Skip to main content

Reflection #1 "Think Happy Thoughts"

Yesterday, Virginia and I led a group session about cultivating a positive attitude we named, "Think Happy Thoughts." I then used the exercise provided in our groups book to lead my reflection on the experience of our facilitation. Although nervous to lead the group, I feel that we did a great job engaging the group members. We led off with a warm-up activity where the group members could state how positive/negative they felt at the moment. I think this was a good way to start the group because it was Monday morning and many of us were feeling negative about the upcoming week. The warm-up prepared the group for the session and allowed them to get their feelings out about the upcoming week.

I think the activity we chose was good in facilitating the group goals. Because the group members were my classmates, I found it difficult to know how involved to be in the activity. I think it will be interesting to lead my first client group and compare the differences of facilitation between clients and classmates/friends.

Following the activity, Virginia and I shared responsibilities of processing, generalizing, and application of positivity. I think we did a good job of sharing similarities among the feelings of the group. We also allowed the group members to share with us how they can apply what they learned in the session into their lives.

Overall, I think the experience as a facilitator was helpful in my learning. I think I did well at leading the activities, but also need to become more comfortable in leading a group session. This experience and the upcoming facilitation are just the beginning and I can only get better with practice!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Neuro Note 1: Me Before You

Me Before You I chose to watch Me Before You for my first neuro note. I chose this movie because of the hype it has received. Critics claimed that the movie misportrayed disability. I wanted to see for myself. Although the movie is probably the saddest movie I’ve ever seen, it left me with many reflections. Will Traynor was a successful, fun loving young man whose life was altered when he was hit by a motorcycle which resulted in a spinal cord injury. Will became depressed and felt like there was no reason to live. I think sometimes it’s too easy to just think about the physical changes when you think of SCI, but it’s important to recognize the emotional toll as well. His life was completely turned upside down and he had a difficult time dealing with it. I’m sure this is a common theme with SCI and I think it can be difficult for people to imagine. I’ve always, from a young age, strived to treat everyone equal because you NEVER know what someone is going through. ...

Case Study: Ruby Bowen by Caroline Montague

Ruby Bowen, at the age of 63, began to notice differences in her memory and her ability to perform her daily activities. She was later diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, which is the most common type of Dementia. As the Alzheimer's progressed, she stopped doing the things she loved and began being agitated with her family. When the OT evaluation was performed, she was in the late-stage. Dressing and eating independently with adaptive equipment were interventions chosen for Ruby. Because she enjoyed gardening, that would be important to incorporate in to her interventions. My grandmother was also diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in the last few years of her life. The progression of the disease is very hard to watch as a family member and i'm sure it's frustrating for the person. I appreciated hearing Caroline's grandmother's story as it is similar to my own.

Neuro Note 5: Still Alice

I chose to watch Still Alice for my last neuro note because Alzheimer's was the last topic we discussed in class. I have found it interesting and helpful for my learning during the course of class to watch, read, or listen to something that relates back to the most recent subject we have discussed. For much of my life, when I have heard the term Alzheimer's, my immediate thought is of an older person losing their memory.  I associate this with Alzheimer's because that was the experience I had with my grandmother and similar stories that have been shared with me. The film Still Alice gives a different perspective of the disease. Alice is a professor who is diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's at a younger age than the typical diagnostic age. She learns that the type she has is familial Alzheimer's which is a type we discussed in class, meaning that it is genetic and her children have a 50% chance of having the gene. The film gives an interesting view of Alzhe...