Proposal for Teen Counseling Group

Proposal for Teen Counseling Group

Rationale

Teenagers are at a high risk of dropping out of school. Several factors contribute to this recurrent phenomenon namely: poor performance in class work, boredom triggered by adolescence related factors, and poverty. Poor relationship with peers is also one of the leading factors of high school dropout. It is notable that most teens are yet to attain maturity in terms of controlling emotions that may result in overreaction and eventual termination of studies (Burney, 2006). Therefore, there is a need for experts to intervene and provide the much-needed support to the vulnerable teen to reverse the worrying trend. One of the first steps of restoring teenagers' confidence in the education system and putting an end to a parent-child dropout vicious circle through counseling services to teens. Therefore, the proposal entails a rationale for group counseling services, the objectives and practical considerations for the intervention.

Objectives

            The group counseling sessions shall address the matters arising, especially those that concern vulnerable teenagers.  A trust will be built between the counselor and the subjects so that they can feel free to air out their views and confidential information. From the start, the reason for the establishment of a counseling group shall be made known to all the participants for a productive environment to be created. As an experienced counselor, I shall use my expertise to find out the root cause for a high rate of adolescent student dropout in the United States. Literary works shall be referred to as guidance in the undertaking and to confirm the claims made by the participating teenagers.

 Unless the counseling subjects are willing to divulge information regarding the school life experience, it will be a daunting task to forge for a lasting solution singlehandedly. Therefore, students should be encouraged to share the information willingly for their own benefit. This way, the role that parents play in sustaining the dropout problem among the teenagers will be understood. Furthermore, the counseling group shall be geared towards understanding the needs of teenagers in a learning environment. Addressing such needs may result in a decline in dropout rates.

 Anger, depression, and other emotional changes have been identified as the leading factors for teenage dropout rates. The formation of a counseling group, therefore, shall encourage vulnerable teenagers to find a way of managing their emotions hence the aversion of depression and an abrupt end to learning ( Dunn et al., 2015). Most teenagers are unaware of the importance of education in their day-to-day lives. The counseling session shall serve as a platform for enlightening the teenagers on how education shapes their future. It will also provide an avenue for a counselor to understand motivating factors behind the skyrocketing dropout rates among the adolescent students.

Practical Considerations

Target population

The United States is a multi-racial and a multi-cultural society. Similarly, most learning institutions are a reflection of a national image because most students are from a diverse ethnic, religious and cultural background. Hence, a counseling group shall target adolescent students from all background: blacks, Asian, Hispanic, whites and multiracial teenage students. Specifically, students aged between 11 -19 years have shown higher chances of quitting school at an early age.  By targeting students of almost the same age range, they will be comfortable to express themselves freely without the fear of harassment by adults, parents or teachers.

The teenagers shall be singled out as per their past history and signs of disinterest in schooling. This will ensure that the most appropriate audience is chosen for the counseling session. The counseling group shall be ineffective if bright students with no sign of dropping out are involved. In fact, such a move will divert the attention of counseling from its main objectives hence resulting in an unintended and unfruitful outcome. Teachers and school authorities shall be involved during the selection process for the participants because they have a detailed knowledge of each student's performance, capability and behavior.

Furthermore, it is important to include vulnerable students of all genders, though the platforms should be differentiated to enable each gender, especially girls, to reveal information in details regarding the problems they face at school. Girls have different needs as compared to boys. Bodily change in girls during adolescence years is more pronounced in females than in males. This may result in insecurity for some girls with low-self esteem. If such issues are unaddressed, some girls might view dropping out as the most viable option. In addition, statistics shows that a significant fraction of drop-out cases, especially among girls, are due to early pregnancies and parenting needs (Basch, 2011). As such, it is crucial for female teens to be targeted as well.

Location

 A school environment would be the most viable option for a location because most of the targeted population will be easily within reach. Though settling on a learning environment formalizes the whole ordeal, arrangements can be made to strip the formality within the surroundings. For instance, the group can conduct the counseling session in a field or under a tree as opposed to inside a classroom. Alternatively, a day of the weekend can be chosen as an effort to eliminate the classroom mindset. A residence a willing participant in a strategic location within reach of the majority can be an appropriate location for the group to meet.

            The group members shall be informed to attend the counseling session during the morning hours when they are still energetic and determined to make a useful contribution during the session. Teens get agitated and disinterested very quickly, thus the session should be kept brief and productive during the early morning hours.

Procedure

To meet the objective of counseling, each participant will be given a chance to make a contribution. The counselor shall only intervene when asking questions or seeking clarification. Empathy will be shown to the teens to create a feeling of concern. As the sessions continue, the counselor shall clarify the main goals of the meeting and assure the teenagers of information confidentiality. The counselor shall steer clear of issues that anger the participants as it may result in mass withdrawal especially by the male teenagers. In addition, issues that raises negative emotions or heightens depression levels among the targets shall be excluded from the agenda.

Troubleshoot

The main problem that can arise during the session is a rebellion from a section of the youthful population. It should be clear from the beginning that the counseling targets have personal issues and may get uncomfortable when the counselor or other participants directly or indirectly attack them. It will be hard to convince the teens that the problems they experience emanate from the stage they currently are in life. Some of the participants are even unaware that they are at an adolescence stage characterized by swift emotional changes and poor temper management (Archambault et al., 2009). To address the problem, the counselor should attempt to fit into the shoes of a teenager. A peer to peer relationship should be established instead of a professional/adult-to-teen relationship. Besides, a tone that signals understanding should be used.

Evaluation

To evaluate the effectiveness of the counseling session, questionnaires should be issued at the beginning and at the end of each session. Questionnaires disseminated as the session begins should inquire the expectations of the participants from the sessions. Those issued as the meeting ends should address the session outcomes and the areas that the participants would wish to be covered. In addition, the counselor shall become a keen observer of the changes in the way participants communicate with each other or their class performance. Information should be sourced from the teachers, parents and guardians on the targeted populations' behavior at home or in school. A deteriorating performance or behavior will imply that the objectives being addressed by the counseling session fail to capture the needs of the affected teenagers. If this is the case, it might call for a complete overhaul of the entire strategy.

On the other hand, if the students are receptive of issues addressed during the session, the counselor is necessitated to draft recommendations how the participants should be treated in a learning environment or at home to keep them in school. This can include informing the parents and the teachers of the needs of the students. Another way to evaluate the effectiveness of the group is to keep a record of participants' activities as the session proceeds. A comparison of their behaviors during the distinctive session can betray the changes albeit positive or negative hence prompting for a counselor's response.

References

Archambault, I., Janosz, M., Morizot, J., & Pagani, L. (2009). Adolescent behavioral, affective, and cognitive engagement in school: Relationship to dropout. Journal of School Health, 79(9), 408-415.

Basch, C. E. (2011). Teen pregnancy and the achievement gap among urban minority youth. Journal of School Health, 81(10), 614-618.

Burney, D. M. (2006). An investigation of anger styles in adolescent students.Negro educational review, 57(1/2), 35.

Dunn, E. C., Milliren, C. E., Evans, C. R., Subramanian, S. V., & Richmond, T. K. (2015). Disentangling the Relative Influence of Schools and Neighborhoods on Adolescents’ Risk for Depressive Symptoms. American journal of public health, 105(4), 732-740.