Deirdre Amirault

Coun531
Group Proposal

Rationale for the Group

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.

Objectives for the Group

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

Student Lounge (Rm. 1A).

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

addressed in the screening session.

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

that 12 individual’s are interested, a second group will be formed.

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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.

Evaluation of the Group

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.