Group Counseling

Respond to  2 students discussion using the rise Model

Due Sunday August 13, 2023

Must Read Everything:

Reply to at least two classmate’s posts, applying the RISE Model for Meaningful Feedback

I will also show an example below of how the response needs to be addressed.

Here’s an example of how the response should look. Please don’t copy it. The response to the classmate need to be just like this.

Example Response (Response Needs to be writin just like the response below No copying)

RISE Feedback:

REFLECT: I concur with “Action plans should reflect the type of services that are needed and have an idea of the expected outcome of the services” because it is in line with Hatch and Hartline’s intentional school counseling guidelines in regards to determining students needs.

INQUIRE: Can you further explain what “closing-the-gap action plans” are?

SUGGEST: I encourage you to revisit Hatch and Hartline’s MTMDSS tier interventions in order to add a citation that would illustrate your example on bullying prevention efforts.

ELEVATE: What if you re-purposed “For example, after a needs assessment, the school is having problems with bullying” as “Following Trish Hatch’s MTMDSS tier based interventions, if the school is having problems with bullying, after a needs assessment, we could… citation…”  for a more weighted argument?

References

Hatch, T., & Hartline, J. (2022). The use of data in school counseling: Hatching results (and so much more) for students, programs and the profession (2nd Ed.). Corwin.

****PLEASE RESPOND IN DEPTH***************************************************

Below are the two classmate discussion post that you will need to respond to

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Classmate Response 1- Ashley

What do you think were the most important elements of the intervention?

The most important elements of the group intervention were;

• The intern, Victor co-led the group; he could relate to the students differently since he was male, African American, and lost one of his father figures around the same age. He contributed to providing a safe space for the students.
• Students learn the steps of grief to find a sense of normalcy and understand the emotions they feel are “normal” during grief.
• Setting the ground rules and norms of the group regarding confidentiality, respect, and conflict resolution to ensure the safety, care, and comfort of those participating.
• Guidance of the facilitators so students didn’t feel pressured to speak when they weren’t ready and were still processing their emotions, such as when Antonio was reluctant to participate.
• The Memorial folder – as it was a “safe space to hold their memories, their poetry, their paintings, and pain.” (Sells, p.315) During grief, I find that a tangible creative activity is a helpful tool to sort through emotions and express yourself.
• The “Pats on the Back” activity allowed each group member to celebrate each other and the effort they put into the group.

Reference

Corey, G., Schneider Corey, M, & Haynes, R. (2014). Groups in action: Evolution and challenges. (2nd ed.). Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning.

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Classmate Response 2- Anabel

• What do you think were the most important elements of the intervention? Why?

I feel that one of the most important elements of the interventions was that the leaders of the group had discussed the plan of action prior to the first session with the boys.  They had a clear idea of whom would discuss what and when.  Ms. Sells and Victor also as leaders of the group helped create a safe and trusting environment for the boys to feel they could talk about their experiences with loss.  They would ask the right questions and assist the students to participate by encouraging them to share.  Ms. Sells in her book has found that all the students need from a facilitator is to listen to them (Sells, 2012 pg. 286).  At the beginning of the first session, one important element of effective intervention in the group was to set the norms of the group.  Victor made sure to welcome the boys and stated how happy they were there to be with them.  He thanked them for being a part of the grief group. He made sure that the boys knew that to build a safe space and for everyone to feel comfortable, respected and listened to, rules needed to be discussed (Sells, 2012, pg. 317).   As Corey et al., (2014), states it is essential to have a clear idea of what your roles are and what functions in the group so it can be communicated to the members.  It is also important to have a clear idea of the type of group that is being designed.  Ms. Sells and Victor were very clear on their roles in the grief group, and they also discussed various scenarios to be prepared in case they ran into some of the behaviors in the group and know ahead of time of what action to take.  As facilitators, Victor and Sells activated emotions in the children with activities that were age appropriate.  One of the most impactful interventions was when Ms. Sells read the little booklet entitled things I have learned about loss.  In the reading of this book introduced the stages of grief to the students.  It gave the leaders the opportunity to ask the students to think about the stages.  They were able to remember the stages which were shock or denial, anger or rage, guilt or regret, depression or sadness, and finally, hope and acceptance.  It was important to explain to them that not everyone goes through all the stages and can also go through it and not in order.(Sells, 2012).  Having the students know what to expect when dealing with grief will help them feel that what they are going through is normal and they will know what to expect.  They will be able to identify what they are going through as part of dealing with grief.  Having the boys use art therapy to learn about their emotions and how to identify them helps support kids to cope with grief.  It is not easy to lose a loved one at a young age.

According to Gabriella Lancia, (2022), For children, losing someone they love can be even more difficult because they are not only trying to process the loss themselves but are also watching other loved ones grieve.  If children are very young when they lose a loved one, they may also experience the loss many times over as they go into adulthood and experience milestones without the person. Therefore, children should learn how to cope with the loss of their loved one as soon as possible.  Another vital component of helping children develop coping skills to assist with grief is through developing an emotional vocabulary. Helping children develop an emotional vocabulary will help them name and describe different feelings.  Ms. Sells and Victor did an excellent job helping to foster the vocabulary that helped the boys identify how they were feeling after losing their loved one.  Furthermore, Lancia recommends that It is important to show children that emotions are more than just being happy, sad, or mad and help them understand that there are different, more complex variations of these emotions. Lancia suggests children who are struggling to express their emotions verbally encourage them to draw pictures of their memories of the individual who was lost. To Create a scrapbook or memory book with pictures of the deceased individual to look back on when they feel sad.

Another coping skill is to write in a journal as an outlet to express their thoughts and feelings.  Maybe they can express their feelings by writing poems or stories about their loved ones.  Sells and Victor did just that with the boys they did a memorial folder and drew drawings and did paintings and wrote about their drawings. They, as facilitators demonstrated, cared and empathized with their feelings. This helped to have the boys feel they could trust and share with all the members of the group.  All the members of the group were sharing and participating in the activities.  They respected and listened to each other.  The leader of the group made sure all the boys were held accountable when they were not listening or participating in sharing.  They did give them an option to pass but then they would encourage them to share.  In my experience with groups, students feel many times they can go without sharing because they feel that nobody cares about their feelings or what they have to say.  I intervene just like Victor and Ms. Sells by asking them if they would like to share because I notice that something is on their mind.  There is no right or wrong answer.  I go around the group and ask a question that will encourage everyone to share.  For example, what is your favorite color?  Or I will ask how everyone is feeling sad raise your hand, who is feeling happy, or excited raise your quiet hand.  Then I ask who would like to go first to share why they feel the way they do.  I like to make sure that everyone gets the opportunity to share.

References

Corey, G., Corey, M. S., & Haynes, R. (2014). Groups in action: Evolution and challenges. Brooks Cole.

Gabriella Lancia, Ph. D. (2022, September 8). Helping kids cope with grief: 6+ tips to support children. PositivePsychology.com. https://positivepsychology.com/grief-for-children/Links to an external site.

Sells, J. E. (2012). Lost and found: Healing troubled teens in troubled Times. Siren Swan Press.