Child and Adolescent Group Psychotherapy Essay
Review this week’s media and consider the insights provided on group therapy with children and adolescents.
Reflect on a child and adolescent group that you are currently counseling at your practicum site
Describe a child and adolescent group you are counseling.
Describe a client from the group who you do not think is adequately progressing according to expected clinical outcomes. Note: Do not use the client’s actual name.
Explain your therapeutic approach with the group, including your perceived effectiveness of your approach with the client you identified. Child and Adolescent Group Psychotherapy Essay.
Identify any additional information about this group and/or client that may potentially impact expected outcomes
BUY A PLAGIARISM-FREE PAPER HERE
Child and Adolescent Group Psychotherapy
Adolescent Group being Counselled
The group consisted of 5 adolescents who presented with similar mental health problems. The group members attended the group one therapy session every week and each session lasted for two hours. Group members varied from the age of 13 years to 17 years. Some of the group members were receiving treatment somewhere else. At the start of the therapy, the main goal was to activate group members and later attention was given to how feelings of sadness, and hopelessness affected their lives and how to overcome these feelings. Child and Adolescent Group Psychotherapy Essay.
Description of the Client
Client XX, a 15-year-old male presented for therapy after he attempted suicide through medication overdose. The client reported that he was having suicidal thoughts for a long time and attempted suicide twice at the age of 12 and 14 years. The client reported that he started having suicidal thoughts 5 years ago after he lost his father when he was only 10 year. According to the client, after losing his father he began having sleeping problems, being sad throughout, feeling hopeless and worthless, always fatigued, lack of appetite, irritable, loss of interest in activities that were formerly pleasurable, loss of weight, suicidal thoughts, and his academic performance had dropped significantly. His affect also appeared apathetic and flat. XX further reported that football and hanging out with his estate friends were among his favorite activities, but lately, he has completely lost interest. From the observation, the client looked gloomy, sad, and could not make eye contact. However, in spite of the therapy sessions, the client has not achieved any significant symptom remission. Child and Adolescent Group Psychotherapy Essay.
Therapeutic Approach with the Group
Cognitive-behavioral group therapy was the approach used for this group. Cognitive-behavioral group (CBT) is a structured psychotherapy where the client is made aware of their maladaptive and negative thinking patterns so that they are able to adopt a more positive thinking pattern and view challenging situations more clearly and respond to the situations more effectively (Arias-Pujol & Anguera, 2017). During the therapy, various strategies were used to understand and manage the physiological and cognitive aspects of different mental health issues the group members were facing. A comprehensive and systematic assessment of each group member was done at the start of the therapy to ensure the formulation of personalized treatment plans and setting person-centered goals (Keles & Idsoe, 2018). Afterward, the group members were then provided with information on how to handle their mental health issues using psychoeducation. This is because when individuals understand their mental health issues better, they are able to learn new skills in order to better manage their symptoms. In addition, various techniques such as cognitive restructuring and relaxation were used for the group members (McGillivray & Evert, 2014).
CBT is likely to be effective for this client. This is because evidence demonstrates the efficacy of CBT in the treatment of depression. CBT will be used to identify the troubling situations in the client’s life, ensure the client becomes aware of his feelings, thoughts, and beliefs regarding the challenging situations in his life, identify the client’s maladaptive thinking, and finally, modify and reshape the client’s maladaptive thinking pattern (Wolgensinger, 2015). Child and Adolescent Group Psychotherapy Essay.
Additional Information about the Group
At times, the attention of the psychotherapist and the entire group was divided among all the group members. Sometimes during the therapy sessions, it appeared that some group members did not get a chance to express themselves and work on their issues effectively within the timeframe of the session.
References
Arias-Pujol E & Anguera M. (2017). Observation of Interactions in Adolescent Group Therapy: A Mixed Methods Study. Front Psychol. 8(1188).
Keles S & Idsoe T. (2018). A meta-analysis of group Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) interventions for adolescents with depression. J Adolesc. 9(67),129-139.
McGillivray, J. A., & Evert, H. T. (2014). Group cognitive behavioural therapy program shows potential in reducing symptoms of depression and stress among young people with ASD. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. 44(8), 2041–2051. doi:10.1007/s10803-014-2087-9.
Wolgensinger L. (2015). Cognitive behavioral group therapy for anxiety: recent developments. Dialogues Clin Neurosci. 17(3), 347–351. Child and Adolescent Group Psychotherapy Essay.