Reflection Number Three

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Psychology

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Feb 20, 2024

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1 Reflection Number Three Leesha V. Smith School of Health and Behavioral Science, Touro University MNHN 692: Group Counselling Theory and Practice. Professor: Kimberly K. Asner-Self, EdD, NCC, LCPC August 6, 2023.

2 Reflection Number Three Group counseling was a whole new realm and somewhat of a deviation from the traditional individual form of therapy; this form of therapy that I was more familiar with and has gotten accustomed to employing within the sessions. Group sessions are very much dissimilar from individual therapy in terms of how the intervention is being employed, the group’s participants as well and the number of members within each session. From what I have learned thus far, group sessions should be carefully planned to execute not only a cohesive and effective session(s) but, also and most importantly, to ensure that each member of the group feels welcome and plays a vital role in the session. After all, group counseling should create a safe space for establishing that sense of belonging since the members all shared similar experiences and situations which is what brought them together in the first place as opposed to opting for individual therapy. Moreover, that sense of belonging and enormous level of support exhibited by each member creates an excellent foundation for the development of long-lasting relationships, which is imperative, especially within support groups. Additionally, the development of healthy relationships among the members is a soft skill that is pivotal in moving forward within the next session or phase of the group. It should be noted that communication and attentiveness to other’s opinions and divulgence whether they decide to or not should be met with the utmost respect. So far within the course, I must say that I have learned a substantial amount of information regarding group therapy which I now view as one of the most resourceful forms therapies in that, group therapy creates and adds support for members who shared the same emotional disturbances and dysregulations.

3 In review, I was very content with the group session conducted by Zahava and Paula. From the session, I would convey that Zahava was the leader and Paula was assigned the role of the co-facilitator and in retrospect, both did a fantastic job in their assigned roles. I believed that both provided the group with an enormous amount of emotional support and were very attuned to the emotional well-being of the group members. The group’s topic on anxiety. I enjoy the concept that whilst anxiety-related groups have been facilitated before, the leader created their twist and uniqueness, especially for the members being introduced to cognitive distortions which I think in reality, almost every member has experienced or entertained a negative thought that later graduates to cognitive distortions. While others may disagree, I believe that cognitive distortions are a rather heavy topic in the sense that, while a vast majority of the general population has experienced or entertained some form of negative self-talk whether they were intrusive or reclusive. But at times, we as humans are forced to wear a façade and suppress our feelings and intrusive thoughts just to give in to the expectations of others around us. I can distinctively recall my parents indoctrinating me with the notion of never allowing myself to show or display any form of weakness, hence, I was forced to suffer in silence and voyage with my dysregulated emotions for years, especially after facing adversity. The same can be said for many members of society whose negative or compromised emotions that should have lasted for hours get transferred into days, months, or even years. I enjoyed the NUTS and ANTS worksheets and the fact that we were separated into triads to discuss the activity in detail and shared the responses to the questions amongst the members of the triad. Within my triad, it was fascinating to listen to the other two members’ negative self- thoughts and how they plan to challenge these thoughts, with members of the triad voicing and providing affirmations in helping the struggling member to adapt positive self-thoughts as a

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4 means to combat the negatives which is something I will employ in my daily life. From that activity, I have learned and will take away the importance of manifesting and entertaining positive self-talk to keep myself grounded and not get lost in my world of insecurities and feeling of inadequacy or future uncertainty; all of which subconsciously get invited into my thoughts and seemed to get the best of my day. The final round I believe poses a few challenges in that each member was supposed to read aloud the cognitive distortion and then provide their own interpretation and cognitive reconstruction was not clearly explained to the members and could have been better elaborated on or allow the members with time to review the case scenario before completing the round. The overall timing for the session was within the given period even though I was not keeping track, I did feel like the leaders were able to cover all the content and maintain active engagement with the members which is all that matters. I must say, to conclude, the leaders did a phenomenal job with the group and getting the content across. I must say that I was rather very nervous and had an overwhelming feeling of anxiety that invaded my inner feeling and crept up without warning. The tight knot feeling in my stomach poses imposture thoughts wherein, I honed the belief that I would somehow create a blunder, maybe tripped over my words, or even forget my lines; quite frankly, I felt unprepared even though my partner and I prepared and practice the outline for the session before. Initially, Rachel and I had planned to present on the topic of Grief and Loss but, after multiple reviewing and taking the member’s well-being into consideration decided to tweak the outline to reflect a topic that was less triggering and would not cause any major distress hence, we decided to go with Separation and Detachment with emphasis on the past experiences and adversity. Often as humans, we go through experiences, ordeals, trauma, and adversities that change the trajectory of our lives, some we have control over and some that are simply out of our grasp. With these

5 unforeseen changes, we are forced to reckon with the past and the people from the past that continue to define us, and the future expectation as opposed to b left in the past. As such, we often struggle with the past and the unknown future as opposed to simply being in the present moment which poses challenges for many; in short, people have a hard time with detaching from the past and the unknown future while others create a separation from the past and the future which is simply a temporary distance and all of which impeded the individual from living their true authentic life and most importantly, living in the present moment. I hold to the notion and quote that read, “Yesterday is not ours to recover but today is ours to win or lose.” The goal of the session was to explore and bring awareness to the members of the possibility of being able to live in the present moment and living an authentic life by making one simple choice. Our goal for the session, while the topic was sensitive and may evoke some emotional response was to create an environment that was conducive and stable for the members, while ensuring that all members were able to engage and participate in the discussion and free to express themselves without the feeling of being judged. In my view, I do feel as though all the members were emotionally tied-in in that, they were attuned to their emotions and were very participative in the activities and discussions. This was portrayed when one individual became emotional at the end of the session following the reading of the meditation. While I and the second leader take notice of the emotional shift, the members became concerned and involved in her well-being, and immediately began to offer an outpouring of emotional support. This type of support, care, and being able to resonate with the emotionally triggered individual feelings was a pure example of altruism. While we initially agreed upon me taking on the role of the leader while Rachel was assigned the co-leader, I think that plan managed to shift wherein, we both lead the group which I think was amazing and help to appease my anxiousness.

6 The activities selected for the group session were carefully planned in a way to avoid any forms of negative emotions and triggers. One such example was that of activity one where the members were provided with bright multi-distorted colored stress balls while being asked and instructed to convey their current emotions and later being creative and expressing their thing, place, people, etc, that they have a hard time detaching from. The purpose of the stress ball was to bring relief as the members immerse themselves into activity which for some, can be triggered in that there was some sort of self-searching. In our view, self-searching was a part of the detachment phase in helping the members to become familiar with the event, unfinished business that needs detachment. It was rather captivating to see that each member was completely enthralled and absorbed in the activity and each taking a liking for the stress ball and the printed affirmations. This session and being the leader have helped me to overcome my fear of imposture feelings of public speaking. In the most ironic way, I did forget my lines and did trip over a few of my words but guess what, no one noticed, and even if they did, no one made a big deal out of it as my subconscious mind was telling me otherwise. I do believe that I can work on or improve my delivery in that, I could be more engaging with the audience. Overall, I was quite content with the outcome of the session and is proud of myself since this was my first ever facilitated group.

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