Accordingly to Corey (2010), narrative and constructivist theories “place a great deal of emphases on understanding group members’ unique realities (p. 99).” In other words, the combinations of both theories allow the therapist to start where members are. The narrative theoretical aspect can be used to recognize each teen’s natural competency, skills, and expertise that can help guide change in their lives. Rather than transforming the person, narrative therapy aims to transform the effects of the problem. This will allow members to be viewed as separate from their trauma, or problems, create some distance from the issues and this method will highlight what particular issues or similar concerns are aiding the group, rather than harming
For example, Bath discusses the context of healing when someone goes through an extreme trauma (Bath, 2008, p. 18). Bath outlines the importance of safety, connections, and emotion/impulse management (Bath, 2008, p.18). Girl Talk will have assistance for teens who have experienced a trauma like Melinda did in Speak. The premise of the club is to create a safe space for girls to share their experiences and be able to work through their feelings and learn coping skills. I think that by having a sort of counselor session where a professional counselor can provide her support and be available during club meetings to help teens who have any sort of trauma.
The text book, The Theory and Practice of Group Psychotherapy by Irvin D. Yalom with Molyn Leszcz begins with the preface of the fifth edition. In the preface, Irvin D. Yalom introduced Molyn Leszcz as his collaborator and how they met at Stanford University in 1980. He then discussed how they both worked hard collaboratively to combine old and new material to make this edition. Their goals for this edition were to prepare student therapists for the present-day workplace and to keep the current methods from decaying, so that students can gather wisdom and techniques of the field when they get the opportunity to utilize those methods as therapists. Yalom briefly talked about what each chapter in the text would discuss.
A brief comparison between narrative therapy and family therapy will also be given. Overview of the two theories Narrative Therapy Narrative therapy is best known for being used by Michael White and David Epston. Narrative therapy commonly involves a shift in focus from more theories that can be seen as traditional. A collaborative approach is often encouraged and the therapist is also encouraged to show special interest and listen respectfully to the client’s stories. The therapist should also avoid diagnosing and labelling clients but rather enable the client to often separate themselves from the most dominant story of their life to provide a space where alternative life stories can be created (Corey, 2014).
Hi, Becky. Kathy asked me to write a list of all the kids with individual therapy in order for you to call them to let them know that Marietta is starting seeing kids a week after everybody else. The list (with telephone numbers) is on Marietta’s desk. Sorry, I forgot to give it to you.
By now the child will be less anxious and help them integrate more easily into their world. Image, storytelling/narrating and metaphors are used to gain this new, healthier perspective of the child. The therapist will stay within the metaphor of the child’s story to allow for dramatic distance which facilitates the child to explore how their problems have influenced their internal and external worlds. Through recreating a preferred story the child can change their own narrative. The therapist’s role in this phase is not to direct the child’s story but to act as a wittness, facilitating the child to stay in contact with the self and checking in that they are understanding the story correctly (Geldard et al, 2013).
Though it has certain boundaries and limitations, a lot of times Marion may expect the therapist to act as the expert, instead of having to conduct the conversation themselves (Winslade & Cotter, 2002). For these reason, Narrative Therapy can be challenging especially if Marion will not be a good talker or not articulate. There are so many factors, but the only way the therapist can work well with Marion is to make her feel with an amazing self-confidence coupled with intellectual capacity and other narratives will be expressed properly. The therapist can also program some agenda for Marion to support a framework to her narrative to make her tell her stories easier. But the most important aspect of Narrative Therapy is to empower the client (Flaskas, 1999).
Discuss the following: What kinds of cognitions are fueling what kinds of behaviors for each member of our client family? What are some shared cognitions that the family shares? How can we use CBT to help this family? How might we go about using CBT with a trauma-informed lens with this family?
Our group topics were engaging and discussed personal matters that affected our lives. It is nice to have a sense of group cohesiveness, altruism and universality, but despite the closeness it does make one realize in the end that our problems are still ours alone. At the same time, it is good to have support and have others that resonate with your experiences and know that life is difficult and that it can be unfair (Yalom & Leszcz, 2005, p. 90). Conclusion In conclusion this semesters group therapy, has been a great learning experience to understand the therapeutic elements of the group.
Ryan Giltner PSY 3211 2/5/2016 Weekly Paper #1 Group therapy is an integral part of psychology and like couple, family, or individual therapy there are many moving parts that allow the machine to work. Group therapy can be extremely helpful for many different populations of people like recovering alcoholics or veterans. Group therapy allows people to share their stories and engage with others who have similar experiences. When my grandmother died, I spent a lot time talking with my parents and other family members about her life and how she affected mine.
In our reading we learn the four roles of a Transactional Analysis (TA) group leader is protection, permission,Potency and Operations (Gladding, 2012). The counselor role is to offer someone permission, by providing them with new messages about themselves, others and the world. These messages realistically describe the person’s grown-up resources and options(Vinella, 2013). The therapist offer new ways of thinking in which the person can use them to replace old restrictive or destructive messages that they may have perceived their parents as giving them in childhood. Examples: ‘You do have the power to think and make decisions.’
Many theories of group counselling have borrowed ideas and approaches from psychoanalysis. The primary aim of the analytic process is reorganize the client’s personality and character structure. This aim is attained by making unconscious conflicts conscious and analysing them. Wolf (1963, 1975) developed group applications of fundamental psychoanalytic approaches such as working with transference, free association, dreams, and the historical factors of existing behaviour. The group leader relates understanding to the family-like relations that emerge among the members and between the members and the therapist.
I too would rather have individual therapy verses family therapy. The thought of having to be in the same room with my entire family discussing such sensitive issues causes me huge anxiety. It 's ironic in the fact that I have been the staff in a locked area as a 1:1 with a 6"4", 300lb, psychotic and delusional man while keeping my composure, but I 'm more afraid of a group session with my family. I think what I feel is what many people feel when they think about family therapy. We picture ourselves being locked in a room with people we love to have to face every day and having a huge fighting match.
n order to understand the strengths, challenges, and conceptualization of the therapeutic process I will assess my technique in a session with a 24-year old female named Merriam. Merriam addressed concerns about her dependence on her family and the anxiety she felt surrounding that relationship. The client is a Spanish teacher at a boarding school in Connecticut. She lives alone and has a very strong relationship with her parents and identified a support network of friends where she currently lives. She has no previous history of therapy but does state that bother of her parents suffer from anxiety and she also experiences anxiety.
Group counseling is a form of therapy that tackles issues of personal growth through interpersonal interactions, not just between the counselor and client, but also with people beyond their social circle – relatively strangers. It includes counseling groups, structured groups and educational groups. Each groups has its strengths and purpose for forming the group. Similarly, individual therapy has its own strengths and both forms of therapy have been proven to be equally as effective by empirical evidence and current research. Different theories help structure and affect process of group therapy.
My child Gillian has been developing well since our last discussion. She continues to excel in her academics and musical and artistic talents. She enjoys hanging out with her friends and has taken up playing soccer and softball. As for the rest of my family, my partner and I have gone through a bit of a rough patch. We began arguing about many things, such as our finances.