From Barriers to Building Blocks: Using Group Therapy Techniques to Empower Disadvantaged Adolescents Tyler B. Collie, M.A., NCC

Who am I? From Parkersburg, WV M.A. - Clinical Mental Health Counseling WVU Upward Bound Student Success Counselor High School/College Transition Who am I?

What are we talking about today? Barriers to Student Success Psychology of Development Using Group Therapy Techniques with Students What are we talking about today?

Discussion: What barriers to success have you observed in working with adolescents/young adults?

What are my observations? Communication Wellness Substance use Trauma Boundaries Family systems What are my observations?

What did we do? Theories Resources Structure Growth Groups WVU Upward Bound Summer Program 2018 Growth Groups

Theories

Erik Erikson’s Stages of Psychosocial Development Conflict Infancy (0-1) Trust Vs. Mistrust Early Childhood (1-3) Autonomy Vs. Shame/Doubt Preschool (3-6) Initiative Vs. Guilt School Age (6-12) Industry Vs. Inferiority Adolescence (12-18) Identity Vs. Role Confusion Young Adulthood (18-25) Intimacy Vs. Isolation Middle Adulthood (25-64) Generativity Vs. Stagnation Late Adulthood (65+) Ego Integrity Vs. Despair Developmental Psychology

Cognitive Psychology Mediated Focusing Seeing details/ grey thinking Mediated Scheduling Planning for future Mediation of Positive Anticipation Controlling the present/ happy in the moment Mediation of Inhibition and Control Controlling impulsiveness Mediated Representation of the Future Ability to imagine future scenarios based in facts Mediation of Verbal Stimulation Use of precise language Mediated Precision Ability to precisely define people, situations, things, and use it for problem solving Cognitive Psychology From A Framework for Understanding Poverty by Dr. Ruby Payne (2013) Dr. Ruby Payne - Cognitive Psychologist Studies the effects of poverty on cognition Found “Missing Links” in cognitive processing. These skills are usually taught by parental figures, which contributes to the cyclical nature of generational poverty. Specifically in Mediation - “identification of the stimulus, assignment of meaning, and identification strategy,”(p. 121).

Social Psychology “When we interact, we are impacting each other’s internal biological state and influencing the long-term construction of each other’s brains. This, in essence, is how love becomes flesh.” (Cozolino, 2014)

Resources

Resources 6 week Summer Program Me! My training Classroom space Round tables with chairs Small budget for materials Ability to break students into groups Time built into our summer schedules Students fit for group

Structure

UB Summer Growth Group Unit Plan 2018 Session 1 Introductions, MBTI, Love Languages Session 2 Wellness Wheels & Self Care Session 3 Family & Genograms Session 4 Self Love & Compassion Session 5 Mind Traps (Unhealthy Thinking) Session 6 Roadblocks to Healthy Thinking Session 7 Personal Values Session 8 Emotions & Empathy Session 9 Emotional Regulation & Distress Tolerance Growth Groups Structure Creating groups with developmental levels in mind Ideal size was 6, but had groups with 3-7 students. Having a core “unit” of group/lesson plans that are intentionally planned 1.25 hours 3x per week Some students stayed 2, 4, or 6 weeks No mixing groups Everything is kept confidential

What were my objectives? Safe disclosure & interacting with boundaries & peers Increase “grey thinking” and frustration tolerance Empathy development through practice of self acceptance Development of listening skills Learning about holistic wellness & self care Learning about emotions & emotional expression What were my objectives?

Using Group Techniques

Wellness Wheels (easy) Used to teach about & reflect on areas a of wellness Engages students visually, kinesthetically, auditorily Is a foundational tool for talking about wellness throughout the year Encourages discussion of and improvements to self-care practices

Genograms A way to get a whole picture of a family system. Creates distance from situations that may be tense or difficult. Interest in seeing how everyone is different. Pushes students out of their comfort zone. Students get to choose what they share, and how they do it.

Final Thoughts You can do the most important work for free Rooting your activities in theory gives them depth Be intentional about planning activities Use your resources Do something different Create safe spaces Final Thoughts

Questions?