From the Back Cover
A revised edition of the book that set the standard for group facilitators in the school setting.
Belonging: Self and Social Discovery for Children and Adolescents.
Completely revised and updated, this edition includes a newly developed training component that allows school districts and mental health organizations to use one tool for both facilitator training and support group implementation. It continues to set the standard for group facilitation by featuring:
- step-by-step guidance through the group process - from assuming the role of facilitator to forming a group, learning the group process, and launching a group.
- developmentally sequenced exercises and activities created at varying levels of difficulty so they can be used with young children and adolescents.
- reproducible exercises and activities that can be easily used in the group setting.
- custom illustrations, charts, and surveys that enhance program content.
-samples of all forms needed to launch a support group, including permission letters, referral forms, behavior checklists, and group contracts.
This book has been successfully used in a variety of settings, including elementary, middle, and high school counseling programs; mental health therapy groups; special education classrooms; substance abuse programs; residential treatment; hospice grief and loss support; and parent education. It has been used as a college text for training Counseling and Guidance graduate students in group counseling techniques.
About the Author
Jayne Devencenzi has counseled and taught students for 23 years, and currently works as a full time school counselor for young children and adolescents. She facilitates a wide variety of support groups for children and their parents.
Ms. Devencenzi holds both a baccalaureate and masters degree in Counseling and Guidance, as well as a Pupil Personnel Services credential, from California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, California.
In addition to working as a school counselor, she teaches and elementary counseling course to students pursuing a masters degree in Counseling and Guidance at California Polytechnic State University.
Susan Pendergast worked in public education for 22 years after receiving baccalaureate and masters degrees in Special Education from Indiana University. In the course of her education career, Ms. Pendergast has been a special educator, elementary school counselor, mental health early intervention program coordinator, substance abuse prevention program facilitator, and grant writer.
