you game with a beach ball. Allowing adequate time for the group members to become comfortable with one another is important, so that trusting relationships are able to be built. The group norms will be established during the first session. We will create our social contract together and each group member will sign the living contract. During each session we will go over our contract and remind ourselves of the norms. Confidentiality will be discussed in depth as we go over the social contract, norms for the group and address as the group members sign their informed consent form.

Stage 2 To keep group members working cohesively and productively each session will have activities for the group members to participate in. These activities will pertain to each of the lesson topics for the session, and the group members will be encouraged to openly discuss the topics. As the counselor participates with the group members, taking notes about participants' progress will be crucial, this will assist the counselor in knowing if topics need to be retaught or presented in a different way for better understanding.  

Stage 3 To close out the group the students will complete the post-assessment. Allow students to discuss if needed, what they have learned and what they will take away. There will also be group evaluation for the students to complete. The forms will be returned to the Counselor’s office the following day. This will allow for follow-up with group members. This evaluation will help determine the success of the group. The collected evaluations will also be a wonderful tool to use for creation of further small groups. Conducting intentional follow-up with students, will assist the students to know that they still have your support. Follow-up meetings could also lead to the need for individual counseling appointments, to follow-up with goal achievement. During the ending meeting we will discuss how the sessions even though they are ending, still are confidential. Referring to the social contract during every session will reinforce the importance of confidentiality. Reassure the group members that your door is always open for future assistance and that group members are also a great resource.  

Cherry, K. (2020, August 3). Prominent Leadership Styles and Frameworks You Should Know. Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/leadership-styles-2795312. 

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. Retrieved from https://dese.mo.gov/sites/default/files/guid-respon-serv-small-group-counseling-guide-2015.pdf

Thomas, R. V., & Pender, D. A. (2008). Association for Specialists in Group Work: Best Practice Guidelines 2007 Revisions. The Journal for Specialists in Group Work, 33(2), 111–117. https://doi.org/10.1080/01933920801971184 

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

19 Tex. Admin. Code §239.15.