1. Chapter 7 Group Counseling

2. Research Support for Group Counseling
Increase student achievement
Effectively address social/emotional and behavioral issues
Increase school attendance
Increases effective use of work habits
Encourages goal setting success
Provides belonging and self acceptance

3. Group Counseling Effectiveness
Allows the school counselor to see more students
Provides learning from peers
Provides mentoring, supporting, understanding and empathy experiences
Allows student to deal with real life issues in a productive manner

4. Ethical Issues of Group Facilitation
Group selection and screening process (ASCA Ethics Code A.6)
Informed Consent (ASCA Ethics Code A.2)
Confidentiality (ASCA Ethics Code A.2.a)
Parent Permission (ASCA Ethics Code A.2.d; B)
School Counselor Competency as a group facilitator (ASCA Ethics Code E)
Cultural Awareness and sensitivity (ASCA Ethics Code E.2)

5. Stages of Groups Forming Logistics of group meetings
Participants may feel anxious, excited, curious, hopeful
Orientation
Development of a safe environment, introductions and connecting with members, development group goals
Participants may feel distrust, anxiety, skepticism
Transition
Validate emotional responses, provide support, normalize feelings, dealing with conflict
Participants may feel less willing to share, fear of over sharing, uncomfortable with conflict
Working
Objectivity of group interactions, model appropriate coping skills
Participants may feel free interact, and collaborate, more committed to the process and willing to challenge each other, development of group personality.
Consolida-tion
Process of termination, supports process of closure
Participants may feel reflective of group, sense of loss, mixture of feelings

6. Group Types Academic Development Time management Study skills
Test-taking strategies,
Transitions
Career Development
Goal-setting
Decision making
Transition to postsecondary life
Exploration of options
Social/Emotional Development
Grief and loss
Fears and anxiety
Friendships
Relationships
Self-esteem

7. Response to Intervention Groups
Provides support for issues that interfere with students’ academic success such as:
Coping with feelings about learning challenges
Use of strategies for learning skills
Coping with social or emotional challenges that may impact learning

8. Culture and Climate of Group
School climate correlates with achievement, adjustment and social attitudes
Climate of a school impacts the climate of a group
Allows students without a voice to gain necessary self advocacy skills
May provide an outlet for a national, regional, local or internal school crisis

9. Homogenous Groups
Heterogeneous Groups
common interest and similar feelings
provides support and connections for members
students may feel less alone, and alienated
provides universality- they are not alone
allows for acceptance of a wider range of students to engage
some students may serve as a model for others
provides healthy responses and coping strategies

10. Leadership Groups Provides empowerment for students
Can be educational experiences
Impacts school environment and culture in a positive way.
Encourages self reflection, empathy for others
Decreases at-risk behaviors

11. Group Facilitation Skills
Facilitator brings uniqueness, personality, playfulness and supportiveness, authenticity, what you demonstrate.
Serves as a guide, model, instructor, mediator, mentor coach, ...
Multiple focus:
Observing interactions, negative and positive
Feedback to the group
Identify similarities
Utilize group dynamics
Demonstrate acceptance
Understand culture and diversity
Understand self as a facilitator

12. Planning Managing many moving parts
Planning: type of group, curriculum, logistics, parent permission
Performing; develop activities and discussions that have value to the group members.
Processing: debriefing the activities to make personal connections

13. Intentional Techniques
Consider developmental needs of the group members
Choose activities that correlate with the purpose of the group
Don’t do the activity if you can’t process the activity
Activity Format:
Concept introduction: getting buy-in from the members
Conduct the activity: allowing members to experience the experience
Debrief the activity: structured reflection of self and group in the activity.

14. Debrief Process What questions: Immediate response to the activity
So What questions: Purpose of the activity
Now What questions: Application to themselves and life.

15. Solution Focused Groups
Offer students more control to solve their own problems
Looking at strengths and resiliency
Building on past successes
Assumptions of Solution-Focused Groups
1) All have resources and strengths ) If it is working do more of it, if it is not working stop doing it.
3) Problems are not constant ) Complex solutions may not be necessary
5) Changes in one area will effect ) The student is the expert of the
other areas problem
7) The solution may not be related ) Change is inevitable
to the problem

16. Group Structure Determine necessity: needs assessment, obtain data
Lay the groundwork: educate about purpose and process of the group
Determine the referral process: who will be invited and why
Location and logistics: where and when will the group meet
Timing is everything: consider when it fits for the participants
Screening process: consider commitment, issues, resistance, goals of the potential participant
Group guidelines and goals: developed by the group members

17. Techniques for Positive behaviors
Share the power of decision making with the group members
allow group to establish the group name
allow the group to establish the group norms
Circle format: all are equal, all are included
take away the teacher/student
all members including the facilitator are equal within the seating of the group.
Rounds: every group member responds to the question
Passing: temporary and will come back
Talking stick: so all can speak and listen to each other
Freeze Frame: use strategically, only when group is not safe emotionally or physically.

18. Behavior Management Techniques
Naysayer Response
Promote positive energy, ask all participants what they liked and what they would change, one negative statement requires 5 positive statements
Overtalker
Use a talking stick or pipe cleaners, use rounds so all have a voice
Quiet/Shy
Pipe cleaners, use rounds
Cliques
Divide groups creatively in every activity to split cliques, ask for feedback