This week I started my practicum experience at a workshop put on by the Alexian Brothers Behavioral Care center. This workshop was very fancy with breakfast and plenty of handouts. It was about school refusal which is a problem I think many schools face -- especially high schools. While I was hoping for interventions or information that I could use practically in my profession, what I got instead was an overview of the Alexian Brothers internal program. It was still worth it because it would appear as if their program is pretty comprehensive. It addresses all kinds of issues regarding school refusal and is based off of Kearney's model of school refusal.
After 4 hours or so, I was sold on their program. I believe that if there is a student that the school just can't handle, I will remember their program on school refusal as an option to look at before alternate schools at the very least. I was able to do some networking and chatting with people from surrounding school districts. Most of their reactions to the workshop were filled with bitterness and a desire for interventions. They were primarily social workers who appeared to have seen enough in their days to feel hopeless. They seemed jaded by many of the changes in schools and lacked all kinds of guidance or information. At one point a woman informed me how it was great I was learning all of the things I was learning at graduate school, but that I should not expect any of those ideas to get done. Fortunately, I don't typically give in to speeches like those.
After the workshop, I returned to the high school for the remainder of the day. It was an early dismissal day, so the afternoon was taken up by faculty/staff meetings. I went to a total of three meetings with different types of people. The first and last meeting were more about procedural steps that faculty should take in IEPs or in regards to special services. The middle meeting was about the program I am hoping to do my research project on. The group discussed how they could improve their program and handle special cases of students. While I did not come early enough or stay long enough in the meeting to discover what kinds of goals they were planning, I did get a sense that they were interested in program improvement.
So far, my experience has been somewhat limited. As with the week prior, I feel as though I am being under utilized. Perhaps it is because I am only attending one day a week. The meetings that I have been attending do not feel like the most beneficial thing I could be doing. I would much rather spend time in the classrooms or special services programs to help see what kinds of supports are in place. I am not as interested in procedural tasks or voting on whether a student I know nothing about requires services. I am a "doing" person and require more "doing."
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Mental Health - Key Questions & Reality Therapy
Unlike some of the past weeks, I was really able to apply my key questions list (Karl Tomm Questions) and indulge in a bit of Reality Therapy. I have had some difficulties finding the opportune moments to get into a problem solving situation with my friends. This week, however, I was presented with a good chance at addressing a problem that my friend had been having for many months now. What I discovered was very similar to my concerns last week. The concern was that in order for a person to change their behaviors or patterns, they must desire to change.
I started with as many of the Karl Tomm questions as I could remember. This time, however, I had focused more on future-oriented types. I would phrase questions like "What would it look like if you had achieved this goal?" While the individual could certainly picture what things would look like in pretty adequate detail, the amount of self sacrifice it would take on their behalf seemed not worth it. The individual was capable of modifying their behavior so that it was bearable to face a similar problem, but felt as though they were acting against their true nature to be open and fun.
Many of the questions that I asked were very good at understanding the entire picture of the situation. I asked questions like "Is this what usually happens when you do this?" (process-interruption), "When you do ____, then what happens?" (hypothesis), or "How long have you had this idea?" (distinction-clarifying). Unfortunately, none of these questions really helped me to come up with a solution. Most of my embedded questioning came up unsuccessful in gaining a positive reciprocation to the ideas.
This is where Reality Therapy came in. Reality therapy is centered around the three main ideas: reality, responsibility, and right & wrong. When anything goes against any of these three ideas, there is conflict. In addition, this type of therapy focuses on the now/future and not the past. This therapy is centered around the idea that people can only control their own behavior. We can't control the behavior of others. William Glasser, a Reality therapist, states "serious conflicts evolve from our attempts to control others who will not accept our control, because what we want does not satisfy them."
When presenting this idea to the individual, the tone changed from "this person did this to me" to "I can't control that person, but I can control me." A misconception that I had was that once this part was realized, the rest would fall easily into place. This was not the case. Discovering that we are responsible for ourselves does change the focus a bit, but taking ownership over the idea is another story. Taking full responsibility for our own happiness with our relationships with others is a true mental challenge. The individual did not desire to change their perspectives because the problem did not seem worth it. As the problem was not a constant irritant, it was not worth it to put the effort into self-change. I'm going to keep up with this individual and Reality therapy to see how it can go. I'd like to see this therapy broken up more into a step-by-step process and see what the milestones look like.
I started with as many of the Karl Tomm questions as I could remember. This time, however, I had focused more on future-oriented types. I would phrase questions like "What would it look like if you had achieved this goal?" While the individual could certainly picture what things would look like in pretty adequate detail, the amount of self sacrifice it would take on their behalf seemed not worth it. The individual was capable of modifying their behavior so that it was bearable to face a similar problem, but felt as though they were acting against their true nature to be open and fun.
Many of the questions that I asked were very good at understanding the entire picture of the situation. I asked questions like "Is this what usually happens when you do this?" (process-interruption), "When you do ____, then what happens?" (hypothesis), or "How long have you had this idea?" (distinction-clarifying). Unfortunately, none of these questions really helped me to come up with a solution. Most of my embedded questioning came up unsuccessful in gaining a positive reciprocation to the ideas.
This is where Reality Therapy came in. Reality therapy is centered around the three main ideas: reality, responsibility, and right & wrong. When anything goes against any of these three ideas, there is conflict. In addition, this type of therapy focuses on the now/future and not the past. This therapy is centered around the idea that people can only control their own behavior. We can't control the behavior of others. William Glasser, a Reality therapist, states "serious conflicts evolve from our attempts to control others who will not accept our control, because what we want does not satisfy them."
When presenting this idea to the individual, the tone changed from "this person did this to me" to "I can't control that person, but I can control me." A misconception that I had was that once this part was realized, the rest would fall easily into place. This was not the case. Discovering that we are responsible for ourselves does change the focus a bit, but taking ownership over the idea is another story. Taking full responsibility for our own happiness with our relationships with others is a true mental challenge. The individual did not desire to change their perspectives because the problem did not seem worth it. As the problem was not a constant irritant, it was not worth it to put the effort into self-change. I'm going to keep up with this individual and Reality therapy to see how it can go. I'd like to see this therapy broken up more into a step-by-step process and see what the milestones look like.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
