Group Counseling for High School Students

Running head: TOPIC FOR GROUP PROPOSAL 1

TOPIC FOR GROUP PROPOSAL 3

Topic for Group Counseling Proposal

Melissa Kelly

COUN5515: Group Counseling

Albany State University

Dr. Johnson

June 13, 2021

Topic for Group Proposal: High School Students of Divorced Parents

Topic and Target Population

The topic chosen for the group counseling proposal is students of divorced parents. Increases in divorce are among the most prominent behavioral change to affect the family over the past few decades (Perelli-Harris, Berrington, Sanchez Gassen, Galezewska, & Holland, 2017). The target population will be any Caucasian or African American student, male or female, in high school who has divorced parents. A meta-analytical shows that children of divorced parents experience more problems in such variables as academic achievement, psychological adjustment, social adjustment, and self-concept compared to children of continuously intact two-parent families (Civitci Civitci, & Fiyakali, 2009). One of the psychological characteristics that can be significantly impacted by parental divorce is life satisfaction. Life satisfaction is cognitive judgments and evaluations that an individual makes about his or her life (Diener & Suh, 1997). As high school students become older, they have to make important decisions, and some of those decisions will have an impact on their future. Empirical studies show that high school students of single-parent families are being ranked in high risk groups not only as far as the risk of educational failure is concerned, but also regarding the possibility of social progress and acquisition of emotional well-being and mental resilience (Babalis, Tosli, Nikolopoulos, Vassilis, & Maniatis, 2014). College and/or career choices, boyfriends or girlfriends, and temptations are just a few of them. From my teaching experience, as well as, my own career decisions, one of the most important decisions students will make in their lives will be which college to attend and/or which job path to pursue, and they will be anxious and worried about their future. Studies show that the stress from parental divorce has a substantial negative impact on a student’s academic achievement and educational attainment (Devor, Stewart, & Dorius, 2016). With the added stress from divorced parents, the decisions can be more challenging and cause more stress on students in high school. Divorce can affect students’ emotional well-being and cause behavioral problems, anxiety, truancy, academic issues, and may even lead to substance abuse and trust issues (Scheffert, 2001). As a result, it’s critical to assist these students in their day-to-day choices, provide emotional support, and develop coping skills. This can be done through group counseling among students with the same characteristics.

Theoretical approach

The theoretical approach that is chosen to work with high school students of divorced parents is Rational Emotive Behavior Theory. Rational emotive behavior therapy focuses on aiding patients in getting rid of negative minds and behavior and replacing them with ones that seem flexible, desirable, and realistic as a mechanism of seeking self-fulfillment and happiness (Ellis, 2019). Doing this allows the high school students to feel and enjoy love, involvement, spontaneity, self-realization, and commitment. Studies show that this theory can offer therapy to the students whereby they can be harmonized on problem-solving skills, social skills, decision-making skills, conflict resolution skills, and assertiveness (DiGiuseppe & Gorman et al. 2020). Group leaders of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy are entitled to enhance clear and effective thinking to shift how individuals participating in the program think (DiGiuseppe & Gorman et al. 2020). In this case, for instance, the group leaders need to make sure that they are at the forefront of fostering improvements in the way of thinking of the high school students. Students need to see themselves as important despite all the challenges (DiGiuseppe & Gorman et al. 2020). The way that we think, feel, and behave are linked. Thus, if individuals change the manner in which they think about an event, they will most likely feel differently about it and may alter the way they behaviorally react to it (DiGiuseppe, Doyle, Dryden, & Backx, 2014). For these reasons, the Rational Emotive Behavior Theory would be beneficial to use with groups of high school students of divorced parents.

References

Babalis, T., Tsoli, K., Nikolopoulos, V., Maniatis, P. (2014). The Effect of Divorce on School Performance and Behavior in Preschool Children in Greece: An Empirical Study of Teachers’ Views. Psychology. 05. 20-26. 10.4236/psych.2014.51005.

Civitci, N., Civitci, A., Fiyakali, N.C. (2009). Loneliness and Life Satisfaction in Adolescents with Divorced and Non-Divorced Parents. Educational Sciences: Theory and Practice, 9(2), 513-525.

Devor, C. S., Stewart, S. D., & Dorius, C. (2016). (working paper). Parental Divorce, Educational Expectations, and Educational Attainment Among Young Adults. Retrieved from https://www.bgsu.edu/content/dam/BGSU/college-of-arts-and-sciences/center-for-family-and-demographic-research/documents/working-papers/2016/WP-2016-08-Stewart-Parental-Divorce-Educational.pdf

Diener, E., & Suh, E. (1997). Measuring quality of life: Economic, social and subjective indicators. Social Indicators Research, 40, 189-216.

DiGiuseppe, R., Doyle, K., Dryden, W., & Backx, W. (2014). A Practitioner’s Guide to Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy: Vol. Third Edition. Oxford University Press.

DiGiuseppe, R., Gorman, B., & Raptis, J. (2020). The factor structure of the Attitudes and Beliefs Scale 2: implications for rational emotive behavior therapy. Journal of Rational-Emotive & Cognitive-Behavior Therapy, 38(2), 111-142.

Ellis, A. (2019). The evolution of Albert Ellis and rational emotive behavior therapy. In The Evolution of Psychotherapy (pp. 69-82). Routledge.

Perelli-Harris, B., Berrington, A., Sanchez Gassen, N., Galezewska, P., & Holland, J.A. (2017). The Rise in Divorce and Cohabitation: Is There a Link?. Population and development review, 43(2), 303-329. https://doi.org/10.1111/padr.12063.

Scheffert, Roxann R., "Divorce : a guide for counselors assisting children of divorce" (2001). Graduate Research Papers. 1450. https://scholarworks.uni.edu/grp/1450.