Counseling: Group Sessions

Group Counseling Plan 1

Group name: At-risk high school students

Group topic:Ice-breaking among the group participants, getting to know each other, accepting cultural differences, and building trust between them

Session focus:Conducting an ice-breaking talking session so that all the newcomers who might have met each other for the first time and are now face-to-face to reveal about themselves should become comfortable with each other. In the initial stage, it is inevitable to be shy and disclose private information to strangers to the participants. For this aim, social acceptance in this stage would be made convenient. They would be prompted to leave their fears behind and reduce their stress that might worsen if it had commenced from low-income family dynamics or personal confusions of adolescence.

Time/duration:30 minutes

Session No.:1 of 6

Stage of group:Initial stage and transition stage

Group norms:Certain norms would be set for the first and the rest of the session so that each participant knows how to act in a counseling session. The norms are as follows:

The participants would be suggested to keep confidentiality of other group participants so that once they are out of the room, they should not discuss problems of others or even tease them.

If one participant asks a question, he would be the only one responsible for answering. Any other participant should not cut or intervene.

Within the sessions, no participant should be humiliated or looked down upon.

Violence or intimidation would be unbearable.

Any participant who is not comfortable participating in activity should openly tell the counselor about it.

Building trust with each other would be encouraged; however, involving themselves in a relationship would not be recommended, making group session effectiveness a complex process.

If one group member decides to leave the group, others might guess that he might have got hurt. He should specify his reason for leaving the group unexpectedly to clarify concerns, and others must respect his decision.

Session purpose:The first session focuses on addressing two of the primary goals mentioned in the previous proposal, which was improving interpersonal skills and build-self-confidence

Session objectives:To help at-risk high school students who have been facing low-income family dynamics or confusions about their adolescent developments to better their communication skills so that they can speak their minds about what is troubling them and build self-assurance.

Resources:None

Opening:Introduction by the counselor, purpose of the group session, and self-introduction by every participant in the group.

Main discussion/activity:Story sharing by each group member so that they get to know each other, cultural differences are accepted and cherished and strengthening the bond with each of them for developing interpersonal skills.

Closing:Thank the participants for opening up about themselves and having confidence enough in the counselor and other members to listen to him with attention.

Group counseling skills:Excellent listening is the key skill required in counseling sessions to make the therapy effective. Support and clarification skills are also necessary for an effective group counselor and giving reflections and ensure attendance for the sessions. Group management and conduction are other useful skills required for a successful session.

Methods of evaluation:Goal evaluation, which would whether the group members could speak openly and enhance their interpersonal skills catering to their self-confidence. It could be done in the form of note-taking by the counselor and asking questions at the end from each group member about how they feel about themselves at the end of the session. If they state that they feel better or feel relieved, this will signify betterment and a behavioral change.

Group Counseling Plan 2

Group name:At-risk high school students

Group topic:Digging deeper for addressing the minority group participants and their concerns

Session focus:Conducting activity-based intervention for the culturally diverse students so that social acceptance becomes convenient for them, they become able to shun their fears aside and reduce their stress that might worsen if it had stemmed from low-income family dynamics or personal confusions adolescence.

Time/duration:30 minutes

Session No.:2 of 6

Stage of group:Working stage

Session purpose:The second session focuses on addressing one of the primary goals mentioned in the previous proposal: to reduce the distress caused by their life traumatic events.

Session objectives:To help at-risk high school students who have been facing low-income family dynamics or confusions about their adolescent developments to better their communication skills, especially for culturally diverse students, to conquer their fears so that they can reduce their distress.

Resources:Paper and pens/pencils.

Opening:The counselor would give them paper and pencils along with the instructions of the activity.

Main discussion/activity:On the paper, there would be six categories: people, experiences, things, places, skills, and others. The participants would be asked to write one thing that they are thankful for and one that disturbs them.

Closing:Writing would allow them to disclose their feelings and emotions and make themselves relieved of the stress that they might not express in verbalizing otherwise. Journaling is productive group therapy.

Group counseling skills:Support and clarification skills are necessary for this session as listening would not be required that much. Giving reflections is also mandatory and making meaningful evaluations at the end to assess the progress of each member, especially in terms of cultural distinction.

Methods of evaluation:Goal evaluation would again be used in this session since assessing whether the participants have opend up their life stressors would be evident from their responses on the paper. Things that disturb them and asking a final question at the end about whether they felt better would help the counselor analyze if the sessions goal or objective was met.

Group Counseling Plan 3

Group name:At-risk high school students

Group topic:Educational session about stress coping techniques

Session focus:Creating awareness for all types of at-risk adolescents so that they can cope with their stress that might have become worse if it had originated from low-income family dynamics or personal confusions of adolescence.

Time/duration:30 minutes

Session No.:3 of 6

Stage of group:Working stage

Session purpose:The third session again focuses on addressing one of the primary goals mentioned in the previous proposal: to decrease distress caused by their life traumatic events.

Session objectives:To help at-risk high school students who have been facing low-income family dynamics or confusions about their adolescent developments to be equipped with stress-coping techniques so that whenever they find themselves in a similar situation, they learn to relax immediately and have a clear mind to handle situations with positivity.

Resources:None

Opening:Introduction by the counselor and an explanation of the purpose of the group session.

Main discussion/activity:It would be a plain educational session as the purpose of psychoeducational group counseling is to disseminate knowledge about coping mechanisms and information-sharing. The techniques could include writing journals, reading, listening to music, going out with friends, walking in the park and connecting with...

…of body wellness. It would be taught to the boys and girls that the main objectives of their lives should be creating self-awareness, coping with stress, learning to manage physical self, and social and emotional self.

Closing:Thank the group participants for listening to the counselor and again encouraging them to follow the tactics explained in the session.

Group counseling skills:Familiarity with the group members and their cultural differences and the impacts of their ethnic backgrounds, beliefs, and spirituality relatedness is important for the counselor. Also, learning about wellness and how it could be utilized appropriately to get the most out of the session goals is mandatory.Group participants would be asking questions at the end as the session is meant to be educational, so knowledge of the elements mentioned earlier is crucial. The counselor needs to be attentive to solving the participants coping with stress and handling growing-up adolescent problems. Support and clarification skills are also compulsory for an effective group counseling session so that reflections and clarifications prove to be helpful for the participating learners. Group management and conduction are other useful skills required for an effective and fruitful session.

Methods of evaluation:Pre and post-group test scores for Wellness Evaluation of Lifestyle-5F could be used for checking whether before and after changes are fruitful or not.

Group Counseling Plan 6

Group name:At-risk high school students

Group topic:Closing session withsome activities and reinforcement of what has been learned previously.

Session focus:As this would be the final session of the psychoeducational group counseling therapy, this would include feelings of sadness and detachment. Working in a group would create some levels of familiarity that the counselor should reiterate with a reminder that other persons privacy and confidentiality should be given importance. No information should be shared outside. Feedback would be important at this stage and session as each group would let others know how their presence gave meaning to their learning during the session and how their cooperation helped cope with their stress, confusion about self, or improved self-awareness.

Time/duration:30 minutes

Session No.:6 of 6

Stage of group:Final/understanding stage

Session purpose:The session purpose would be to provide closing rituals with a reinforcement of what has been learned in the previous sessions and how the participants should adhere to the learnings.

Session objectives:To leave a mark on the participants minds why they participated in the session and do not forget to keep involved in self-development and self-strengthening, no matter what the circumstances are, as they are important to themselves.

Resources:Chart papers and paints

Opening:Introduction by the counselor about the last session and its purpose

Main discussion/activity:Three activities would be made part of the last session to leave a mark on the participants minds for realizing that what they have learned is about loving themselves and believing in themselves. It would instigate their inner stress-coping tactics. For this, the first activity would be leave you mark, in which they would posttheir thumbprints of paint colors on chart paper. The second activity would be passing peace to each other in which all the participants would stand and hold each others hands and squeeze a little bit, signifying that they give them strength and pass the peace of mind to them for life. The third activity would inculcate talking about one instance about a person where he created an impact…