To have loved and lost: A group for students who have lost a loved one

Transcription

1 To have loved and lost: A group for students who have lost a loved one 1

2 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 2

3 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 3

4 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) 4

5 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) 5

6 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 6

7 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 7

8 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 8

9 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 9

10 Final Group Stages, con;nued 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 10

11 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. 11

12 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 12

13 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 13

14 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 14

15 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 15

16 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 16

17 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 17

18 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

19 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 19

20 References American School Counselors Associa;on. (2010). Ethical standards for school counselors. Retrieved from hwp:// Baggerly, J., & Abugideiri, S. (2010). Grief Counseling for Muslim Preschool and Elementary School Children. Journal Of Mul,cultural Counseling & Development, 38(2), 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), doi: / Finn, C. A. (2003). Helping students cope with loss: Incorpora;ng art into group counseling. Journal For Specialists In Group Work, 28(2), doi: /

21 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), doi: / 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), doi: / 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), 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), Schoulte, J. C. (2011). Bereavement Among African Americans and La;no/a Americans. Journal Of Mental Health Counseling, 33(1),