Yalom Universality

Recovery from drugs, alcohol, and tobacco is something not a whole bunch of people can do. Either they don’t have the support or willpower to do it. Then there’s some people that just don’t want the help even if they have the support. Recovery is something that could really help and benefit a person. It seems to me like recovery is a way of giving someone a second chance at getting their life together. They went through rough times and that’s why they turned to all those bad things. Then they recover and it’s like they are in a brand new world. The whole recovery process needs support from the person friends, family , and anyone else that the person needs to help support them. When they get the support they have the willpower to recovery from

When it comes to a group theory session, the counselor wants to give the individuals in that setting Instillation of hope, members of therapy groups often find hope as they discover and focus on how to face their problems. Installation of hope is vital because you want to have the individuals that are part of that

Abby identified her strengths as “determination and normally, when I say I’m going to do something I do.” Barriers to sobriety include her family. She has very little support from her family because there is a significant history of addiction and abuse. Abby’s goals are to “be a sober mom”. Abby wants to be sober and raise her children in a healthy family.

Made a Beginning Group (MAB) of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) was observed in the efforts to link course readings and class lectures to real life group work. MAB was observed on October 14, 2015, at 6:00 pm. with fourteen people in attendance. The open support group meeting was located at the First Unitarian Church of Orlando on East Robinson Street and was led by one facilitator. MAB and the facilitator showed deviations from the normal group practices discussed in the class of Group Dynamics and Process. However, some familiar therapeutic factors such as Instillation of Hope, Imitative Behavior, Universality, Group Cohesiveness, and Catharsis were evident in the group’s dynamics. The observation techniques included the point of view of an observer, a hypothetical point of view as facilitator, and the observer’s reaction. Together, these observations suggest that even though MAB does not follow standard group procedures; therapeutic and helping factors occur relatively routinely.

Mr. Harvey Johnson is a 62 year old African American male. He has been married for 36 years, have four adult daughters, and four grandsons. Mr. Johnson has been diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder and is 80% service connected.

It is eleven something at night and the phone begins ringing. I am working on a current research paper and wonder who could be calling me this late. It is one of my mentees who is struggling with loneliness and addiction. Balancing time between homework, job, home and my commitment to helping others in my local 12-step program is no simple undertaking.

Universality is the act of getting people to connect on an emotional level, even without actually having the same experiences they have. An activity that could facilitate Yalom’s concept of universality is a support group for non-offending caregivers (NOC) who have children who have experienced various forms of child abuse. In this group the members could initially connect by reporting anxiety or fear due to never participating in such a group. As the therapist, I could facilitate universality by asking group members to describe their feelings. After the members have disclosed how they feel, I would validate their feelings. For example, a NOC may disclose that she was unsure about participating in the group because she did not want anyone to look down on her family. I would say, “It sounds as though you may have been fearful about joining the group because you were afraid of being judged, is that right?”

Survivor groups are the most useful for individuals who have experience traumatic event. This chapter states that “because traumatized people feel so alienated by their experience, survivor groups have a special place in the recovery process for these individuals.” Dealing with trauma is hard to do as a clinician, but understanding trauma and the recovery process is the most rewarding. The best help that an individual can receive is from someone who has the tools and knowledge to best help them. Individuals that have experienced a traumatic event are able to share with victims that have experienced similar events, feels that they are able to dissolve feelings of isolation, shame, and stigma. An example was given by a Vietnam vet. “since Vietnam, I'd never had a friend. I had a lot of acquaintances, I know a lot of women, but I'm never really had a friend, someone I could call at 4 o'clock in the morning and say I feel like putting a 45 in my mouth because is the anniversary of what happened to me in Xuan Loc or whatever anniversary is…” This Vet was in a support group with other Vietnam vets and felt that he was finally understood, and this gave him a sense of relief. Group cohesion and intimacy are core components that will help develop the recovering process within a group. These will help the members of the group to feel comfortable to share and create a safe space for each member. Dr. Herman describes a process called adaptive spiral, in which group acceptance increases each member’s self-esteem, and each member and turns becomes more accepting towards others. An example that was given “I am more protective of myself. I seem “softer.” I allow myself to be happy (sometimes). All of this is the result of seeing my reflection in the mirror called

“At the core of recovery is self-awareness” (2014, van der Kolk, p. 210). Events during this packet provided me the opportunity to explore further in my yoga practice. I revisited the “Healing from Trauma” section of van der Kolk’s The Body Keeps the Score, and peeked into the insights of B. K. S. Iyengar. As I explored my emotions and self-awareness through yoga postures, each movement and thought opened a door to the proactive exploration of my inner world. My practice of yoga brought me into a deeper awareness of my body and emotions, guided me through mindfulness and being present in the moment, and assisted me in coping with incredibly difficult situations and my own reactions.

There are different models that describe disorders and diseases. I decided to look at both cases from a recovery and a medical model. The medical model, also known as the disease model, focuses on the underlying disorder in the individual. There is no mention of the environment forces that could affect the individuals distress or any other environment forces that need to change in order for the individual to feel better (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). If you only focus on the disorder and not the outside factors that are affecting an individual’s life, then you will never help them cope with their disorder. In regard to recovery/resiliency framework, there are many different systems that could help an individual live with their disorder.

Through research, group therapy has been proven to be as cost affective and therapeutically beneficial as individual therapy for treatment of psychological issues (Corey, Corey & Corey, 2010). For counselors to appropriately facilitate many types of group therapy they need to develop certain skills. These skills can be learned through cross training. Some counselors may find they only like to facilitate certain types of groups, but they can overcome their personal discomfort by learning the strategies that are available to assist them. This paper is about my group therapy conceptualization, world view, and the group process.

The healing process provides ample evidence that the infinite Life within us is a creative intelligence, which does for us what It can do through us, albeit, within limits. Evidently, since the healing process must work within us, in order to work for us, the physical limitations of our bodies, as well as our mental reservations and practical limitations, must be taken into account. Physicians do what they can with the limits of the body; and similarly, metaphysicians must do what they can, within the limits of the mind. Moreover, there are limits in principle; which is to say that Life works according to Its own nature and Law, and does not work in any other way, regardless of what we do or how we pray. Still, personal limitations notwithstanding, sometimes our conscious cooperation is required for healing to occur. It is on

When an illness is diagnosed, one’s ordinary reaction is to inquire about the time it will take to get better and make a full recovery. This holds true to mental illness as well, except that time is uncertain, as these illnesses are often long-lasting with residual symptomatology. Recovery generally is understood as a process of being rehabilitated back to one’s former state. Recovery differs among multiple health care disciplines, especially within a mental health care setting. Recovery from mental illness is a unique and individualized process where the one with a mental illness develops their own definition of recovery over an extended period of time (Harding, Brooks, Asolaga, Strauss & Briere, 1987) . This is important

The active ingredients include: (a) bonding (the group is cohesive and supportive), goal direction (the group encourages personal growth, such as responsibility, self-discovery, and spirituality), and structure (the group embodies clear expectations); (b) the provision of norms and role models; (c) involvement in rewarding activities; and (d) bolstering self-efficacy and coping skills (p. 285)

rehabilitation of the body is only one phase of a continuing life. Similarly, facing a traumatic event such as EOL adds uncertainty about the future and awareness of human’s temporality.