Stress Management Group

Session 4
School Counselor: Brandon Turner ________________________Date: 5/29/2015
Activity: Positive Ways to Use Stress
Grade(s): 9th

ASCA Student Standards (Domain/Standard/Competencies):

Personal and Social Development: PS.3 Applying Personal Safety Skills and
Coping Strategies

Learning Objective(s):
- Students will learn methods and abilities that will encourage safe and
healthy conduct when stressed or upset.

Materials:
Stress Management folders including Session 1, 2, &3 Handouts
3 x 5 index cards
Emotional Thermometer II (Completed group homework assignment for
Session 3)
Calm Reactions/Cool Consequences (Student Activity Worksheet Page)

Procedure:
1. Distribute students stress management folders. Ask for 2-3 volunteers to
review what they learned during the last session and go over previous weeks
assignments/homework as a group.
2. Begin group with a student and counselor role playing a situation where
he/she manages stress in a negative and unhealthy manner. After role play,
ask students the questions: How would you have handled this situation in a
safer and healthier way? What is a healthy and assertive way to behave when
stressed?
3. Review the 4 Steps to gaining power over their stress (Session #2) and the
Assertive Stress Management Style (Session #3). Refer to the beginning role

play; present the idea of producing safe and healthy behavior when one is
stress; ask students for examples of Calm Responses and Cool
Consequences.
4. Talk about I messages, positive self-talk, personal time outs, problem
solving and relaxation techniques as Calm Responses to stress. Ask
students to practice with each other the I messages (When you _______, I
feel ________ because _____).
5. Assessment: Check students understanding of acting assertively when
they are stressed or anxious. On 3x5 index cards have students mark one
of their high tension stress triggers (times when their stress is most difficult
to control). Gather cards and randomly assign to different group members.
Students read trigger and role-play a healthy assertive response. Follow-up
role-plays with a discussion about safe and healthy assertive behavior.
6. Group Homework Assignment: Dispense the Session 4: Student Activity
Page Calm Responses/Cool Consequences. Go over the column headings and
request students to practice Calm Responses when encountering
circumstances that may cause them to feel stress. Make sure students keep a
record of successful experience when using these behaviors in the Cool
Consequences column of work sheet.
7. Remind students that there are only two sessions left in the program. Ask
students to begin considering if they would like to schedule a follow-up
session. Make students aware that surveys and feedback requests will be
distributed next session for their parents/guardians to fill out and send back.
8. Closing Activity: Close session by leading students in a brief discussion
about what they learned (quickly go around the circle with each student
responding to a sentence prompt). Ask each student to respond to the
prompt When it comes to dealing with my stress assertively, I learned
I_________.

9. Classroom Teacher/Parent/ Guardian Follow-Up Suggestions. Provide

a copy of activities and assessments to classroom teacher(s) of
students in group. Ask teachers to be attentive to students using Calm
Response, Cool Consequences techniques.

Process Data:
Minimum of 5, Maximum of 10 students. The group is invitation or referral
only
______________________________________________________________________________

Perception Data:
Students prove their aptitude to display safe and healthy behavior when
stress by answering a role-play situation using learned techniques (such as IStatements, personal time outs, problem solving and/or relaxation, positive
self-talk).
______________________________________________________________________________

Outcome Data:
The increase or decrease in counseling referrals, attendance rate, and
incident rate for students in the group.
______________________________________________________________________________

Follow Up:
Counselor should reach out to classroom teachers and parents and provide
them with follow-up suggestions for this session. Encourage teachers to
support students efforts by asking them to share their new understanding of
their stress and their personal stress management goals.