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Article Excerpt
The current study examined a group counseling intervention developed to promote wellness in adolescent girls at an alternative school. Findings indicated that the wellness intervention helped girls to broaden their ideas about wellness and to set personal wellness goals. Implications for practice and recommendations for future research are provided.
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Girls who are at risk for delinquency are of increasing public concern as rates for girls who commit deliquent offenses have increased steadily over the past decade (American Bar Association, & National Bar Association, 2001; Stahl, 2003). Between 1990 and 1999, girls' delinquency rose 59% (Snyder, 2001). In 2003, 29% of juveniles arrested were girls, with rates for running away and prostitution much higher for girls than for boys (Snyder & Sickmund, 2006). Girls also represent an increasing proportion of juveniles who are placed in residential programs (Snyder & Sickmund, 2006). Girls at risk for delinquency are also of concern because they are more likely than their male counterparts to have experienced psychosocial and emotional difficulties, such as physical and sexual abuse, lack of positive self-image, problems with sexuality, and depression and anxiety (Kempf-Leonard, Chesney-Lind, & Hawkins, 2001; D. Miller, Fejes-Mendoza, & Eggleston, 1997; Rosenfield, Phillips, & White, 2006). However, because girls represent a relatively small proportion of school-age youth who commit delinquent acts, they are often offered limited or inappropriate counseling and related intervention services (American Bar Association, & National Bar Association, 2001; Hoyt & Scherer, 1998; Wells, 1994).
Because girls are particularly vulnerable to psychosocial and emotional problems related to delinquency, intervention programs that address the needs of girls are desirable. In particular, gender-specific programs that are holistic and focus on girls' healthy attitudes, behaviors, and lifestyles are needed (American Bar Association, & National Bar Association, 2001; Girls Incorporated, 1996; U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, 1998). Holistic, wellness-focused programs for girls at risk are strength based and emphasize empowerment (Hartwig & Myers, 2003). Focusing on developing strengths rather than on improving weaknesses can create positive change in wellness (Myers & Sweeney, 2004). Holistic, wellness programs empower girls to recognize strengths, and such programs emphasize connections with others and processes that address integration of body--mind, thought--emotion, and logic-intuition (Bosacki, 1997; Omizo, Omizo, & D'Andrea, 1992). Creative, expressive techniques such as relaxation, imagery, art therapy, and psychodrama are often used to cultivate meaningful relationships and integration of the body, the mind, and the spirit (Bosacki, 2001).
Because of an emphasis on the dynamics of relationships, group counseling may be a particularly effective intervention model for adolescents who are vulnerable to delinquency (Wilson & Owens, 2001), especially for girls who are at risk for delinquency (Zinck & Littrell, 2000). For example, Zinck and Littrell found that group work positively affected girls' attitudes and their relationships with others and decreased negative, attention-seeking behavior. Counseling groups that address girls' knowledge and aspirations concerning wellness from a holistic perspective achieve more than bringing about improvements in girls' behavior; these groups also help girls to set specific wellness goals and increase their level of wellness. In the current study, an eight-session, group counseling model to promote wellness was conducted at an alternative school for girls. The current study examined, within a population of girls who were at risk for delinquency, how girls understand and relate wellness concepts to their lives and how a group counseling intervention would increase girls' understanding of the concept of personal wellness and their application of personal wellness goals.
Eight 1-hour sessions were developed based on the Wheel of Wellness model, developed by Myers, Sweeney, and Witmer (2000). The Wheel of Wellness examines five major life tasks of wellness that characterize optimal states of health and well-being (Myers et al., 2000): spirituality, self-direction, work and leisure, friendship, and love. Spirituality, the first life task, is at the core of the Wheel of Wellness and is the basis of all other dimensions. Myers et al. (2000) described spirituality as an awareness of a being or force that gives one "a sense of connectedness to the universe" (p. 252). The second life task, self-direction, is defined as the way that an individual directs him- or herself in daily tasks and in pursuit of long-term goals (or mindfulness and intentionality in meeting life tasks). The third life task, work and leisure, helps individuals to fulfill a sense of purpose. The fourth and fifth life tasks are friendship and love, respectively, and include all social relationships, not just romantic ones. All of these life tasks are interrelated and are necessary for healthy functioning (Myers & Sweeney, 2004; Myers et al., 2000).
Myers et al. (2000) suggested ways to incorporate the Wheel of Wellness into counseling interventions, which include the following: (a) introduction of the Wheel of Wellness; (b) formal or informal assessment based on the model, usually using the Wellness Evaluation of Lifestyle (WEL; Myers, Sweeney, Witmer, & Hattie, 1998) inventory; (c) interventions that enhance the components of the model, such as a personal wellness plan; and (d) evaluation and follow-up. In keeping with these suggestions, in this study, the girls completed the WEL inventory prior to beginning the group sessions. In the first session, an overview of the Wheel of Wellness was presented and group members developed a personal wellness plan using their WEL inventory scores as a guide. A personal wellness plan consists of setting specific goals for improving one's current state of wellness. In this first session, each girl was also asked to draw and share representations of her personal wellness and to fill out an open-ended preintervention questionnaire. Subsequent sessions were organized on the basis of the life tasks outlined in the Wheel of Wellness--self-direction, work and leisure, friendship, and love. The final session was a summary session in which girls discussed their postgroup view of their personal wellness and results of implementing their personal wellness plan. At the end of Session 8, girls completed the postintervention questionnaire and the same WEL inventory posttest.
Instruction, expressive arts, and meditation and relaxation exercises were the primary techniques used in the group sessions. Exercises from a variety of resources were included. Stories from Small Miracles: Extraordinary Coincidences From Everyday Life by Halberstam, Leventhal, and Siegel (1997) were read aloud and discussed. Meditation and progressive relaxation activities were used in each session to help girls practice methods of meditation and gain insight into personal wellness (Lesser, 1999). In the category of self-direction activities, a full-length body drawing was used to examine body image and another activity focused on reframing negative self-talk. Other activities included (a) a "friendship want ad," in which girls were asked to write ads as well as to write responses to each other's want ads; (b) "love notes," which were written to themselves and to another person of their choice; and (c) "an imaginary...
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