Stress Management and Relief Counseling Group: Stress Busters Coping Strategies

This upper-elementary and middle school counseling stress management group teaches students how to identify and manage their stress through engaging and fun activities! This stress management group helps students use stress busters and coping strategies to manage and relieve stress. Students will practice skills like differentiating between avoidable and unavoidable stress, prioritizing, and creating a support system. This is a complete 8-week stress management group and includes outlines with weekly objectives and ASCA Mindsets and Behaviors.

This is a complete 8 week stress management group and includes outlines with weekly objectives and ASCA Mindsets and Behaviors.

Students will define stress, identify their stressors and will the differences between avoidable and unavoidable stress. They will learn skills for prioritizing, stress buster coping strategies, and how to utilize a support system when making a stress management plan.

In the bonus session, students will learn the benefits of practicing mindfulness. The group also includes pre and post group self-assessments to make data collection easy!

Group Outline

Week 1: What is stress? Introduction

Week 2: Identify stressors

Week 3: Identify the cause of stressors

Week 4: Avoidable vs. unavoidable stressors

Week 5: Prioritizing

Week 6: Stress busters

Week 7: Support systems

Week 8: Making a plan

Bonus: Mindfulness as a stress buster

What's Included Each Week:

↠ 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!

↠ Outlines: Weekly, easy to follow outlines with objectives to meet ASCA Mindsets and Behaviors.

↠ Games & Activities: A wide variety of games and activities each week including discussion games, dice games, card games, and beach ball toss.

↠ Journals: Weekly journal prompts for self-reflection

Icebreaker Activities Include:

• BINGO game (includes 10 different BINGO cards)
• Sides of the Room Interactive Activity
• Circles of Control Interactive Activity
• Jumbo Sort and Paste
• Social Story Dice Game
• Charades Interactive Activity
• Discussion Dice Game
• Beach Ball Review Game

Lessons/Activities Include:

• Stress Video
• Discussion Dice Game
• Flow Chart
• Flip Book
• Worksheet
• Toolbox Craft
• Role Play
• Stress Plan
• Bonus: Mindfulness Videos and Guided Meditation

BENEFITING STUDENTS

Each week students will learn stress management techniques they can use at home and school. In addition, they will improve communication and critical thinking skills and practice self-reflection.

At a minimum, being in this counseling group allows students to identify and share their feelings, develop self-esteem 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.

For tips on how to organize your small groups, check out this blog post I wrote. The self-assessments are a great way to get students to self-reflect on their progress and you can then share this information with teachers, parents, or in your program report.

Also, make sure to track your data and compile it into an end of the year report. Here is an outline I created to make it easy!

Who is this Group Designed For?

Stress Busters is designed for students in grades 4-7.

Want a free sample of this group? Visit my WEBSITE and subscribe to my email list to access my Free School Counseling Resource Library.

RELATED SCHOOL COUNSELING RESOURCES:

* Self-Control Upper Elementary and Middle School Group - Calming the Storm

* Friendship Upper Elementary and Middle School Group - Growing Friends

* Goal Setting Upper Elementary and Middle School Group - Goal Climbers

* Technology Upper Elementary and Middle School Group- Tech-Savvy Tweens

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