School guidance counselors, teachers, administrative staff and other support staff can take part in leading academic support teams. Some students may suffer with learning disabilities (for instance, Attention Deficit Disorder). An ADD support group will offer further tutoring for these students. On the other end of the spectrum, students who excel in school may desire a further challenge. This type of support group could focus on equipping students to tutor others, and teach them how to stay engaged in easy classes.
Many intimate adolescent relationships end, and some may even involve physical abuse. The school could start a dating support group, which would focus on giving dating advice and helping students with a broken heart. Also, according to a 2006 survey by the Center for Disease Control, one in 11 high-school aged students will be the victim of dating abuse. Start an abuse support group for teens who have suffered from abuse, and teach them how to deal with it or get further professional help.
Novella Ruffin, an Extension Specialist at Virginia State University, notes that the teenage years are filled with rapid bodily and psychological changes. These can cause teens to become unsure of themselves. Social interactions may become difficult. Schools could have religious support groups, which would focus on how to interact with peers of the same faith or differing beliefs. Also, the school could make support groups for kids in broken homes. It would provide the students with a sense of family within the group, and help build relationships.
The National Survey on Drug Use and Health concluded in its combined 2005 and 2006 report that approximately 13 percent of adolescents received hospital treatment for emotional problems. In a school setting, students may become overwhelmed with homework, peer pressures and home issues. The school could start a depression support group to help students that fight this disease. Also, a self-abuse support group would teach students alternatives to hurting themselves, and give them a place to share their feelings openly.