Development of a cognitive-behavioral theory–based group counseling guide to enhance middle school students’ understanding of bullying in Gorontalo

Abstract

Bullying at the junior high school level undermines students’ emotional well-being, peer relationships, and academic performance, thereby demanding a preventive counseling protocol that is both structured and culturally responsive. This study aimed to develop and evaluate a CBT-based group counseling manual designed to strengthen students’ anti-bullying literacy and assertive responses, while also providing an operational guide for school counselors. A modified research and development (R&D) design was employed, consisting of seven sequential stages: needs analysis, manual design, expert validation, revision, individual counselor pilot testing, small-scale field trials, and final refinement. Participants included 12 school counselors and 24 eighth-grade students. The evaluation combined pre–post comparisons with structured narrative feedback to assess feasibility, contextual relevance, and learning outcomes across cognitive, emotional, and moral domains. Findings indicated that the manual was judged feasible and contextually appropriate for the school setting. Compared to pre-intervention, students demonstrated significant improvements in cognitive understanding, emotional empathy, and moral reasoning regarding bullying; they also reported enhanced abilities to identify irrational thoughts and adopt assertive responses to intimidating behaviors. Counselors highlighted the clarity of session steps, the appropriateness of the language, and the potential for cross-school adaptation as strengths supporting its practical use in school counseling services. The final product provides an evidence-based, ready-to-use resource for bullying prevention in Indonesian junior high schools and offers a foundation for larger-scale controlled trials and the development of digital adaptations.