Group Counseling Proposal

As we stated earlier, age is not a safeguard to the effects of divorce (Oppawsky 2). While adults may be more able to understand their feelings and seek the support they need, they are still subjected to the emotional and mental consequences of their parents’ divorce. In Wallerstein and Lewis’ study on the “Legacy of Divorce” many of the adult children recalled their own feelings of shock and unhappiness at the time of the separation and it’s aftermath. Almost all remembered feelings of loneliness, bewilderment, and anger at their parents. Many cried as they recounted their history and their childhood fears that would be forgotten by their preoccupied parents. Some even claimed that their childhood ended when their parents separated. When these children reached young adulthood and when love, sexual intimacy, commitment, and marriage took center stage, many of them were haunted by the ghosts of their parents’ divorce and were frightened that the same fate awaited them. They feared their own commitment (Wallerstein and Lewis 359-360). In fact, children of divorced homes are more likely to experience marital instability and a slight elevation in their own divorce rates. Many of the parental divorced children also found that their parent’s actions were actually causing problems amongst their own children. They often felt lost

Amato, Paul R., and Bruce Keith. "Parental Divorce and the Well-Being of Children: A Meta-Analysis." Journal of Marriage and the Family 110.1 (1991): 26-46. Web. 17 Apr. 2016.

“Teen Health and Wellness” expresses that the result on children ages six to eight is most profound. It says they are old enough to realize what is happening but do not have adequate skills to deal with the disruption. It asserts that they often feel a sense of responsibility, experience tremendous grief, and have a pervasive sadness and yearning for the departed parent. According to this article, adolescents' reactions to divorce include anger, a desire for a stable home, and a need for clear boundaries between them and their parents, especially around such issues as sexuality, dating, and household responsibilities. “Dysfunctional Family” testifies that teens that already have to deal with their maturing bodies and minds, divorce is just an added burden (Dysfunctional Family).

The statistics for divorce in the 1990's suggest that nearly sixty percent of marriages end in divorce. Given this startling figure, the assumption can be made that many children will experience some effects caused by the life-changing event called divorce. What is it exactly about divorce that causes negative consequences for these children? In what ways will these children be effected? Will these effects show outwardly? I will attempt to uncover some of the complexities surrounding these psychological questions in the following text. The unsettling fact is: young children of divorced parents face great psychological challenges due to the environmental conditions and changes associated with divorce (Wolchik and Karoly 45).

Divorce causes many problems for children and has many implications. Psychological implications include mental health problems and behavioral problems. Social roles are turned inside out and upside down. Children are often pulled in many directions. In the United States divorce is very common and often leaves children confused and without options. Many turn toward violence, crime, drugs, and isolation. Studies show how adults can reduce the tension for these children. Other

One type of counseling group that would be one of my strengths, is psychoeducational group counseling. At the start of the session, the members are presented with an educational topic that portrays to drug and alcohol with the combination of counseling. An example would be an addiction facility exploring the information and research on relapse prevention. Usually, these types of meetings are conducted at inpatient drug and alcohol interventions and typically have an educational component to their meetings that help the clients learn more about their addiction and ways to stop (Brooks & McHenry, 2015). Why I believe this intervention is one of my strengths is due to enjoying teaching and talking amongst others about the education on abuse and

Berg, R. C., Landreth, G. L., & Fall, K. A. (2013). Group Counseling: Concepts and Procedures Fourth Edition. Routledge.

Divorce is comparable to an epidemic since it has been filtering through many societies at an increasingly alarming rate. According to the most current statistic, there are more than 2.1 million marriages in the United States (“Children of Divorced Parents”). Out of those, almost half end in divorce. Divorce nowadays is extremely common. In fact, in America there is one divorce every thirty-six seconds (National Marriage and Divorce Rate Trends”). Each year over a million American children suffer from the divorce of their parents (Amato 24-26). Even though it might be shown to benefit some individuals in their own personal case, for the majority it causes a decrease in an individual’s life and puts many people “on a downward trajectory from which they might never fully recover” (Amato). Over long term, the United States divorce rate has been on a rise since 1980, which means more children being affected (Macionis). These children that are affected are faced by emotions of anger, confusion and even fear. These emotions affect their academic performance, social interactions, behavior, self-esteem and other negative effects. This literature review is important in calling attention on the current research studying impacts of divorce on children. The topic of divorce is a wide-ranging topic. However, this particular literature review focuses only on the effects that divorce has on children. The data presented in this paper is collected from

Not all married couples stay together. It is during such times as divorce that families are torn apart and children become the main victims. Children from families who have experienced divorce are more likely to suffer future health complications compared to those who have not. Studies examined their psychosocial well-being, youth substance abuse, and adult longevity. These studies not only looked into the lives of young children and their future years as adults, but also help provide insights into how to best approach and deal with a sensitive time in their lives.

The article Excessive Anger, Sadness and Insecurity in the Children of Divorce (COD) published by the Catholic Education Resources Center outlines the effect divorces have on children. As stated in the title, children of divorce often experience anger, sadness alongside paranoia and anxiety. This article focuses more so on teens whose parents are divorced as opposed to infants or toddlers. Many COD feel anger or resent towards their parents for not working hard enough on their relationship and often bottle this anger up inside for prolonged periods of time. They feel that their parents failed to provide them with a stable family. This anger can be expressed in

In the last two decades divorce has increased substantially leaving couples single and families broken. Divorce is the reality for many families as there is an increase in divorce rates, cohabitation rates, and the number of children raised in step and single marital families. Divorce cannot be overlooked as it negatively affects and impacts youngsters for the rest of their lives. Although it is the decision between two parents’s children are hurt the most in the process. The concept of divorce is extremely difficult for children to understand as there are many unanswered questions and uncertainties. “Will my mom or dad remarry and who will I live with?” are concerns children express while going through divorce. Many

I am a firm believer that there is strength in numbers especially when it involves people who come together because they share similar issues/problem and basically have something in common to work towards. Group counseling offers a great opportunity for people to come together and try and solve their issues. According to Austin (1999), per Cameron (2013 p 27) the group experience in general provides numerous benefits for participants and facilitators which includes providing: fellowship, listening skills, a sense of belonging, parallel of real-life situation, opportunities for peer confrontation, conforming participants to positive group norms, encouragement and praise from other group members, a safe place to experiment with new behaviors, facilitate group interaction and other social skills, positive and negative feedback from other group members, decreasing prejudice by learning of similarities with others, and relieving feelings of personal isolation. I was excited about this course and was very optimistic about what I would learn. I must say I was not disappointed

Children need intact families to flourish. It is hard to imagine that if the family is torn apart, a child can simply adjust to a new situation, home, step-parent, siblings, and entire change of life as they know it without suffering significant effects upon their mental health and development lacks. Despite voices that serve to minimize the effects of divorce on children, this paper will show that the negative effects upon their mental health and development are such that the best solution is to avoid divorce all together. According to Stinson and Jones, “well-being on the road to adulthood for both children and teens hinges on family relationships.”

Divorce is a plague that is destroying numerous families across the United States of America. Sadly, when husbands and wives divorce, the children are often caught directly in the middle. Throughout the years divorce has been becoming more and more common. In the 1920's it was a rare find to know a person whom had been divorced, today it is a rarity not to know of one who has been, or will be divorced. Divorce has numerous effects on the structures of families, and many devastating effects on the children that must experience it, although sometimes necessary, divorce radically changes the lives of adolescents and adults alike.

Over the past few decades, divorce has risen dramatically and has impacted many individuals, including adolescents. Adolescence is a time of change and the addition of divorce in the family complicates this development, especially in terms of mental health. (N. Civitci, A. Civitci & N.C. Fiyakali, 2009) Following parental divorce, adolescents tend to suffer because of the poor coping strategies they implement, influencing increased negative affectivity. (Consoli et al., 2013) Negative affectivity may be defined as emotional distress or a tendency to experience negative emotions. The purpose of this paper is to examine research surrounding the effects of divorce on adolescents’ negative affectivity. Inquiries illustrate a positive correlation between divorce and negative affectivity, however this association is dependent on familial relationships. (Yárnoz-Yaben & Garmendia, 2016) Unfortunately, though, the research is limited in in terms of the methods used to gather data and establish the connection.