grief group proposal -...
TRANSCRIPT
Background Informa;on
• A bereaved person is grieving the loss of someone (or something) he or she valued
• Loss can nega;vely impact an adolescent’s physical and mental health, behavior, learning, and development
• In comparison to individual or family approaches, group counseling allows for adolescents to draw upon peer support and reduces feelings of isola;on
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Jus;fica;on for a Grief Group
• A school’s mission: Convey essen;al skills for life – including being considerate of those who have experienced a personally significant loss
• A school counselor’s responsibility: – The educa;onal, academic, career, personal and social needs of every student
– provide the necessary and appropriate services to students, such as a grief and loss group
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Group Goals
• Goal #1: Alleviate the suffering of the bereaved through mutual support
• Goal #2: Facilitate healing so that children can func;on more effec;vely in the classroom and at home
Both goals are from Samide & Stockton (2002, p. 198)
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Group Objec;ves
• Gain a beWer understanding of one’s grief • Be able to effec;vely express one’s grief • Obtain appropriate grief coping strategies • Normalize the grieving process
• Gain a sense of hope for the future
Adapted from Morgan and Roberts (2010)
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Ethical Group Prac;ce
ASCA (2010) Ethical Standards concerning group work: • A.6.a:
– Screen prospec;ve group members – Maintain an awareness of par;cipants’ needs – Take precau;ons to protect members from harm resul;ng from
the group experience • A.6.b:
– Best prac;ce is to no;fy the parents/guardians of children par;cipa;ng in groups
• A.6.c: – Establish clear expecta;ons in the group seang – Clearly state that confiden;ality in group counseling cannot be
guaranteed
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Ethical Group Prac;ce, con;nued
Ethical Standards concerning group work, con;nued: • A.6.d:
– Provide necessary follow up with members, and document as appropriate.
• A.6.e: – Develop professional competencies for any topics specific to the
group – Maintain appropriate educa;on, training and supervision in
group facilita;on • A.6.f:
– Facilitate group work that is brief and solu;on-‐focused – Working with a variety of academic, career, college and
personal/social issues
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Characteris;cs of Group Stages • Pre-‐group – Group planning and forma;on – AWrac;ng, screening, and selec;ng members – Orienta;on process
• Ini;al – Anxiety and insecurity about group structure – Discovering and tes;ng limits – Development of group norms – Explora;on of fears and expecta;ons – Iden;fica;on of personal goals and themes – Determina;on of the safety of the group environment
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Group Stages, con;nued • Transi;on – Begin work on presen;ng concerns – Verbally expressing thoughts, feelings, reac;ons, and ac;ons
– Acceptance of fears and defensiveness while working on anxie;es and reluctance
– Taking risks and saying things that have been held back • Working – Produc;vity – Increase of self-‐explora;on – Focus on behavioral changes – Deeper level of trust – Not all members may achieve this stage
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Group Stages, con;nued • Final
– Iden;fying what has been learned – Crea;ng an ac;on plan for integra;ng learning into everyday life
– Summarizing and tying up loose ends
– Interpre;ng the overall group experience – Achieving Closure – Dealing with separa;on and termina;on feelings as well as unfinished business
– Developing strategies for possible relapse and a support network
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Screening Process
• Receive referrals from parents and school personnel for students who may fit the group’s criteria
• Conduct a screening interview with each poten;al child and his or her parent(s)
• Determine if the child is appropriate for the group and ready to address his or her loss.
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Screening Considera;ons
Not Suitable
• Children experiencing pathological grief
• Children with significant interpersonal problems
• Children who have experienced loss very recently
Suitable
• Children who experienced loss up to two years ago
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Group Ground Rules
• It is best for the group to establish their own ground rules
• Confiden;ality is a non-‐nego;able rule • Possible other rules include: – Show up on ;me and do not skip sessions – Listen to each other – No judgments – No advice – Be honest – Be respecgul – Be suppor;ve
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Group Format
• Four to Eight members per group • Meet once a week for one hour
• Eight sessions, with op;on to con;nue for another eight sessions if necessary
• Groups divided by developmental level, i.e. early, middle, and late adolescence
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Outline of Group Sessions • Group One: Feelings – Iden;fying and exploring feelings – Developing a grief vocabulary
• Group Two: Death Educa;on – Answering ques;ons about death and the funerals – Helping adolescents realize they are not alone in their confusion and anxiety
• Group Three: Memories – Sharing memories and mementos of the deceased – Crea;ng collages of memories
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Group Sessions, con;nued • Group Four: Changes – Acknowledging how life has changed since the loss – Recognizing that some things are the same – Iden;fying how the group members feel about the changes
• Group Five and Six: Grief Educa;on – Visual explana;on of the stages of grief – Group members iden;fy where they are in the grief process
– Discussion of coping skills
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Group Sessions, con;nued • Group Seven: Leang Go – Using symbolic ways of saying goodbye to deceased, leang go of balloons or visualiza;on
• Group Eight: Saying Goodbye – Discussion of how the ending of the group makes the members feel
– Celebra;on of what has been accomplished – Reminder of coping skills and suppor;ve adults in their lives
– Statements of apprecia;on for support of fellow group members and group leader
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Crises and Trauma Management • Grief and loss group for adolescents already focus on a trauma;c event, the loss of a loved one
• The group could be adapted for a large scale crisis or natural disaster, in which many lives were lost or there is loss of property and/or feelings of safety and security.
• Cri;cal characteris;cs of a suppor;ve environment: – Rou;ne and structure – Love as displayed through adults’ words and ac;ons – Honesty about the loss as appropriate for the student developmental level
– A sense security and safety 18
Considera;ons of Diversity • Different cultures handle death, grief and the loss of a loved one in different ways
• Varia;ons in views of death can vary greatly depending factors, such as ethnicity and level of accultura;on
• Best prac;ce with regards to diverse popula;ons: – Be knowledgeable about the prac;ces of different cultures but tailor the group process to the individual par;cipants
– Learn about a group member’s individual beliefs and not assume anything based on cultural generaliza;ons
– Make an effort to understand differences and value diverse prac;ces related to loss
– Iden;fy the individual’s level of religiosity and incorporate faith-‐based cogni;ons when appropriate
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References American School Counselors Associa;on. (2010). Ethical standards for school counselors.
Retrieved from hWp://www.schoolcounselor.org/files/EthicalStandards2010.pdf
Baggerly, J., & Abugideiri, S. (2010). Grief Counseling for Muslim Preschool and Elementary School Children. Journal Of Mul,cultural Counseling & Development, 38(2), 112-‐124.
Balk, D. (2011). Adolescent Development and Bereavement: An Introduc;on. Preven,on Researcher, 18(3), 3-‐9.
Corey, M. S., Corey, G., & Corey, C. (2010). Groups process and prac,ce (8th ed.). Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.
Edgar-‐Bailey, M., & Kress, V. E. (2010). Resolving Child and Adolescent Trauma;c Grief: Crea;ve Techniques and Interven;ons. Journal Of Crea,vity In Mental Health, 5(2), 158-‐176. doi:10.1080/15401383.2010.485090
Finn, C. A. (2003). Helping students cope with loss: Incorpora;ng art into group counseling. Journal For Specialists In Group Work, 28(2), 155-‐165. doi:10.1177/0193392203252189
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References, con;nued Malone, P. A. (2012). The impact of peer death on adolescent girls: An efficacy Study of the
adolescent grief and loss group. Social Work With Groups, 35(1), 35-‐49. doi:10.1080/01609513.2011.561423
Mauk, G. W. (2011). Loss-‐Oriented Support for Students (LOSS): Companioning the Journey from Yesterday's Sorrow to Tomorrow's Hope. Clearing House, 84(3), 104-‐108. doi:10.1080/00098655.2010.538756
Morgan, J. P., & Roberts, J. E. (2010). Helping bereaved children and adolescents: Strategies and implica;ons for counselors. Journal Of Mental Health Counseling, 32(3), 206-‐217.
Samide, L. L., & Stockton, R. (2002). Leang Go of Grief: Bereavement Groups for Children in the School Seang. Journal For Specialists In Group Work, 27(2), 192-‐204.
Schoulte, J. C. (2011). Bereavement Among African Americans and La;no/a Americans. Journal Of Mental Health Counseling, 33(1), 11-‐20.
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