New Small Groups Support Mental Health

By Emily Kurmis, School Counselor
September 30, 2019

The counseling department is excited to announce that small groups are getting started for the 2019-20 school year!

Throughout the year, counseling will be offering several different small groups for students. Group topics are based on student needs and interests and can vary from academic skills to grief to healthy relationships. Groups usually have around 6-10 students and are run by one of our licensed school counselors.

Small groups have been shown to have many benefits for adolescents. Groups can help to explore students’ needs, reinforce skills, and learn new skills without the intimidation of a large group setting. Students can learn from one another and enhance their self-concepts in a supportive setting. They can connect with an adult who can help them navigate what they are going through and have a safe space for them to grow and feel supported. 

This school year, the counseling department plans to run groups on anxiety management, academic skills, healthy relationships, and first-generation to college, as these topics have been identified as being of the greatest need in our community. 

• The Anxiety Management group focuses on helping students build skills and strategies to manage the experience of anxiety. Anxiety has become an enormously common issue with teenagers, and its prevalence only continues to grow. Students will explore shared experiences, break down common anxious thoughts, and develop positive coping strategies.

• Our Academic Skills group utilizes a curriculum called Bring Out the Brilliance and is aimed at students who may not be performing to their full potential in their academics. This group is focused on helping students discuss their goals in school, making school more relevant to them, and raising their academic achievement.

• The Healthy Relationships group focuses on allowing students to share their experiences in relationships with peers, romantic partners, and family. Students will identify and understand common concerns in building and maintaining respectful relationships and developing positive strategies to implement in their lives.

• First-Generation to College group is interested in providing specific supports for our students whose parents have not graduated from a 4-year college. Data suggests that students who are the first in their families to attend college graduate at a rate lower than peers. Oftentimes, an older sibling in college can be a wealth of information and knowledge to assist students in persisting through graduation.

Small groups will be run throughout the school year. If students are interested in joining a group, they should connect with their school counselor.