Spring Lunchtime Counseling Groups

Celebrating Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month

This project is a part of the Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month celebration because it supports a Latino teacher or a school where the majority of students are Latino.

My Students

One of my favorite quotes is "Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% what you make of it." Students who attend counseling groups have not had easy lives, but they are choosing to get support, explore developing their skills, and are looking toward succeeding. Counseling is a starting place.

Our school is a transfer school, which means some students have had problems in other school settings and/or at home that led to falling behind in school, and have needed to change schools for one reason or another.

We are in a building of SIX schools, which means over 2,000 students in the building. Some may be lacking emotional support within their family systems, communities, and peer groups. Our students may be dealing with multiple issues including but not limited to community violence, mental health issues, racism, classism, language barriers, abuse and neglect, substance abuse, unintended pregnancies, self injury, eating disorders, etc. Our students have incredible insight and do amazing awe-inspiring soulful work in the context of our groups. Their resiliency always inspires me.

My Project

Students will be nourished so they can have focused conversations and be active participants in our discussion and collaborative work. The stress balls and toys are used both during the group and students keep them as a transitional object from the group so they can practice releasing their stress in healthy and productive ways. Journals will be used to explore, express, and process feelings, while gaining confidence in sharing pieces and retelling parts of their stories/lives. As students volunteer to be in this group, they are also giving up their lunch to connect with and support each other. If students are not hungry, their concentration for their afternoon classes will improve and moods will be more stable! Covering different topics like identifying/expressing feelings, self esteem, communication skills, conflict resolution, regulating emotions, coping skills, healing from trauma and grief, and distress tolerance will help them in all parts of their lives.

Your donations to this project allow our students to feel taken care of, and important to the larger world around them.

These resources will enable our young people to fully engage in ongoing groups. Ultimately, your donation sets the tone for students learning how to take care of themselves, regulate their emotions and gain coping skills for life. By supporting this project, you will allow students to develop awareness that their actions and personal self development can change the world.