jurnal counseling.doc

Group Counseling in Schools: Effective or Not?

by B. Grant Hayes, University of Central Florida, Dept. of Child,

Family, and Community Sciences, Orlando, FL 32816-1250

Abstract

Group counseling in schools can be a powerful and valuable experience

for children. This counseling intervention allows children to develop so-

cial skills and practice behaviors with peers, as well as receive feedback

from peers. This article examines the literature on the effectiveness of

group counseling in schools and provides guidance for the development

of school policy for the delivery of counseling school-ages students.

Group Counseling in Schools: Effective or Not?

When schools place an emphasis on academic excellence they often

segregate students experiencing academic, behavioral or emotional

difficulties into special classrooms. These alternative settings often

focus on increased instruction, behavior management or both. Many of

these alternative programs, however, fail to address students’ basic

social skills and coping skill deficits. Group counseling provides an

avenue for children to acquire effective coping mechanisms and

develop appropriate social skills which leads to emphasis on academic

excellence (Shechtman, Gilat, Fos, & Flasher, 1996). Students

experiencing academic, behavioral or social, emotional difficulties are

placed into special classrooms where the focus is on increased

instruction, behavior management or both. Many of these alternative

programs fail to address the basic social skill deficits needs of these

children and their of lack of specific instruction in the development of

effective coping skills. Group counseling provides children with the

opportunity to learn effective coping mechanisms while developing

social skills and practicing new behaviors.

The effective use of group counseling helps students with

presenting issues (Bauer, Sapp, & Johnson, 2000; Corey & Corey,

2002; Deck, Scarborough, Sferrazza, & Estill, 1999; DeLuca, Hazen,

& Cutler, 1993; Del Valle, McEachern, & Sabrina, 1999; Kizner,

1999; Muller & Hartman, 1998; Nelson, Dykeman, Powell, & Petty,

International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy 12

1996; Omizo & Ornizo, 1987; Page & Chanler, 1994; Ripley &

Goodnough, 2001; Robertson and Mathews, 1989; Shechtman et al.,

1996) and can be a powerful means in delivering mental health

services to children (LaFountain, Garner, & Eliason, 1996). The

purpose of this article is to examine the literature on the effectiveness

of group counseling in schools and to provide guidance for the

development of school policy for the delivery of counseling to

school-ages students.

Groups in Elementary Schools

The educational system is not effective in addressing the needs of

students with behavior disorders (Nelson, Dykeman, Powell & Petty,

1996). School counselors must become involved in the remediation

and prevention of not only behavioral problems but also the social and

emotional issues that elementary school-aged children present.

Shechtman, Filat, Fos and Flasher (1996) found that early intervention

is significant not only to reduce the suffering of children but also to

prevent impairment adulthood. Group counseling is a viable treatment

modality for elementary children who may exhibit a variety of

emotional, social and learning dysfuntions. In group counseling,

children have the opportunity to develop social skills, while

interacting with peers (Fleming, 1999).

Shechtman et al. (1996) studied the effects of group counseling

on academically low-achieving elementary school children. These

children exhibited such behaviors as acting out/aggression, extreme

withdrawal, signs of social difficulties, emotional stress, poor learning

habits, and low motivation for success. Expert teachers assisted these

children with their learning/behavioral difficulties in small groups

lasting four to six hours per week. The focus was on facilitating

self-expression and listening skills through structured activities,

therapeutic games, bibliotherapy, and art therapy. Results indicated

consistent progress in both school performance and the affective

variables (Shechtman et al., 1996).

An effective intervention strategy for students with behavioral

adjustment problems is to teach them, in a group setting, how to

Volume 21 Number 3 2001 13

manage or avoid situations that lead to interpersonal problems. For

eight weeks, Nelson, Dykeman, Powell, and Petty (1996), studied

twenty-four males that participated in such an intervention. Each

group session included a statement of goals, a review of the previous

week, and a self-report of each student’s performance during the

preceding week. During interpersonal conflicts, the participants were

instructed how to adjust the solution or to select an alternative solution

to defuse the situation. This strategy includes practice exercises,

homework, and monitoring procedures to be employed in the coming

week. This group counseling intervention resulted in statistically

significant changes in the behavioral adjustment of the participants.

Omizo and Omizo (1987) implemented 7 1/2 hour

group-counseling sessions with elementary and middle school-aged

children. Sixty children participated ranging in age from 12 to 15.

These sessions emphasized the elimination of self-defeating behaviors

in order to increase both positive self-esteem and internal locus of

control. Using the results of the Coopersmith Self-Inventory and the

Locus of Inventory for Three Achievement Domains, children who

participated in the group counseling sessions had higher self-esteem

scores. These children had a more internal locus of control perception

relative to success in the intellectual domain than did children in the

control group. These results indicated how effective group counseling

can be for increasing self esteem, as well as for helping children to

learn important internal locus of control behaviors.

Group counseling has been shown to be effective in working

with special populations of children. Riddle, Bergin, and Douzenis

(1997) attempted to determine the effect of a group counseling

intervention on the self-concept perceptions of children of alcoholics.

Forty fourth and fifth grade students, chosen randomly of various

ethnic backgrounds, were divided into control and experimental

groups. Fourteen sessions were implemented involving techniques

such as role-playing, group discussion, relaxation training, and

drawing. According to the Piers-Harris Children’s Self-Concept Scale

as a pretest-posttest, the posttest mean score indicated an improvement

in experimental group self-concept whereas the control group scores


remained the same. Interestingly, increases in scores were seen for all

subscale scores except popularity. Additionally there was a significant

decrease in anxiety levels for the experimental group. This study

helped to show how effective group counseling can be with this

population of children (Riddle et al., 1997).

Group counseling is an effective way of communicating with

elementary school children suffering from various problems. Children

benefit from the group experience and are able to make positive social

and emotional gains. It is important for school counselors to

implement different counseling groups for children in order to assist

them with their existing problems as well as to teach them ways to

avoid future problems.

Groups Middle Schools

Adolescence is one of the most fascinating and complex transitions in

the life span: a time of accelerated growth and change second only to

infancy; a time of expanding horizons, self discovery and emerging

independence; a metamorphosis from childhood to adulthood

(Carnegie Corporation, 1996). The beginning of adolescence is

associated with profound biological, physical, behavioral and social

transformations that roughly correspond with the move to middle (or

junior) high school.

In these tumultuous years, a young person experiences much

growth and joy as well as doubt and confusion. Relationships with

peers and family take on new meaning. Many of the problems of

adolescence begin to surface in the years between ages eleven and

fourteen. Middle school age students must adjust to peer pressure, new

social and gender roles, increased demands for academics, an

emerging self identity, and greater independence (Duffy, Lawson,

Mattock-Hetzel, MacLain, and Urbanovski, 1997). At the same time

they need special nurturing and adult guidance. With fewer resources

on which to depend, today’s middle school students face more

stressors than ever before. That is why, before damaging patterns are

firmly established, it is important to intervene early and promote more

successful outcomes (Carnegie Corporation, 1996).


Group counseling programs with this age group can improve

middle school students’ academic success, self-esteem,

self-awareness, and social skills. Two such programs, the Safe Harbor

program and Project S.T.O.P., have been effectively implemented to

address these and similar issues. The Safe Harbor program, which

included a 20-session curriculum, a counseling component and a

school wide anti-violence campaign, had positive results when used in

an urban middle school. Students in the Safe Harbor program were less

likely to advocate retaliation in response to conflict when compared

with students not in the program. A similar program, Project S.T.O.P

(Schools Teaching Options for Peace) also had positive results through

the use of peer mediation and a traditional conflict resolution program.

Students with a high exposure to this program were more

knowledgeable about rape and sexual assault, felt significantly less

helpless, and used reasoning instead of retaliation, when compared

with students with no exposure to the program (National Institute of

Justice, 1995).

Positive outcomes have also been found in self-esteem and

self-awareness groups. DaGiau (1995) conducted an adolescent

development group that discussed topics such as self-concept,

managing relationships, and improving academic achievement. The

study found that of the students who participated in the group

increased their self-concept and self-awareness. Students in the control

group showed no significant differences.

The “School Families” program was developed so that middle

school students, teachers, and adults from the community could meet

to discuss issues related to academic performance, decision-making,

self-esteem, and social skills (Duffy et al., 1997). Using interviews,

written narratives and discussion groups as evaluations, the authors

found that the “School Families” group had a beneficial effect on the

personal and social functioning for middle school students involved in

the program.


Another intervention that has been shown effective with middle

school students is the drug prevention program. Project ALERT and

the Midwestern Prevention.

Project (MPP) use a social influence model that targets

adolescent drug-use beliefs and resistance skills. These programs have

shown significant changes in students drug use attitude and behavior.

They employ strategies such as role-playing, group feedback, and

mentoring to reshape adolescent attitudes about drug use (Mohai,

1991).

Although all of the previously discussed programs have had

positive results, it is important to note that not all drug awareness

programs are effective. The research stated that the key to

effectiveness is to give information that emphasizes the more

immediate and short-term consequences of drug use. The research

concluded that students need to know the health risks as well as

valuable prevention approaches (Mohai, 1991). Group counseling

programs that emphasize self-esteem, violence prevention, and drug

and alcohol awareness seem to have the greatest effect on students in

this age group.

Groups in High Schools

High school is the central organizing experience in most adolescents’

lives. It offers opportunities to master new skills, learn new

information, and enhance previous learned skills. High school is also

an opportunity to engage in sports and other extracurricular activities,

offers time for increased socialization with peers, and encourages

exploration into career choices. The high school experience not only

widens young people’s intellectual and social horizons but also

establishes opportunities to combine personal encounters with peers as

well as adults. The high school years are an important period of

transition for young people as they begin the move from the security of

the simpler world of childhood to a large-scale organizational

environment.

Lapan, Gysbers, and Sun (1997) conducted another study on the

effects of group counseling with high school students. They studied


22,964 students attending 236 Missouri high schools with three goals

in mind. The first goal of the study was to investigate whether student

academic achievement would be enhanced in high schools with more

fully implemented comprehensive guidance programs. The second

goal focused on student perceptions of a positive school environment

and the third looked at how the increased availability of career

information affected students. They found that schools where groups

were made available to address these three goals had students who

were more likely to report that (1) they had earned higher grades, (2)

their education was better preparing them for their future, (3) their

school made more college and career information available to them,

and (4) their school had a more positive climate. Group counseling

appears to be a viable option to meet the needs of this age group as

well.

Conclusion

Counselors have several options as to which groups they can facilitate

in the school setting. There is no limit to the number and types of

problems that young people face today. Elementary, middle, and high

school counselors must tailor their groups to the developmental and

emotional level of children as well as special needs of children. Group

counseling is one intervention to address those needs. Group

counseling is effective with low achieving children, behavioral

adjustment problems, academics, self-esteem issues, and social skills

training.

Group counseling can be quite beneficial to children, assisting

them in all aspects of their lives, from social problems to academic

concerns. The group experience provides children with a safe

environment to express their feelings, concerns, and experiences

where they can receive valuable feedback from their peers and

education that helps them to become successful in whatever endeavor

they pursue.


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