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Coun531
Group Proposal
Foxbury High School contacted Amirault Counseling Services in response to identified needs
of the students, faculty, and staff. Specifically , the needs center around grief support for those
grieving the death of five tenth graders two weeks ago. On the evening of January 6th, the five
students were driving together to attend a basketball game at the high school, when they were hit
head-on by a drunk driver. All five students were killed instantly and the tragic accident has
brought incredible shock and pain to the school community. The high school is a small and
close-knit community, educating 260 students from grades 9 through 12. The death of these five
individuals has affected the teaching and learning process. Several students have taken a
temporary leave of absence from school and many of the teachers have expressed difficulty
teaching class when the students as well as themselves are feeling such sorrow.
The first objective is to provide a grief support that is easily accessible and free of costs, to
the entire school community. A second objective is to support students, staff, and faculty in
expressing the thoughts and feelings about their loss with each other. The third goal is help the
group members reflect on their loss and express there feelings in the present moment and allow
the group cohesion that forms to help establish a stabilized system of support for participants.
Ultimately, the goal of this group is to help individuals improve their coping strategies, establish
a sense of closure regarding unresolved feelings relating to the death of their classmates, and to
reorient themselves in there own lives as they accept this loss as part of their individual and
collective histories.
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Practical Considerations
This group(s) will be closed and meet once per week, on Tuesday from 2:00-3:30 p.m. A
second group, if needed will meet at the same time on Thursday. The group will commencing
starting the week of January 20th and end the week of June 14th. The group(s) will meet in the
A letter will be sent to all students, faculty, and staff inviting any and all interested in joining
this group to attend an informational meeting on January 12th. At these meeting, students,
faculty, and staff will learn about the purpose of the group and decide if the group sessions may
be beneficial for them. Screening interview appointments will be scheduled for those interested
entering the group at the information session. Any individuals deemed inappropriate for the
group will be offered an appointment at the counseling center and seen for individual counseling
sessions by a member of the counseling staff. At the end of the screening interview the
prospective member will be asked to sign an informed consent form fully outlining the purpose
of the group as well as the risks and benefits of participation. The counselor will also verbally
review the potential risks and benefits of group membership and explain them in detail. The
counselor will also discuss the importance of confidentiality as well as the schedule of the group.
Any questions and concerns voiced by the prospective member about this group will be
Late busses will also be provided for student’s who need transportation. Depending on the
number of individuals interested, the grief support group will consist of 6-12 members. If more
Group Procedures
Members will be asked to participate in every group session over the course of the spring
semester. The content of the group sessions will focus on issues of grief, loss, and transition.
Members of the group will be encouraged to engage in a series of exercises to help them focus
on their thoughts and feelings related to their own loss experience. Some smaller group exercises
conducted in dyads will also be employed. Members of the group will then be encouraged to
work with their material in the here and now. This material along with group member
interactions will be processed first by the co-leaders and in later sessions by the members of the
group as they are able to engage in self-reflective loop-type process activities. Some after-group
tasks will be assigned on specific occasions and all members will be asked to journal every week
and share one idea expressed in their journals in the opening of each group. At the conclusion of
the group each member will be interviewed and offered a referral for individual counseling in
case the member would like to continue to work on specific problem areas.
At the first session of the group, each member will complete the Grief and Loss Scale (GLS).
The GLS has been determined to be a valid and reliable instrument for measuring the four major
pyschosocial dimensions of adjustment to loss and also includes measures addressing strength of
coping skills and overall sense of well being. At the end of the last session each member of the
group will again complete the GLS. Per-test and post-test group means and as well as each
individual's results will be compared for the purpose of assessing the overall effectiveness of the
group.