respond to classmate s discussion post 1

Respond to classmate’s discussion post with 250 words and 2 scholarly references to each classmate. Answer if you agree or disagree and why and add some additional scholarly information to support why you agree or disagree or to enhance the discussion.

1) Kathy Rivero

Topic 7 DQ 1 (Obj. 7.1)

Hello,

“Although efficacious interventions exist for childhood conduct problems, a majority of families in need of services do not receive them. To address problems of treatment access and adherence, innovative adaptations of current interventions are needed. This randomized control trial investigated the relative efficacy of a novel format of parent-child interaction therapy (PCIT), a treatment for young children with conduct problems” (Niec, 2016). Parent-child interaction therapy (PCIT) is a behavior-based, family-oriented therapy designed to help improve the parent-child relationship through interaction. In this modality, child-directed interaction can help facilitate the development of effective parenting techniques and reductions in behavior issues.

“The relationship between a child and a parent is one of the most instinctively protective, loving, and nurturing things humans experience. But for some, the connection with parents is marred by feelings of deep hurt and resentment. Such psychological wounds often follow people beyond childhood and adolescence into adulthood” (Lo, 2019).

In a family with children that resents their parents the issue I would bring up would why, and move the group in that direction. It is very important if you want to heal or want your children to heal, to get to the root of the problem. All group participants would have the same issues and everyone would participate. As a facilitator I would go over the rules and find ways to build trust and encourage all participants to share their experiences in order to help themselves and others. Topics of discussion could be anger, trauma, neglect, abonnement, etc. We would focus on finding ways to heal from the inside out.

Niec, Larissa N. 2016, Group Parent-Child Interaction Therapy: A Randomized Control Trial for the Treatment of Conduct Problems in Young Children, Retrieve from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5325686/

Lo, Imi, 2019, 4 Ways to Release Anger Towards Your Parents, Retrieve from: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/living-emo…

2) Aurelie Jensen

Topic 7 DQ 1 (Obj. 7.1)

There are different reasons to have both the parents and the child participate in the same session or group. For instance, when a child is participating in a group of similar aged children or in private sessions and the parents want to know what is being discussed, family group sessions may need to be a part of the treatment process. Corey tells us “one useful practice to protect the privacy of what goes on in the group is to provide feedback to parents in a session with the child and one or both parents. In this way the child will have less cause to doubt the group leader’s integrity in keeping his or her disclosures private” (2016). This of course is different from having both the child and parents participating in a group with other children and their parents. A situation that would require this type of a group could be “Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT), [which] is a behavioral, parent-training program that incorporates both operant learning and play therapy techniques to treat child disruptive behavior problems” (Nieter, et.al, 2013).

It can be beneficial for both the parents and the children of all families involved in the group session to observe the interaction of each familial set and learn though their example and growth. As each set works through their challenges in a group setting, the knowledge is shared and learned by all rather than kept isolated in a family session. According to psych central’s article, ‘About Group Therapy’ written in 2020 by Michael Herkov, PhD., getting the perspective of others in the group helps improve the interactions between parental and child sets. Hearing and observing others can teach everyone in the group the same lessons at the same time, effectively enhancing the use of the therapist/clinicians’ time as well.

References:

Corey, G. (2016). Student manual: Theory & practice of group counseling (9th ed.). Boston, MA, USA: Cengage Learning.

Herkov, M. (2020, January 17). About Group Therapy. Retrieved March 7, 2020, from https://psychcentral.com/lib/about-group-therapy/

Nieter, L., Thornberry, T., & Brestan-Knight, E. (2013). The Effectiveness of Group Parent-Child Interaction Therapy with Community Families. Journal of Child & Family Studies, 22(4), 490–501. https://doi-org.lopes.idm.oclc.org/10.1007/s10826-…

3) Phillip Swanson

Topic 7 DQ 2 (Obj. 7.2)

There is a wide array of techniques that can be employed during group therapy, but there are two that stand out and offer some of the best opportunities to make significant headway and positive growth by the end of group sessions. According to Corey, modeling is the process in which clients learn positive and healthy behavior by observing and imitating the group leader and other group members (2015, p. 450). Every member comes to group because they face issues that have not been solved by the maladaptive behaviors they assumed and used before they came to group. Members must have a safe place to learn, observe, and practice. Each member can benefit from hands on experience and social skills training, and even though it can be awkward at first the practice is worth it and instills a more automatic response or thought process when subsequently implemented in real world situations.

In the same light, homework goes hand in hand with modeling and should be employed as such. Corey notes that homework is an activity or assignments that members put into action outside of group sessions and in the real world (2015, p. 451). It can be assumed that if the homework is strictly assigned by the counselor it has a decreased chance of being completed given the fact that the group member was not a part of creating it. The group member should be included in the process of determining what should be done outside of group. If modeling is important to do inside of group sessions, homework should be the continuation of that modeling and thus putting that modeling into action.

Another technique that can be used, but requires care and tailoring, is problem solving therapy. According to Corey, problem solving therapy teaches members to systematically work through steps in analyzing, developing strategies, evaluating new approaches, and then implementing them in order to generate more adaptive ways of coping with the stressful situations in life (2015, p.453). While problem solving is important and the fundamentals of working through problems should be taught, the counselor might benefit from shying away from the strict step by step process and blueprint format of solving problems. Each problem that occurs to an individual is entirely subjective and may need to be approached in a different manner than another one, especially if considering that the same problem can affect two different people in completely different ways. There is no specific way of solving issues, but the core fundamentals of problem solving should still be taught.

References

Corey, G. (2015). Theory & practice of group counseling (9th ed.). Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole, Cengage Learning. ISBN-13: 9781305088016