Senior Stress Management Group

Created by: Danielle Nagy

Sessions
Pre-session
Session 1 Introduction
Session 2 Motivation
Session 3 Career
Session 4 Dealing with Stress
Session 5 Community College
Session 6 The End
Individual Check-in

Pre-Session
Materials:
Group interest survey, parent consent form, pens/pencils
Activities:
Introduction
Introduce yourself to the group
Talk about what the group will be about
Tell students why they are in group and who referred them
Group Interest Survey
Provide students with group interest survey
Answer any questions they may have
Collect surveys and look them over prior to starting group
Parent Consent Form
Provide students with parent consent
Explain to students that they must get formed signed
Answer any other questions students may have

Dear Parents/Guardians:
The School Counseling Department is offering the following group for our students:
Stress Management for Seniors
Groups are a positive way for students to express their feelings in a safe environment. When
students work in groups with their peers they begin to feel that they are not alone in their
struggles. By discussing each of their own coping skills or strategies, the students are very
helpful to one another. This is a great way for students to gain support from peers as well as the
school counselors that will be working with them.
A school counseling intern will be running this group in a safe and confidential setting. The
group will meet once a week for 6 weeks during alternating periods 2, 3, and 4. This group is
expected to begin October 10th to discuss strategies in coping with academic, career, and social
stressors. If you are interested in having your child in the group, please fill out the permission
slip below and return it to the School Counseling Office. If you have any questions regarding the
group, please call us at 805-495-7491 X 1018.
Thank you,
Danielle Nagy
School Counseling Intern
TOHS Counseling Department

Darla Scott
School Counselor
TOHS Counseling Department

I give my permission for my child to participate in the above group.

Student Name__________________________________________
Parent Signature_________________________________________
Student Signature________________________________________
Date___________________________________________________

Name:
Senior Stress Management Group Survey
On a scale from 1-10 (1 being the lowest, 10 being the highest) how comfortable are you with
talking in a group?
On a scale from 1-10 (1 being the lowest, 10 being the highest) how interested are you in being
involved in this group?
Are you okay with missing either period 2, 3, or 4 once a week on Mondays?
Please list at least one thing you would like to learn during the group.

Session 1 Introductions
Materials:
Starburst or other colored candy, SMART Goals worksheet, pens/pencils
Activities:
Starburst Ice Breaker
Have each student choose a starburst and tell them not to eat it until after the game
Based on what color starburst they got, have them answer the following questions:
Red Favorite movie or TV show
Yellow Favorite ice cream or candy
Pink Favorite sport or activity
Orange Favorite superhero or villain
Group Rules/ Guidelines and Confidentiality
Talk about the rules of confidentiality
Explain the importance and reason behind creating group rules
Go around the group and have each member provide a rule for the group
Group leader will write down rules and type out later to hand out to each member
SMART Goals
http://foundcom.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/1.-SMART-Goal-Worksheet.pdf
Explain to group that you want them to create a goal for either what they wish to get out
of the group or a goal for senior year
Hand each student a SMART Goal worksheet and have them fill it out
Have students pair up in dyads and share each others goals
Have each member share their partners goals out loud to group
Tell each student to keep goal somewhere safe for the remaining part of group

SMART Goal Worksheet

Todays Date: ____________ Target Date: ___________ Start Date: _________
Date Achieved: _______________
Goal:
______________________________________________________________________
Verify that your goal is SMART
Specific: What exactly will you accomplish?
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
Measurable: How will you know when you have reached this goal?
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
Achievable: Is achieving this goal realistic with effort and commitment? Have you got
the resources to achieve this goal? If not, how will you get them?
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
Relevant: Why is this goal significant to your life?
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
Timely: When will you achieve this goal?
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________

Session 2 Motivation
Materials:
People Finder worksheet, Motivation Quiz, pens/pencils
Activities:
People Finder Ice Breaker
Hand each student a People Finder worksheet
Give each student about 5-10 minutes to complete activity
See who was able to get the most signatures on their worksheet
Group Rules/ Guidelines and Confidentiality
Provide each student with a copy of the group rules
Ask students if there is anything else that should be added. If nothing needs to be added
have students sign their copy
Motivation Quiz
http://tccl.rit.albany.edu/knilt/images/a/a5/Motivationassessment.pdf
Ask students to explain what motivation is
Hand out Motivation quiz and give students time to complete it
Have students break into dyads and talk about their results. Was there anything surprising
about results? Were the results spot on?
Have a large group discussion about the possible ways they are motivated
Brainstorm ways based on results that students can be motivated (write possible answers
on whiteboard or large paper for whole group to see)

Find Someone Who

Directions: Find other members in the group who fit the description in the boxes below. Write
the persons name in the box. You can only use the same persons name twice. Whoever has the
most names at the end of 5 minutes wins!
Has a pet bird

Has attended a
different high
school

Was born in a
different state

Has the same

birthday month as
you

Plays a musical
instrument

Has a part-time
job

Has the same

favorite school
subject as you

Has traveled to a
different country

Has lived in the

same house their
whole life

Does NOT have

any social media
accounts

Has the same

number of siblings
as you

Has NEVER been

to Disneyland

Can speak another

language other
than English

Plays a sport OR
has played a sport
for the school

Would rather read

a book than watch
Netflix

Is planning on
going to college
after high school

Session 3 Career
Materials:
Career Cluster survey, pens/pencils
Activities:
Mid Group Check-in
Go around group and ask each student how they are feeling about group so far
Ask students if there is something they want out of group within the last few weeks
Leaders should plan or tweak future lessons based on student feedback
Icebreaker
Ask students if they could have any job in the world what would it be and why?
Have each student say their answer and share out loud with group
Career Cluster Survey
https://scholarmatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Career-Interest-Survey.pdf
Hand each student a career cluster survey to fill out and give enough time to complete
Leader should write down possible career clusters on whiteboard or large paper
Have students break up into smaller groups to share results. Were results surprising?
Does cluster align with what you are interested in?
Have students brainstorm in small groups possible careers based on their answers
As a larger group write down brainstorm careers on whiteboard for all students to see
Have students go around and say one task they can do to research possible careers

Session 4 Dealing with Stress

Materials:
Paper, pens/pencils, Time Management worksheet
Activities:
Icebreaker
Ask each student what their best or worst Halloween costume ever was (Group was
conducted on Halloween, icebreaker should be adjusted for time of year)
Have each student explain what their costume was and why they chose that one
Throw Your Stresses Away
Give each student a blank piece of paper and have them write down one current stressor
Have students crumple up paper and throw it across the room
Have each student pick up a paper that is not their own and read it out loud to group
Leader should write stressors on board or large paper for all students to see
In dyads or small groups have students brainstorm ideas on how to reduce stressors
As a large group have a discussion on the possible ways to reduce current stressors
Leader should write down solutions on board or large paper
Time Management Worksheet
http://www.smartrecovery.org/resources/library/Tools_and_Homework/Relapse_Prevention/lifes
tyle-balance-pie.pdf
Hand each student a Time Management Worksheet
Have students write down some of their daily activities that take significant time
For each activity, have students estimate how many hours they spend on each activity
If time permits, have students share out loud the top 3 activities that take the most time
Have students track time within the next week to see how accurate their estimates are

Session 5 Community College

Materials:
Computers or computer lab, community college resources
Activities:
Time Management Check-in
Go around group and ask each student how their time tracker went over the week
Have students explain their results to the group. Were they surprised by how much more
or less time they spent on certain activities?
Have students pick one activity they would like to reduce time on and advise them to start
practicing cutting back on it during the week
Community College Application
Provide each student with some community college handouts and brochures if applicable
Have each student go onto local community college website and click on admissions
Walk students through the application process and have them follow along
Help students with any questions they may have regarding the application
Community College Website and Resources
If time permits, have students explore the local community college website
Show students important parts of website such as how to locate their advisor, resources
on campus, how to find out more about financial aid, etc.
Give students FAFSA website URL in order for them to fill out on own time
Transition to Final Group
Remind students that next week is the last week of group and ask how they are feeling
about it
Have students write down that they need to bring SMART Goals worksheet back with
them for the last group
Tell students to check their emails regularly in next week for any emails from community
college and other steps they need to complete

Session 6 The End

Materials:
Snacks for students, stress balls, feedback survey
Activities:
Community College Check-In
Provide students with snack as a celebration for last session of group
See if there are any more questions about community college applications
Ask students what they are most excited about for college next year
SMART Goals
Have each student read their original goals from first group session out loud
Ask each student if they feel they accomplished their goal in group
If students did not accomplish goal, have them re-write goal in a way that they can
accomplish it by end of senior year
If goal was met, have students write a new goal for themselves for rest of senior year
Final Thoughts
Go around group and have students say something they learned from group and
something they liked about group
Leader should go around group and explain what they enjoyed about the group
Leader should go around group and give individual praises for work done in group
Final Feedback and Gifts
Hand each student a feedback survey to fill out and give enough time to complete
Give each student a stress ball as a token of appreciation and as a way to reduce stress
Ask students if they have any final thoughts before ending the group

Senior Group Feedback Survey

On a scale from 1-10 (1 being the lowest, 10 being the highest) how comfortable were you
being involved in the group?
On a scale from 1-10 (1 being the lowest, 10 being the highest) how likely are you to use some
of the skills you learned in group on your own?
Are there any topics/skills that you wish would have been talked about in group?
If you could have changed anything about the group what would it have been?

Individual Check-in
Materials:
Office to work in, student grades
Activities:
Student Check-in
A couple weeks after group call in students individually to check-in with them
Ask students how they are doing and feeling since group has ended
Check in on student grades to see if there are any concerns to speak about
If applicable create a plan for students in order to help improve academically
Group Evaluation
Look at feedback that students provided for group leader
If another group will be implemented, design group based on feedback
Make note of group evaluation to keep student success data up to date