helping skills
Discussion Leadership and Participation
Nora is unavailable for discussion leadership.
Ellery has been selected twice for leadership, thus removed from rotation.
Encouragement of redirection in discussions to aid understanding and productivity.
Importance of Recognizing Client Behavior
Highlighted a case of a client whose nitpicking behavior affects therapist-client dynamics.
The client's scorekeeping can diminish the therapist's willingness to accommodate them, causing feelings of loneliness and straining relationships.
Understanding negative behaviors (e.g., constant scorekeeping) can lead to awareness and change in the client's approach to relationships.
Genuine Growth in Therapy
Questioned the authenticity of growth in therapy when the therapist is not present.
Suggested that if growth disappears once therapy ends, it was not genuine.
Comparison of authentic growth to superficial change, akin to makeup fading.
Role of Emotions in Motivation
Emotions drive action but can also lead to hesitation and inhibition.
Emphasized that thoughts and feelings often overlap but are qualitatively different.
Brief discussion on how heightened emotions can cloud judgment (e.g., during arguments).
Distinction Between Affect, Mood, and Emotion
Affect: Broad expression and experience of feelings.
Mood: Longer-lasting, less intense emotional states.
Emotion: Short-term, acute feelings that impact judgment and behavior.
The interplay of mood and emotion is significant; a bad mood may lead to heightened feelings of sadness.
Hesitation to Explore Feelings
Clients often seek logical frameworks for feelings, leading to avoidance of deeper emotional exploration.
Encouraged recognizing the complexity of emotions rather than reducing them to simplistic interpretations.
Used a Harry Potter reference to illustrate the confusing and multifaceted nature of feelings.
Importance of Exploring Emotions in Therapy
Exploration of feelings helps prevent them from building up and becoming overwhelming.
Emotions contain physiological components and can symbolize significant personal experiences.
The goal of therapy is to access both emotional and rational aspects of the mind to achieve a wise perspective.
Emotional Regulation vs. Avoidance
Discomfort with heightened emotions can lead to negative coping mechanisms, such as avoidance or substance abuse.
Acknowledgment of under-arousal in conditions like depression, leading to emotional numbness.
Key Patterns in Emotional Responses
Primary Adaptive Responses
Emotion leads to an appropriate adaptive action (e.g., expressing sadness receiving support).
Trauma Responses
Current situations trigger fear due to past trauma (e.g., fear of dogs after a childhood bite).
Secondary Emotional Responses
Vulnerable feelings are masked by more powerful emotions like anger.
Instrumental Emotional Responses
Using manipulative emotions to achieve social goals.
Importance of Emotional Vocabulary
Encouraged the expansion of vocabulary within emotional contexts to better communicate client feelings.
Suggested reflective practices to help clients articulate emotions, enhancing therapeutic efficacy.
Skills for Exploring Emotions
Open Question Probes for Feelings: Essential in gauging client emotions directly.
Reflections: Focus on naming emotions to help clients articulate feelings. No overlap with thoughts; keep it simple.
Self Disclosure of Feelings: Validate experiences and normalize the feelings (if appropriately timed).
Challenges in Emotional Therapy Work
Addressed instances where reflections are not well-received, ensuring the therapeutic relationship remains safe.
Cautioned against overloading clients who may be in crisis with additional emotional exploration just before the end of sessions.
Homework and exams will measure understanding of these concepts and their application in practical settings.