Emotional Regulation Middle School Counseling Group | Managing Emotions

This 7-week emotion recognition and management middle school counseling group is designed to help students recognize how they are feeling and practice coping skills. In addition students will learn relaxation techniques and how to reframe negative thought patterns. This curriculum includes everything you need to run a successful school counseling small group including self-assessments to make data tracking easy. The included weekly outlines are research based and aligned with CASEL Standards and ASCA Mindsets and Behaviors.

Students will learn the skills they need to manage their emotions.

Emotion Management Middle School Group Outline:

Week 1: Physical feelings and emotions

Week 2: Reactions vs responses

Week 3: Responding to intense emotions

Week 4: Relaxation techniques

Week 5: Escaping negative thoughts

Week 6: Sensory tools

Week 7: Mindfulness

Lessons/Activities Included:

• Scavenger hunt
• Board game
• Interactive Group Activities
• Relaxation strategy practice
• Discussion Ball Toss
• Discussion Coin Game
• Discussion Cards
• Calming box

Here is what's included each week:

• Outlines: Easy to implement outlines with ASCA and CASEL-aligned objectives
• Group Rules: Suggested and DIY Group Rules poster so students can take ownership of the creation of the group rules and norms.
• Feelings Check: Feelings Check Poster to serve as a visual aid for students to self-reflect on their emotional state at the start of each session.
• Self-Assessments: Pre and post-group self-assessments to track student growth and make data collection easy!
• Engaging games and activities: I include everything you need to run each session. Simply print each week before the students arrive and you are ready to go.
• Self Reflection Journal: Weekly journal reflections with writing prompts.

Benefiting Students:

Each week students will develop coping skills to manage their emotions.

At a minimum, being in the counseling group allows students to identify and share their feelings, develop important social skills through participation, and practice empathy while hearing others’ experiences.

Saving Time:
With easy-to-implement outlines and activities, this group curriculum is very low-prep. Simply print out each session before students arrive and keep them in a file folder.

The included self-assessments are a great way to get students to self-reflect on their progress and you can then share this information with teachers, and parents, or in your program report.

Who is this Group Designed For?
This emotion management small group is designed for middle school students in grades 6-8 but it can be modified to work with students across different grade levels.

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