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Friendship Group

A small group for adolescents in a middle school
setting



















Group Plan Proposal
Wake Forest University
Libby Reed, Steve Rockey, Sean Sandag, Brittany Smith
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Group Rationale

Adolescents social relationships with their peers affect their problem solving skills,
autonomy, self- confidence, psychological well-being, and self-esteem (Hair, Jager, Harriett,
2002). When children and adolescents are unaware of appropriate ways to resolve conflict, how
to communicate with others, how to approach their peers, etc., this can have a detrimental effect
on the quality of their friendships, thus negatively impacting their emotional well-being and self-
esteem. In school settings, students who suffer from low self-esteem or who do not have healthy
friendships may exhibit a wide range of resistant behaviors, including withdrawing from peers,
responding violently to conflicts, and bullying other children. A study conducted by Okada
(2012) showed that individuals who were motivated and determined to develop friendships had
lower levels of anger, hostility, and physical aggression. It was also concluded that students who
were less hostile had higher self-esteem. For these reasons, the proposed friendship group would
be particularly useful in helping students who may have problems with developing healthy
relationships with their peers. If these students are taught effective communication skills and
ways to maintain healthy friendships, this may improve their emotional state and lead to positive
behavioral changes.
Additionally, adolescents are at a particularly vulnerable developmental time that can
often result in depression. One of the challenges adolescents face is building meaningful
friendships. These friendships provide an outlet to an individual and can be a significant source
of support. Vernberg (1990) studied a sample of seventh and eighth grade students and found
that less contact with friends, less closeness with a best friend, and greater peer rejection
experiences contributed to increases in depressive affect over a six-month period. The onset of
depression can result in adverse physical and mental health consequences. A study by Glied and
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Pine (2002) showed that depression in adolescents is significantly correlated with school
attendance, bingeing, smoking, and suicidal ideation. The implementation of the Friendship
Group will help mitigate depressive symptoms in adolescents by working on social skills and the
ability to establish healthy relationships.
The ways in which adolescents relate to their peers has obvious implications for topics
like depression, self-esteem, bullying, and other measures of well being. One of the not so
obvious implications of peer relations, however, is academic performance. A study by
Veronneau and Dishion (2011) indicates that parents should pay attention to how their childrens
friendships change throughout adolescence. To promote academic achievement, Veronneau and
Dishion encourage parents to help kids further engage in supervised activity to have the
opportunity to make prosocial instead of antisocial friendships. Other studies point to similar
conclusions; that friendships have a role in an adolescents academic achievement. According to
Witkow and Fuligini (2010), the mere shared experience of academic endeavours between
friends within a school was the main mediating factor in which adolescents had higher GPAs.
Although having good friendships or more friends does not necessarily equate to doing
better in school, friendships and peer relations seemingly have more of an important role in
academic achievement than we may initially believe.
Lastly, it is important for adolescents to learn positive and productive ways of
communicating with each other in order to resolve conflicts in a constructive way. Although
friendships are often a protective factor for kids who are experiencing bullying, Mishna, Wiener,
and Pepler (2008) note that bullying can, and does happen within dyadic friendships. A study
done by Wei and Jonson-Reid (2011) found that nearly one quarter of bullying events occurred
within the context of a friendship. In light of this rather recent information, it is important that
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school programs such as this friendship group, focus on helping adolescents develop healthy
ways of communicating and resolving conflicts so that friendships can continue to serve them in
a positive developmental way.






































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Group Objectives

Upon completion of the Friendship Group, students should be able to identify with
the following statements:

I realize my personal values and how they affect others.

I have learned fundamental, applicable, real-world skills (effective
communication, verbal and non-verbal cues, problem solving and conflict
resolution strategies, etc.) that I can apply to friendships and relationships.

I better understand how to conceptualize, build, and maintain healthy
friendships/relationships.

I understand the importance of self-confidence, self-esteem, and self-
efficacy in building and maintaining friendships.




















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Example of Informed Consent Statement for
Parents/Guardians


To the parents/guardian of____________________________________________________,
I am offering a small group focusing on friendship skills and your child has been identified as a
student that may benefit from participating in this group. This opportunity is designed to give a
group of four to six students some directed instruction about effective ways of communicating
and interacting with others to enhance friendships and boost self-confidence.

This group will meet once a week for 8 weeks starting _________________________.
I work with teachers to schedule groups at times that minimize the loss of instructional time.

Information shared by your child is confidential unless:
1. The student reveals information about hurting himself/herself or another person.
2. The student or another person may be in physical danger.
Please return this form immediately in order to guarantee that your child will be able to take
advantage of this program. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call me at the
school ([phone number]) or send an e-mail ([your e-mail address]).

I look forward to hearing from you!

Sincerely,
[Your Name]
Licensed School Counselor

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Friendship Group Permission Form

Students Name: _______________________________________________________
o Yes, my child may participate in this small group.
o No, I do not want my child to participate in this small group.
__________________________________ _________________________
Parent/ Guardian Name (please print) Phone

__________________________________ _________________________
Parent/Guardian Signature Date

__________________________________ _________________________
Counselor Signature Date
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Example of Student Consent Form




I __________________________________, agree to attend Friendship Group on Thursdays
Your Name (print)
from 12:25 PM to 1:00 PM starting March 14, 2013 and ending April 11, 2013.

I understand that it is my responsibility to make up any work that I may miss while attending
group.

I understand that anything said in this group stays in this group UNLESS,
I know of someone who is in danger
I am causing harm to myself or someone else.





__________________________________ _________________________
Student Signature Date

__________________________________ _________________________
Counselor Signature Date




8
Six Session Group Plan


Day One: Introduction
Day Two: Self-Esteem
Day Three: Values
Day Four: Communication
Day Five: Conflict Resolution Part I
Day Six: Conflict Resolution Part II








9
Friendship Group

Session 1

Time
45 Minutes

Materials
Poster Board (1 sheet)
Paper (one piece for each group member),
Writing Utensils (markers, crayons, or colored pencils)
Bag of M&Ms candy

Objectives
To welcome students and introduce them to each other and the group setting.
To provide guidelines about group logistics, the purpose and goals of the group
and to allow students to create group rules.
Engage students in dialogue about positivity and encourage them to have a more
positive view of themselves and others.
Ice Breaker
Acrostic Name Poem (15 min)
Begin by passing out paper and markers, crayons, or colored pencils to each student in
the group. Ask each student to write his/her name in capital letters, vertically on the piece
of paper. Tell the students to write a word or phrase that describes them or one of their
hobbies starting with each letter in their name (this should be written horizontally).
Students can decorate their poem to reflect their personality, hobbies, things they like to
do, etc.

Example:
Joined the swim team
Outgoing
Happy
New to the school

Ask each student to share their poem with the group and talk about why they chose each
word or phrase.

Friendship Contract (15 min)
Discuss the purpose and goals of the friendship group with students. Remind students of
group logistical procedures including when the group meets, where it meets, and for how
long. Allow time for students to ask questions.
Next, establish small group rules by creating a group guidelines document. Have students
come up with a list of guidelines regarding group expectations and participation. Once
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students have come to a consensus, write the guidelines on poster board and have each
student sign it at the bottom.

Candy Questions (5 min)
Pass around the bag of candy and have each student take a piece. After each student picks
a piece of candy, have him/her answer a question based on the color of candy chosen.
Red: Name something you like about your personality
Green: Name a hobby that you enjoy
Yellow: Name something positive about the way you look.
Brown: Name something positive about someone in the group
Blue: Name something you do well in school
Orange: Name something you like about the person on your left

Discussion/Closing Questions
How did it feel to say something positive about yourself?
How did you feel saying something positive about others?
Why do you think it is important to positive things to ourselves and others?
What is something positive that you can contribute to this group?
What is something you learned about another member of the group?
What is the purpose of this group?
What do you hope to gain from this group?
Questions/Comments/Concerns













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Friendship Group

Session 2
Adapted from Marilyn Fenichel and Shauna Felton
http://www.discoveryeducation.com/teachers/free-lesson-plans/self-esteem.cfm

Time
45 Minutes

Materials
Paper and pencils
Newsprint and markers
Construction paper and colored pencils
Old magazines
Scissors and glue
Computer with Internet access (optional but very helpful)

Objectives
Students will do the following:
1. Explore the concept of self-esteem
2. Analyze their personal strengths and weaknesses
3. Consider the role self-esteem plays in a healthy life

Ice Breaker and Activity
Ask students to define the term self-esteem. Write their ideas on a sheet of
newsprint. Help students understand that self-esteem refers to how we understand
and value ourselves. People with high self-esteem are realistic about their strengths
and weaknesses and are able to set goals and work toward them with optimism and
humor. They also feel competent in areas they consider important and do not take
other people's negative impressions of them too seriously.

People with low self-esteem have a hard time honestly evaluating their strengths
and weaknesses and often have an unrealistic, overall negative impression of
themselves. They take other people's opinions of their strengths and weaknesses
more seriously than they should. Also, they do not feel competent in areas they
consider important. People with low self-esteem tend to be pessimistic.

1. Tell students that an important first step in building self-esteem is taking a realistic
look at their strengths and weaknesses and likes and dislikes. This helps them know
what goals are realistic to pursue, what aspects of their personality and lifestyle to seek
to improve, and how to identify their weaknesses without worrying about how others
perceive them. Tell students that self-knowledge helps lay the foundation for high self-
esteem.
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2. Then tell students they are going to complete a personal inventory during this lesson to
help them achieve better self-understanding. Tell students to follow the directions, filling in
blanks or checking the answers that apply to them. You may copy the inventory for
students, read it out loud, or write it on a piece of newsprint and post it in the classroom.

Personal Inventory
School Subjects
1. I like ______________.
2. I do not like ________________.
3. I am good at __________________.
4. I am not good at _______________.
5. I am good at this subject, but I do not like it: ____________.
6. I am not good at this subject, but I like it: _______________.
Activities
7. I like __________________.
8. I do not like ________________.
9. I am good at _________________.
10. I am not good at _________________.
11. I am good at this activity, but I do not like it: _________.
12. I am not good at this activity, but I like it: ____________.
13. I prefer being involved in individual activities _____ or group activities ___. (Check
one.)
Relationships with Friends and Adults (Check the statements that apply to you)
14. I am generally well liked: ____________.
15. I am generally not well liked: ___________.
16. I have a group of friends: ________.
17. I prefer having one or two friends: _______.
18. I am a leader: ___________.
19. I am a follower: _________.
20. I prefer people who like the same things I like: ___________.
21. I prefer people who like different things: _____________.
22. I have the support of significant adults in my life: __________________.
23. I have the support of a group of peers: ______________________.
Food Preferences
24. I like to eat ____________.
25. I do not like to eat __________.
26. I do ____ do not _____ eat a balanced diet. (Check one.)
Relaxing
27. I relax by __________.
28. I like relaxing alone _____ or with other people ____. (Check one.)
29. After this activity, I always feel calm and peaceful. _______________.

3. Give students ample time (it should not take more than 10 or 15 minutes) in class to
complete the inventory. Then ask students to take the information they learned about
themselves and create a drawing, collage, or short essay that illustrates who they are.
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Make available paper, art supplies, and magazines to cut up. Give students about 20
minutes to complete their projects.

4. During the next class period, ask for student volunteers to share their artwork or
essays, and their personal reflections, with the class.

5. Ask students what they learned about themselves? How can they apply this
information to their lives? How does it affect the goals they set for themselves? Tell
them that understanding their own strengths, weaknesses, and preferences is essential
in boosting their self-esteem.

6. Conclude the lesson by asking students what role they think self-esteem plays in
leading a healthful life. If students feel good about themselves, do they think they will
make good decisions about friends; diet; exercise; sex and abstinence; dangerous habits
such as drugs, smoking, and drinking; and overall work habits? Why do they think this
is so? Help students understand that if they feel good about themselves, they will want
to take care of themselves.












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Friendship Group

Session 3

Time
45 Minutes

Materials
Paper and Pencil
Construction Paper (optional)

Objectives
To make group members reflect on what values are important to them.
To create a better understanding of oneself.
To understand what priority particular values have on each individual. What values
are most important/least important?
To recognize that people have values that differ from ones own and the implications
that result from this.
To realize how behaviors and lifestyle portray what values are important.
To develop ideas on how one can attain personal values in everyday life.

Ice Breaker
Two Truths and a Lie (10 min)
Hand out paper and pencil to each member of the group. Have each person write
three facts about themselves including two that are true and one that is not true. For
example, I enjoy mountain climbing (truth), I have five brothers (truth), and I was
born in Mexico (lie). Each person puts his or her name on the paper and hands it in
to the facilitator. The facilitator reads the facts out loud and everyone guesses which
fact is a lie. This is a good get-to-know-you game that allows the group members to
stay surface about their facts or go deeper. Learning more about the group members
can serve as a good springboard into the topic of understanding values and how
they relate to identity.

Activity
Values Auction (25 min)
Create a list of at least 20 values. Some values to consider include: authority, order,
physical fitness, advancement, affluence, competition, economic security, friendship,
self-respect, wisdom, loyalty, autonomy, responsibility, creativity, variety, helping
others, integrity, love, balance, knowledge/education, humor, beauty of life,
challenge, family, courage, collaboration, community, spirituality, happiness,
reflection.


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Give each student 2,500 life units. These units can be deducted without a tangible
representation or the facilitator can create materials that represent life units ($100
bills created with construction paper). Hand out the list of values and have the
group members create a budget including how much they want to spend on each
value. Give them 10 minutes to do this. During the auction, group members will
write how much they spent on each value, and how many life units it took for the
owner to attain the value. Auction off each value starting at an opening bid of 100
life units. Go through as many values as you can in 15 minutes.

Discussion/Closing Questions
What happened in the activity?
Do the values you purchased represent you?
What was the most difficult part about participating in this activity? Why?
What values were bid on the most by the group? What does this mean to us as a
group?
How do the values in this room apply to real life? What if you had to work with
someone who had a top value that was your bottom value?
How might you interact with an entire culture that had opposing values of your
own?
If a video camera taped you for the next week, would the importance of your values
be reflected to what is written on your handout?

Closing/Take-away
(If there is time, have each person in the group express one thing they learned from the
activity):
In real life, we are not limited to the values we purchased in the auction. We can
have as many as we want, but we have to plan our lives accordingly.
Values not met in certain aspects of our lives (school/work) can be attained by other
activities or aspects. For example, a person can join a gym if he or she values
physical activity but works in a sedentary job.
People can have healthy relationships with others even if there are differences
among values. People come from endless backgrounds and have varying reasons for
what values are important to them.







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Friendship Group

Session 4

Time
45 Minutes

Materials
Deck of playing cards

Objectives
To understand how verbal and non-verbal communication is conveyed.
To learn what kind of communication skills are useful in transmitting a
comprehendible message.
To receive examples of messages our body portrays (e.g. posture, eye-contact, facial
expressions).
To examine how individual, group, and cultural communication styles vary.
To understand how we communicate with those closest to us/those that are
strangers.
To be able to apply effective communication skills to problem solving.
To consider the differences in leading and following

Ice Breaker
Wink Murder (5 min)
Draw the number of the amount of participants out of a deck of playing cards and
make sure only one card is an ace. Tell each group member to look at their card and
do not show it to anyone else. Whoever draws the ace is the murderer and must
wink at another group member in order to kill him or her. If someone gets winked at
then he or she must act out a death (it can be very dramatic and elaborate or it can
be quick by simply putting ones head down.) The object is to try to guess who the
murderer is without being killed. If a participant guesses the wrong murderer, the
result is instant death. Ask the group what it felt like to scan the eyes of everyone.
What gestures or body language did they look for in trying to discover the
murderer?

Telephone (5 min)
Use this classic game to see what gets lost in translation. Start by whispering
something slightly long or complicated to the person next to you in the circle (e.g. I
went the store yesterday with my favorite uncle, Tony. We bought five Honeybaked
Hams). Each person is only allowed to say the message once to each member as
the message is passed along the room. When the last person receives the message,
he or she states it out loud.


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The facilitator reveals the original message and finds out if it is the same. Discuss
what happened. Did the message come out the same as it started? How does this
apply to how messages are transferred and communicated in real life?

Activity
Line-up (20 min)
Ask the group to form a line from least to greatest or first to last in the following
categories:

The group members are not allowed to communicate verbally for the first portion
of this activity.
Birthday months, from January to December
Shoe size, from smallest to largest
Height, from smallest to tallest
The group members are allowed to communicate verbally for the second portion of
this activity.
Alphabetical last names, from A to Z
Amount of different states each person has visited, from least to greatest
Amount of siblings and pets, from least to greatest
Discussion/Closing Questions
What happened in the activity?
What was the most difficult part about not being able to talk? What would it be like
if you were in a country and did not know the dominant language? How do others
deal with this situation in the U.S.?
What was different about being able to talk?
Who was the leader of the group? What was his or her leadership style like?
Did you enjoy following or leading more? What are some pros and cons of each
aspect?
How do we speak differently to different people in our lives (e.g. friends, family, and
teachers)?
Whom do you have most trouble communicating with?
What kind of communication style do you prefer for yourself? For listening to
others?
What does technology do to how we communicate?
What are appropriate non-verbal or body language skills? How do we use them in
everyday life?






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Closing/Take-away
(have each person express one thing they learned during the activity if there is time):
What we dont say verbally can be as important as what we do say verbally.
People possess differing ideas and styles of communication. It can be difficult to
define the true message.
Communicating can be an art. One must be empathetic and understanding of others
to be successful at communicating.
Communication and conveying the right message is essential in building
relationships, solving problems, and functioning in everyday life.






















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Friendship Group

Session 5

Time
45 Minutes

Materials
Soft, plush ball
Worksheet for Facilitator adapted from No Kidding About Bullying (p. 85) by Naomi
Drew, M.A.

Objectives
To understand that anger is a natural emotion everyone feels it
To explore common anger triggers
To learn and be able to apply a basic breathing exercise in dealing with anger
To see a proactive, preventative way of going about conflict resolution
Ice Breaker
Round the World Ball Toss
Begin by describing what were going to talk about today anger and things that
make us mad (within the context of conflict resolution). Describe, if appropriate, an
example of something that angers you or makes you mad. Try to keep it superficial
i.e. the focus should be on the students, not on you. Then pass the ball to a student
who has an appropriate example of what upsets them.

Try to keep the conversation on the lighter side; this is an activity that should be
moving around the room at a faster pace and should help the students to see what
upsets others as well as what upsets them. As a whole, the objective here is to get
the students to see that anger is common, we all have common anger triggers, and
that it is natural to be upset at times. Keep the discussion along those lines.

Activity
Discuss the concept of anger
o What makes us angry?
o What are some negative choices people make when they get angry?
o What are some positive choices we can make when were angry?
Next, per the worksheet, teach and utilize the Stop, Breathe, and Chill method of
cooling down. Go through the three steps describing how to stop, how to
breathe, and how to chill. Then, talk about how, after having talked about things
that make us mad, this exercise has helped us to calm down.
Finally, wrap it up with a game of charades enacting ways of chilling or calming
down without using your voice. For example, you could model that you like to listen
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to music by putting your hands up to your ears pretending to rock out to some
tunes. Have volunteers act out their preferred way of calming down.

Discussion/Closing Questions
Is anger common?
What makes me mad? Or angry?
What can I do to positively deal with this anger?
How can I use the Stop, Breathe, Chill exercise outside of this group?
Other take-aways and observations from the students




















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Friendship Group

Session 6

Time
45 Minutes

Materials
Conflict resolution handout

Objectives
Help students understand different ways to resolve conflict
Help students to identify ways to maintain healthy relationships through effective
conflict resolution
Ice Breaker
I Represent Conflict
Facilitator should stand in the middle of the room and say out loud to students, "Imagine
that I represent conflict. Think about how you usually react when you experience a
conflict personally or witness a conflict happening nearby. Then place yourself, in
relation to me, somewhere in the room in a way that indicates your first response to
conflict or disagreement. Think about your body position, the direction that you're facing,
and the distance from conflict."

Once students have found a position relative to you in the room, ask individuals to
explain why they are standing where they are. You might also want to ask, "If this
represents your first reaction, what might your second reaction be, after thinking about
the conflict?"

Activity
Part 1: Facilitator should begin by talking about the following ways to resolve conflict:
communicate, negotiate, mediate, arbitrate, litigate, and legislate. Facilitator should explain
that different methods may be more applicable than others, depending on the issue at
hand. After describing each method, facilitator may ask students to describe a situation in
which that approach may be effective. See notes for each method below.

Conflict Resolution Vocabulary:
Communicate**** (Emphasize the importance of communicating with others)
Talk to the person directly. Do not allow other people to speak for you.
Do not jump to conclusions. Hearing another persons side of the story can help
you to get the facts and understand their point of view.
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Listen to what others have to say. All people involved deserve an opportunity to
express themselves.
Use I statements to express your feelings.
I feel angry when you.vs. You make me angry when you.
Apologize if you have done something wrong or hurt someone
Think of things you can both do to prevent the problem from happening again
Negotiate
Two or more people decide to work out a conflict themselves, which may involve
working through a set of steps
Negotiation requires open mindedness and willingness to compromise
Mediate
Important to note: the mediator does not tell the people what to do; he or she helps
them decide for themselves.
Arbitrate
Sometimes a mediator does solve people's problems. When he/she does, he/she is
referred to as an arbitrator. When people ask an arbitrator to help them, they
agree to do what the arbitrator suggests
Litigate
When people can't work out their conflict themselves, they may go to a court and
have a trial. On a much smaller scale, in some schools, students have the option
to go to student court to present their case before a judge
Legislate
Make laws or rules to try to prevent something from happening in the future (Help
students to understand that this does not only apply to politics and government.
Rules can be made in school settings to reduce the occurrence of certain issues)
Questions to ask students:
Can you think of any instances where you used one of these methods? Please explain.
Can you think of any times in your life when you wish you had used one of these ways to
resolve conflict?
What are some bad ways of dealing with conflict?
Do you know of any effective ways of resolving conflict that we did not discuss?

Part 2: Provide each student with a handout that includes the following vignettes. Give them
approximately five minutes to read through them and come up with a conflict resolution style
that they would deem useful in each situation. Encourage students to use a resolution style
that is not in the list if they please.


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Discussion
How did you choose to resolve the conflict? Are there any other ways that you think you
could effectively handle this situation?
Have you experienced something similar in your life? If so, do you feel like you dealt
with the situation appropriately, or is there something that you could have done
differently?
If this issue were not handled properly, what would be some of the potential negative
outcomes?

Closing Questions
What are the benefits from resolving conflict in a positive manner?
What are some of the risks involved with handling conflict poorly?
What stuck out to you during the activities we did today?
How can you use the conflict resolution techniques that we discussed in your everyday
lives?
















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Conflict Resolution Handout
Directions: On the line beside type, indicate which conflict resolution style you think would
be most helpful in resolving the following issues (communicate, negotiate, mediate, arbitrate,
litigate, legislate). Jot down exactly how you think the problem should be handled after the
descriptions.
Example:
While Shana was walking in the hallway, her friend, Olivia, rolled her eyes and turned to talk to
another student. Shana was later told by another friend on the bus that Olivia was upset with
her because she did not answer her phone call the night before.
Type (of conflict resolution): Communicate
Instead of taking information from outside sources and/or making assumptions, Shana could
approach Olivia to see if and why she is angry with her.

1) Cody and Bianca have been arguing for five minutes over who should be able to use the last
available laptop in their classroom. What should they do?
Type:____________

2) Alfonso, Kari, and Kelly are supposed to come up with a presentation on Native American
culture, but they cannot seem to agree on whether or not they should create a poster board or a
Powerpoint presentation. Alfonso thinks that a Powerpoint will be better, but the other two
believe that their teacher, Ms. Lowery, would be more impressed by a colorful poster board.
What do you recommend that they do to resolve this issue?
Type:____________

3) Christina is upset because her friend, Jessica, passed by her in the hallway on the way to
homeroom without speaking to her. Jessica was walking and talking with her boyfriend, Tony,
and Christina felt like she was purposely being ignored. Christina decided to ignore Jessica for
the rest of the day, until Jessica approached her and asked her why she had been acting strange.
How do you think Christina should respond?
Type _______________

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4) Joe and Drake were horse playing in Drakes living room. They started throwing a football
back and forth, and unfortunately, Drakes aim was off. Joe tried to catch the ball, to no avail.
He stumbled into a table, and knocked over Drakes mothers vase. Drake became angry and
told Joe that he should pay to replace the vase, since he failed to catch the ball. Joe insisted that
Drake pay for the vase, because he threw the ball in the wrong direction. Around this time,
Drakes older brother came into the room and talked to them about what had happened. What
could Drakes brother do to help them?
Type: _____________

5) Katie noticed that some of the popular kids in homeroom were teasing some of her classmates.
She hated witnessing her peers being ridiculed by others, so she decided to do something about
it. Every morning, her homeroom teacher asked if any students had any news they wanted to
share or anything theyd like to briefly discuss with the class. What could Katie do to help out
the students who are being picked on?
Type:____________

6) Jody received a 65% on her paper that she wrote for Language Arts. She spent a lot of time
working on the paper, so she did not understand why her grade was so low. What should she do?
Type: ___________________











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Outcome Evaluation Questionnaire
Please read each statement pertaining to your experiences in the group, and circle a number,
based on how strongly you agree. Circle 1 for I do not agree, 2 for Somewhat agree, and 3
for I agree.

I realize my personal values and how they affect others. 1 2 3

I understand the importance of verbal and nonverbal communication. 1 2 3

I have learned effective problem solving strategies. 1 2 3

I felt comfortable working with the other people in my group. 1 2 3

I can apply the things that I learned from the group in my relationships. 1 2 3

I better understand how to build and maintain healthy friendships. 1 2 3

I understand the importance of self-confidence and self-esteem in building and maintaining
friendships. 1 2 3

The group leader explained concepts well. 1 2 3

The group leader was engaging and enthusiastic. 1 2 3

The group leader made everyone feel included. 1 2 3

Would you recommend someone you know to become a part of a group similar to this one?
Why or why not?


Overall, how helpful were the group activities that you did in the sessions?



Were there any particular sessions that you enjoyed and/or learned a lot from?



Is there anything that you think did not go well in the group?



Is there anything that the leader could have done to make the group run more smoothly?
Overall, how satisfied are you with the group experience on a scale of 1-5, with 1 being not at all
satisfied, and 5 being extremely satisfied?
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Online Resources for Parents/Guardians
http://www.stopbullying.gov/what-you-can-do/parents/index.html

http://www.pbs.org/parents/raisinggirls/friends/

http://www.pbs.org/parents/raisingboys/index.html

http://www.scholastic.com/parents/resources/article/back-to-school/making-transition

http://tweenparenting.about.com/od/socialdevelopment/a/TweenFriends.htm

http://www.charlotteparent.com/articlemain.php?Say-WHAT-Helping-Teens-
Communicate-Effectively-3834

http://highschoolmediator.com/figuring-out-how-teens-communicate/

http://www.empoweringparents.com/

http://www.parentline.org.au/









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Resources for Students

Websites:
http://www.stopbullying.gov/kids/facts/index.htm

http://teenadvice.about.com/od/datingrelationships/tp/making-new-friends.html

http://eclipse.pagecounty.k12.va.us/lms/conflict.pdf (conflict resolution--emphasis on
methods of communication)


Books:

Middle School Confidential Series http://www.freespirit.com/book-series/#MSC














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Resources for School Counselors
http://www.stopbullying.gov/what-you-can-do/educators/index.html

http://www.schcounselor.com/search/label/friendship

http://www.mental-health-matters.com/component/content/article/43-parenting/99-group-
therapy-for-adolescents-clinical-paper?type=raw&format=pdf

http://www.livestrong.com/article/76643-adolescent-group-therapy-benefits/
http://www.amazon.com/Activities-Enhance-Social-Emotional-Problem-
solving/dp/0398077215















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Issues in Application
Schools are unique settings and can be challenging when attempting to conduct a
group of adolescents. Students are not the typical clients of counseling. Likewise,
implementing a group in a school is vastly different than in a clinical mental health setting.
There are various barriers a school counselor must navigate. Some of the issues counselors
must consider include pre-screening, logistics, consent, ethics, and practicality.
Furthermore, the sample of students lacking interpersonal skills can be a challenge in itself
considering the efficacious group process requires candid communication. The preceding
concerns will be discussed in more detail in devising a group to improve student social
skills.
In starting a group of adolescents, there are many potential road blocks in a school
setting. First, in the selection of students, the group leader must decide if the group will be
a voluntary or involuntary group. A voluntary group could be publicized by posting
announcements on bulletin boards, making individual contact with students or teachers, or
getting involved with school organizations (Gladding, 2012). These groups must be sold in
one way, but the facilitator must be careful to not pressure students if he or she wishes this
decision to truly be up to the student. An involuntary group might be met with resistance
with students unwilling to be part of the process. Resistance in a group can be beneficial
but also formidable especially when the form of resistance is silence. In either case, like any
other group, the adolescents should be prescreened to foresee potential group members
that could inhibit the group. The facilitator should look for group members congruent in
maturity, purpose, and background (Gladding, 2012).
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In terms of congruency, the facilitator should also consider the gender and age of the
group members. Gladding (2012) highlights there are varying perspectives with mixing
gender in a group. Some believe genders can only be mixed before puberty. Some believe it
is never appropriate to mix genders. Others believe that the group is the safest place for
boys and girls to learn how to interact with each other. The creators of the Friendship
Group generally believe sexes should not be mixed in order for group members to
genuinely participate. Some topics could cause anxiety for group members to talk about
when the opposite sex is in the room, thus not allowing for the process to work. The mixing
of ages can also be problematic. Certain ages can clash during the tumultuous time of
adolescence such as mixing sophomores and seniors (Gladding, 2012). Groups of
adolescents should be fairly equal in maturity level which can be achieved by grouping
members within one year of each other in age (Gladding, 2012).
Creating a group of adolescents presents issues in confidentiality and ethics. It may
be difficult to attain absolute confidentiality in a group of students that are potentially
tempted to gossip and tell students outside the group about confidential discussions. The
facilitator may consider ways to keep group members from going too deep when discussing
certain topics. In regards to ethics, some topics may be brought up that could cause conflict
in a school institution. For example, religion may be a discussion that could conflict with
the division of church and state. Group members or the parents of group members may not
be comfortable with these kinds of discussions. Consent also must be acquired by parents.
The process of getting an adolescent to take a form home to his or her parent/guardian, get
it signed, and bring it back can be an arduous process.
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Perhaps the most challenging aspect of developing a group in the school setting is
logistics. Once the group members are selected, finding the same time when all participants
can attend is sometimes impossible. There are few class periods throughout the day where
students are allowed to be excused. Physical education is often a class that students are
excused from, but many students find this class to be their most enjoyable of the day. This
being said, there is no guarantee that a students will be allowed to have free time or be
excused from a particular class. The facilitator must also consider an appropriate amount
of time for each session. Gladding (2012) suggests that sessions with adolescents should
run between 60 and 90 minutes. This time frame works particularly well with schools on
90 minute per class block schedule. However, traditional schedules consist of 50 minute
class periods. Even after securing a time, finding a private unused room for the group may
be difficult in a school without many resources. Despite all these hurdles, the school
schedule can serve as a barrier due to testing, student absences, assemblies, half days,
holidays, fire drills, and other special events.
Finally, some of the most important qualities for a group facilitator working with
adolescents in a school setting are creativity, perseverance, and flexibility. Schools can be a
polarizing entity when compared to a clinical setting in terms of structure. Counseling in a
school may often be considerably low on the scale of importance in the eyes of teachers and
administrators. It is important for the facilitator to be a confident and creative individual
who is able to advocate the importance of opportunities like group counseling. The
facilitator must not be easily deterred by the challenges resulting from the often
bureaucratic systems in a school.

33
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