APPENDIX 22: GROUP—GROUP PROPOSAL
Hong Kong Shue Yan University
Department of Counseling and Psychology
Group Counseling Proposal
Student Name: Chan Tai Man, Chris
Student No.: 123456
Agency Name: SY Centre
University Supervisor: Ms. Mary Wong
Agency Supervisor: Mr. Ivan Lam
Group Title: Enhancing Self-Expressing Competency – Feelings, Facets of Self and Praising
Date: 22/9/2011
Theme: Psycho-educational, Social Skills Training
Title
「Enhancing Self-Expressing Competency – Feelings, Facets of Self and Praising」
Rationale
Mostly, children, aged 6-12 years, need to foster social skills, self-expression
competency to establish healthy social life and personal growth.
First, it is children’s developmental need to master social skills. As said by
developmental psychologist, Erik Erikson, school-aged (6-12 years) period is a
critical period for children to develop academic, social and problem solving
competencies (Corey, 2008). If children fail in the social aspect, they would likely
result in inferiority, low self-confidence and low self-esteem. Even worse, they would
probably build their self-worth in the online gaming world and develop their fictitious
social life (新華網, 2013). Eventually, these would result feelings of frustration and
senses of failure towards the reality world and thus result in negative and distorted
beliefs towards society (Shaffer & Kipp, 2010). Hence, to enhance children’s
self-confidence and promote healthy personal growth, fostering self-expression
competency is essential.
Second, it is a familial need to let children master social skills. By observation,
children in this centre mostly come from dual-career family. According to Hong Kong
Institutes of Asia-Pacific Studies (2011), parents of dual-career family have long
working hours (with 59% parents reporting 10 hours) but less parent-child gathering
time (with the average 1.7 hours). Even the quality time of the very limited gatherings
with children is undesirable. The time for parent-child emotional interaction and
mutual understanding is far from adequate. Also, children developmental needs of
love, companion and caring, are hardly satisfied (影音使團, 2013). In order to help
dual-career parents boost quality time and reinforce parent-child intimate relationship,
fostering children’s self-expression competency to express relational needs, inner
affections and facets of themselves can help soothe the current situation and thus,
positively cope with children’s developmental needs.
Third, it is the awareness of Chinese family culture and parenting style calling
for the need of social skill training. According to Sun (2013), traditional Chinese
parenting style emphasizes indirect communication and emotional suppression.
Rarely would the children be taught how to express emotions properly. Under this
parenting style, hardly can children handle the appropriate channel to express
emotions (especially negative ones). If children express their emotions in a relatively
extreme way, they would likely result in teachers’ or parent’s blaming and probably
the labeling of “problematic child”. In the meanwhile, children would feel ambiguous,
loss, self-abased and guilty consequently. If children cannot master positive emotion
expression channels, cumulating with continuous suppression of negative emotions, in
worse case, it would result in children’s low self-expression competency, behavioral,
emotional and social problems in school (SINA.com, 2013).
In view of these, this counseling group, focusing on fostering self-expression
competency of children, comes for the needs.
Nature
The proposed group is a psycho-educational group in nature. Members would be
educated to increase the awareness of emotion, self-identity and the way of managing
and expressing emotions both verbally and non-verbally. This group is designed for
all school-aged students, especially with dual-career family and single family.
Students who have overt behavior or emotional problem would be welcomed as well.
The group contains six members and meets at center’s activity room, starting
from 22nd October to 3rd December, 2013. In total, there are 6 meetings on Tuesday.
Each session would last for 50 minutes. Once the group has started, no new applicant
would be allowed to join.
Goals
From the following goals, group members would develop stronger sense of
awareness towards emotions and self-concept. Their way to express emotions and
abreaction more properly would be facilitated as well. They would also have a better
sense to appreciate others and manage their emotions.
1. To learn to share daily life by sharing 5 aspects of life questions mutually.
(Life questions would be related to interests, positive emotions, personalities,
memories, friends & families)
2. To learn emotional vocabularies and emotional expression by pairing-up at least
7 colors with corresponding emotion terms.
3. To learn to share life events and emotional expression by linking-up at least 7 life
events with corresponding emotion terms and colors.
4. To learn about self by differentiating 2 facets of self (Social and inner self).
5. To learn to express negative emotions in positive ways by learning at least 3
appropriate anger expression methods.
6. To learn to praise and appreciate mutually by writing 1 Thank-you Card.
Screening procedures
Children who lack social skills and have social, behavioral and emotional
problems would be in preference. Also, children coming from dual-career family and
single-parent family would be in prior consideration. Parents are invited to fill in a
brief application form if interested in the group. The application form would briefly
assess children’s self-esteem, self-expression competency, social skills, personality
and family background. Counselor would screen and likely select children who are in
low level in the above aspects. Open recruitment would be implemented. Any referral
from agency staff for improving social skills and relationship would be in high
preference of admission.
Basic ground rules
1. Encouraging rules: including being punctual, adherence to game rules,
raising hands before questioning, active participation, willingness to share, mutual
encouragement and appreciation, active listening, as well as respecting others. In
every session, if members achieve one of the above terms, counselor would give a
sticker on his/her reward form. Those who receive seven stickers can fulfill their
determined wishes/activities in the last 10 minutes of that session.
2. Preventive rules: including prohibition of fighting, foul language, running,
sleeping, eating, drinking, using phones, breaking the contract of confidentiality,
skipping session without notice and non-compliance to leader. Children violating any
term above would receive one verbal warning. Children who receive three verbal
warnings would be sent to punishment area. They are not allowed to join activities
until his/her improvement of behavior and attitude, as well as the approval of
counselor. (Punishment area would be set in the corner of the counseling room.)
3. Additionally, all members have to keep quiet and attend to the leader if they
hear the bell ring. Children who keep quiet and stick to leader’s guidance would
receive an additional sticker.
The reward form is set for fostering active learning and participation. There are
seven terms in encouraging rules. Also, members can fill in their self-determined
wish/activity. In addition, counselor would define the encouraging behaviors with live
demonstrations to let member clearly understand and model the terms concretely.
Furthermore, when there is a member achieved encouraging behavior, counselor
would figure it out with elaboration, and give encouragement to reinforce positive
behaviors and the rule system. All warnings, rewards and the performance of
members would be recorded in the display board, which is displayed in every session.
Leader’s role
Leader’s role is a facilitator of group dynamic and emotional experience.
Facilitator is also a provider of structure for group discussion or activities. Leader
would be aware of sub-culture between members (if exists). Leader would pay
attention to children’s group dynamic and pacing. Leader would understand children’s
pacing and experiential level. For the purpose of facilitating psycho-education,
sessions would be paced appropriately when the pace is too slow. Also, guidance and
directions would be given if children get confused.
Techniques
Basic counseling skills such as active listening, reflection, encouraging and
summarizing would be used. Mini-lecturing would be used for de-briefing the activity.
Discussion, sharing and activities (such as coloring, writing cards and designing
paper-box) would be used to encourage expressing emotions and participation.
In this group, play therapy techniques would be used in total six sessions.
According to Schaefer (1993), Sweeney (1997) and Kottman (2001), play therapy has
therapeutic powers and beneficial outcomes: 1) communication; 2) relationship
enhancement; 3) abreaction; and 4) metaphoric teaching.
First, in total six sessions, play therapy facilitates counselor-children and
children-children communication as children have a comfortable platform, play, to
express self and emotions. By adapting into children’s “language”, counselor can
understand children’s subjective world.
Second, play therapy enhances relationship. Based on the previous point, with a
relatively comfortable communication, it strengthens positive counseling relationship.
Strong positive relationship would be beneficial and play an important role in
following sessions.
Third, play therapy can provide children abreact their negative emotions or inner
affect. Children would learn that anger is a common and natural feeling. They are
allowed to abreact their anger verbally and kinesthetically in session five “Express my
anger”.
Fourth, play therapy can have metaphoric teaching to children so that they learn
and gain insight through play. Especially, metaphoric teaching would be used by
session two “Color my life”, three “Share my life” and four “Know about self”.
Colors would be learnt as representing emotions. Inside-box would represent inner
self and outside box would represent social/public self.
By using play therapy, children are encouraged to express, communicate and
share own feelings, which facilitates self-expression and socialization with peers
(Henderson & Thompson, 2011).
Session Topics
Session One – “I’m who I’m”. In this session, the main goal is to learn to share
daily life by sharing 5 aspects of life questions mutually.
Outline. First, group leader would have briefing of this group and warm
welcoming of members as opening. Next, members would have self-introduction.
Then, it is group-contracting of rules. After this would be the main activity. Following
this would be de-briefing and summarization. Last, it would be rewarding time.
Description of the main activity. This is “I Don't Know, I Don't Care, I Don’t
Want to Talk About it" (Lowenstein, 2002). Members would have sharing on life
questions related to their interests, positive emotions, personalities, memories, friends
and families but they cannot say “I don’t know, I don’t care…”
Description of rewarding time. Leader counts members’ stickers in their reward
form. Encouragement and praise would be given to members. For those who receive
full stickers on reward form can achieve their determined wish/activity in the last 10
minutes for positive reinforcement.
Session Two – “Color my life”. In this session, the main goal is to learn
emotional vocabularies and emotional expression by pairing-up at least 7 colors with
corresponding emotion terms.
Outline. First, there would be mini-lecture to recap the group contract, previous
session main points and members who are worth appreciating. After this would be the
main activity. Following this would be de-briefing and summarization. The last is
rewarding time.
Description of the main activity. This is “Color my life” (Hall, Kaduson &
Schaefer, 2002, pp.516). Children are asked to create various color–feeling pairs in
papers. Also, children are asked to draw the feelings that they have had throughout
their lives. Then, there would be group sharing of colors, feelings and life events.
Session Three – “Share my life”. In this session, the main goal is to learn to
share life events and emotional expression by linking-up at least 7 life events with
corresponding emotion terms and colors.
Outline. It is the same as above session.
Description of the main activity. This is “The Pick-Up-Sticks Game” (Hall,
Kaduson & Schaefer, 2002, pp.516-517). In the first stage, every single member has
to remove a stick without moving any of the other sticks. Take turns. The second
stage, members have to remove a stick, with sharing about a time when they had the
feeling associated with the color of the stick. Take turns.
Session Four – “Know about self”. In this session, the main goal is to learn
about self by differentiating 2 facets of self (Social and inner self).
Outline. It is the same as above session.
Description of the main activity. This is “Identity box” (Khalsa, 1999, pp.79).
Members are asked to decorate outside the box as themselves when they are at public,
school or centre. Then, there would be a group sharing of social self and feelings.
Next, members would be asked to decorate inside the box as themselves when they
are at home, private room or with few people or alone. Then, there would be a group
sharing of private self and feelings.
Session Five – “Express my anger”. In this session, the main goal is to learn to
express negative emotions in positive ways by learning at least 3 appropriate anger
expression methods.
Outline. It is the same as above session.
Description of the main activity. This is “The Mad Game” (Hall, Kaduson &
Schaefer, 2002). Members receive blocks evenly and they have to take turns and place
the block on top of the previous block. At the same time, each member has to express
something that makes him/her angry. All statements are acceptable, from silly to
serious. Then, leader begins relating children’s anger with their current issues. For
example, “Do you mean, it is very angry for me when parents beat me?” When all the
blocks are placed, one child is asked to think of one thing/event/situation that makes
him/her really angry. Then, the child is asked to share the angry scenario and make a
“mad face” and knock down the blocks.
Session Six – “Thank you so much”. In this session, the main goal is to learn to
praise and appreciate mutually by writing 1 Thank-you Card.
Outline. After reviewing previous sessions, it is the review of members’ overall
performance by evaluating their performance and concluding their efforts with
appreciation. Then it is the main activity. At the end, there would be a closing and
termination for the whole group.
Description of the main activity. Members are asked to write a thank-you card to
a member he/she appreciates. Then, members would be asked to do sharing with the
cards. Also, members would be asked to do reflections by guiding questions to review
six sessions.
Evaluation
Evaluation forms would be planned. Facilitator would do reflection after each
group session by filling Group Stage Evaluation Report. Also, after the whole group
counseling is completed, facilitator would have to finish overall group evaluation
report. All evaluation would be documented. University supervisor would have
supervision and give feedbacks during the whole group counseling process.
Funding
No funding would be required. However, centre would provide materials for
group activities and rewards.
Advertising
Posters would be published outside centre.
Bibliography
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Henderson, D. A., & Thompson, C. L. (2011). Counseling Children (8th Ed.).
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