Schools are unique settings and can be challenging when attempting to conduct a group

of adolescents. Students are not the typical clients of counseling. Likewise, implementing a
group in a school is vastly different than in a clinical mental health setting. There are various
barriers a school counselor must navigate. Some of the issues counselors must consider include
pre-screening, logistics, consent, ethics, and practicality. Furthermore, the sample of students
lacking interpersonal skills can be a challenge in itself considering the efficacious group process
requires candid communication. The preceding concerns will be discussed in more detail in
devising a group to improve student social skills.
In starting a group of adolescents, there are many potential road blocks in a school setting.
First, in the selection of students, the group leader must decide if the group will be a voluntary or
involuntary group. A voluntary group could be publicized by posting announcements on bulletin
boards, making individual contact with students or teachers, or getting involved with school
organizations (Gladding, 2012). These groups must be sold in one way, but the facilitator must
be careful to not pressure students if he or she wishes this decision to truly be up to the student.
An involuntary group might be met with resistance with students unwilling to be part of the
process. Resistance in a group can be beneficial but also formidable especially when the form of
resistance is silence. In either case, like any other group, the adolescents should be prescreened
to foresee potential group members that could inhibit the group. The facilitator should look for
group members congruent in maturity, purpose, and background (Gladding, 2012).
In terms of congruency, the facilitator should also consider the gender and age of the
group members. Gladding (2012) highlights there are varying perspectives with mixing gender in
a group. Some believe genders can only be mixed before puberty. Some believe it is never
appropriate to mix genders. Others believe that the group is the safest place for boys and girls to
learn how to interact with each other. The creators of the Friendship Group generally believe
sexes should not be mixed in order for group members to genuinely participate. Some topics
could cause anxiety for group members to talk about when the opposite sex is in the room, thus
not allowing for the process to work. The mixing of ages can also be problematic. Certain ages
can clash during the tumultuous time of adolescence such as mixing sophomores and seniors
(Gladding, 2012). Groups of adolescents should be fairly equal in maturity level which can be
achieved by grouping members within one year of each other in age (Gladding, 2012).
Creating a group of adolescents presents issues in confidentiality and ethics. It may be
difficult to attain absolute confidentiality in a group of students that are potentially tempted to
gossip and tell students outside the group about confidential discussions. The facilitator may
consider ways to keep group members from going too deep when discussing certain topics. In
regards to ethics, some topics may be brought up that could cause conflict in a school institution.
For example, religion may be a discussion that could conflict with the division of church and
state. Group members or the parents of group members may not be comfortable with these kinds
of discussions. Consent also must be acquired by parents. The process of getting an adolescent to
take a form home to his or her parent/guardian, get it signed, and bring it back can be an arduous
process.
Perhaps the most challenging aspect of developing a group in the school setting is
logistics. Once the group members are selected, finding the same time when all participants can
attend is sometimes impossible. There are few class periods throughout the day where students
are allowed to be excused. Physical education is often a class that students are excused from, but
many students find this class to be their most enjoyable of the day. This being said, there is no
guarantee that a students will be allowed to have free time or be excused from a particular class.
The facilitator must also consider an appropriate amount of time for each session. Gladding
(2012) suggests that sessions with adolescents should run between 60 and 90 minutes. This time
frame works particularly well with schools on 90 minute per class block schedule. However,
traditional schedules consist of 50 minute class periods. Even after securing a time, finding a
private unused room for the group may be difficult in a school without many resources. Despite
all these hurdles, the school schedule can serve as a barrier due to testing, student absences,
assemblies, half days, holidays, fire drills, and other special events.
Finally, some of the most important qualities for a group facilitator working with
adolescents in a school setting are creativity, perseverance, and flexibility. Schools can be a
polarizing entity when compared to a clinical setting in terms of structure. Counseling in a school
may often be considerably low on the scale of importance in the eyes of teachers and
administrators. It is important for the facilitator to be a confident and creative individual who is
able to advocate the importance of opportunities like group counseling. The facilitator must not
be easily deterred by the challenges resulting from the often bureaucratic systems in a school.
Reference:
Gladding, S. T. (2012). Groups: A counseling specialty (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J.:
Pearson.