Small Groups

In addition to seeing students individually and in classroom settings, school counselors are trained to teach skills and reinforce learning in small groups. Some of the benefits of small group are: students see their concerns are similar to those of others, students learn and practice new behaviors and skills, students gain self confidence in working with others and in making connections with others, students share solutions that have worked for them while also learning what has worked for others, students learn resiliency skills and students learn tolerance for others.

School Counselors get referrals from teachers for small groups but most of the time students inquire about being in a small group themselves. We emphasize that groups are for everyone, and participating does not indicate a problem. All students can benefit from learning how to accept responsibility, manage stress, communicate effectively, make decisions and solve problems. Students can learn from one another and enhance their self-concepts in a supportive group setting. Each group meets once a week during intervention time so they do not miss class time. Groups meet for 7-8 sessions.

Below is a description of the different topics discussed in group.

__Resiliency-Resiliency is defined as the ability to recover from difficulties or the ability to 'bounce' back from situations that are tough. Resiliency skills are one of the most helpful things you can learn as a person because we all (no matter how old) go through tough situations. We focus on how to learn, share and apply resiliency skills that you can take with you the rest of your life.

__Real Life Situations- focus on developing/promoting empathy, learning and practicing healthy conflict skills, explore root of feelings, discussing situations faced, getting to know and understand ourselves better.

___Anger-Focus is on understanding, controlling and managing our anger. Remember, anger can be a good thing. It often motivates you to bring about change. Sometimes we just need help exploring/understanding our anger.

____Anxiety- It is estimated that 40 million Americans suffer from anxiety. We focus on understanding our roots of anxiety, exploring different sources of anxiety, and ways to handle and manage our anxiety.

____Why Try-The focus is on why it is important to keep trying in all areas of life. Life knocks us all down. Some of the most successful people had really tough situations to deal with as a student. We learn ways to define and reach our goals in life.You will learn positive life skills to take with you.

____Friends/Social Skills- .We talk about important things to look for when choosing friends, how to keep friends, and how to be a good friend.

____SWAG (success, willpower, attitudes and goals) We talk about successful habits and how to be more successful. We will also discuss organization, homework, test taking, goal setting, your strengths and other important factors that lead to being successful in life.

____Healing and Dealing- With this topic we will talk about ways to cope with grief and the loss of a loved
one. We will share experiences with others in the
group.

If you are interested in a small group, email your counselor:

Please include your name, homeroom teacher and the group topic(s)--listed above-- that interest you.