Small Group Responsive Services Pressure Cooker Group â Session 4
Small Group Responsive Services Pressure Cooker Group – Session 4 School Counselor: Ian Brodie
Date: 12/10/14
Activity: Relieving Anxiety Grade: 7 & 8
ASCA Student Standards or ASCA Mindsets & Behaviors standards addressed: C:A1.5 – Learn to make decisions C:A1.6 – Learn how to set goals PS:B1.12 – Develop an action plan to set and achieve realistic goals PS:C1.10 – Learn techniques for managing stress and conflict Learning Objectives: As a result of session 4, students will: 1. Use a solution-focused model to solve a problem that is causing a lot of pressure. 2. Engage in a muscle relaxation technique that they can use when they feel the physical effects of stress.
Materials: Pressure Cooker visual, enough copies of Your Miracle Situation worksheet, tip tickets.
Procedure:
A. Introduction a. Outline of the day’s agenda. b. Summarize previous session. i. What did you learn last time? ii. What other pressures have you encountered this week that are new to the Pressure Cooker? 1. Allow students to add more pressures to the Pressure Cooker visual. 2. Facilitate an open discussion for which students continue to use effective communication skills and respond to each other. B. Opening Discussion: a. What are some things you have been doing differently because of our discussions? b. We have spent a couple of weeks talking about how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors affect each other—how have you been using this to your advantage?
C. Your Miracle Situation Activity a. Have students think about what is causing them the most pressure at that current point in time. They may take the corresponding sticky note off the Pressure Cooker visual, or create a new sticky note. b. Up until now they have been given strategies for how to cope with pressure, but now they are going to learn how to give themselves strategies. c. Your Miracle Situation Worksheet: Hand out copies of the worksheet and tell the students to use the pressure situation they just thought of to complete the activity. When they are finished, allow students to share what they wrote. D. Physical Relaxation Techniques: a. Tell students to brainstorm all of the relaxation techniques that have already been discussed. i. Include: Physical Activity (physical stimulation, mental relaxation), and deep breathing. b. Ask students where they feel stress physically—stomach? Shoulders? Legs? Back? All over? c. Teach muscle relaxation technique (progressive relaxation). i. Instruct students to sit in an upright position with all muscles relaxed. ii. Have students close their eyes. iii. Ask them to tighten their foot muscles for 30 seconds. iv. After 30 seconds, they may relax their foot muscles. v. Next, move to the calf muscles for 30 seconds, then relax. vi. Continue this procedure up the body to the thighs, stomach, chest, fists, biceps, back, shoulders, neck (by tilting head toward ceiling), and face. vii. Facilitate and enrich this activity by pointing out to the students how it should feel and highlighting the moments of relaxation. viii. Follow this activity up by making observations about how the students’ appearances have changed (they should appear a lot calmer and more relaxed) and talking about how they can use this in the future. E. Conclusion a. Provide each student with a Tip Ticket, for which they will write a new tip that they can keep each week. b. Tip #4: Do something physically active, breathe deeply, or use muscle relaxation as a way to minimize the physical feelings of stress. c. Summarize. d. Announcements. Plan for Evaluation: How will each of the following be collected? Process Data: Attendance sheet Perception Data: Pressure cooker visual to measure current stress Outcome Data: Student grades in core classes
Follow Up:
School counselor will meet with students for individual counseling. Counseling will include discussing unfinished business, trust, communication, and concerns that students didn’t feel comfortable speaking about with other students.
Date: 12/10/14
Activity: Relieving Anxiety Grade: 7 & 8
ASCA Student Standards or ASCA Mindsets & Behaviors standards addressed: C:A1.5 – Learn to make decisions C:A1.6 – Learn how to set goals PS:B1.12 – Develop an action plan to set and achieve realistic goals PS:C1.10 – Learn techniques for managing stress and conflict Learning Objectives: As a result of session 4, students will: 1. Use a solution-focused model to solve a problem that is causing a lot of pressure. 2. Engage in a muscle relaxation technique that they can use when they feel the physical effects of stress.
Materials: Pressure Cooker visual, enough copies of Your Miracle Situation worksheet, tip tickets.
Procedure:
A. Introduction a. Outline of the day’s agenda. b. Summarize previous session. i. What did you learn last time? ii. What other pressures have you encountered this week that are new to the Pressure Cooker? 1. Allow students to add more pressures to the Pressure Cooker visual. 2. Facilitate an open discussion for which students continue to use effective communication skills and respond to each other. B. Opening Discussion: a. What are some things you have been doing differently because of our discussions? b. We have spent a couple of weeks talking about how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors affect each other—how have you been using this to your advantage?
C. Your Miracle Situation Activity a. Have students think about what is causing them the most pressure at that current point in time. They may take the corresponding sticky note off the Pressure Cooker visual, or create a new sticky note. b. Up until now they have been given strategies for how to cope with pressure, but now they are going to learn how to give themselves strategies. c. Your Miracle Situation Worksheet: Hand out copies of the worksheet and tell the students to use the pressure situation they just thought of to complete the activity. When they are finished, allow students to share what they wrote. D. Physical Relaxation Techniques: a. Tell students to brainstorm all of the relaxation techniques that have already been discussed. i. Include: Physical Activity (physical stimulation, mental relaxation), and deep breathing. b. Ask students where they feel stress physically—stomach? Shoulders? Legs? Back? All over? c. Teach muscle relaxation technique (progressive relaxation). i. Instruct students to sit in an upright position with all muscles relaxed. ii. Have students close their eyes. iii. Ask them to tighten their foot muscles for 30 seconds. iv. After 30 seconds, they may relax their foot muscles. v. Next, move to the calf muscles for 30 seconds, then relax. vi. Continue this procedure up the body to the thighs, stomach, chest, fists, biceps, back, shoulders, neck (by tilting head toward ceiling), and face. vii. Facilitate and enrich this activity by pointing out to the students how it should feel and highlighting the moments of relaxation. viii. Follow this activity up by making observations about how the students’ appearances have changed (they should appear a lot calmer and more relaxed) and talking about how they can use this in the future. E. Conclusion a. Provide each student with a Tip Ticket, for which they will write a new tip that they can keep each week. b. Tip #4: Do something physically active, breathe deeply, or use muscle relaxation as a way to minimize the physical feelings of stress. c. Summarize. d. Announcements. Plan for Evaluation: How will each of the following be collected? Process Data: Attendance sheet Perception Data: Pressure cooker visual to measure current stress Outcome Data: Student grades in core classes
Follow Up:
School counselor will meet with students for individual counseling. Counseling will include discussing unfinished business, trust, communication, and concerns that students didn’t feel comfortable speaking about with other students.
