DISCUSSION 10

1. Automatic thoughts observed

Mom: And it's harder to deal with her, because everything that worked with him is not working with her. So I feel like I am starting all over again.

Another automatic thought was from Nicole discussing playing with her brother and his friend

Nicole: And Josh comes over. There's-- we get to be bad again.

Cognitive distortions observed

Overgeneralization is one of the distortions I observed.  Mom seems to have the all-or-nothing mindset early in the session (Corey, 2017). This applies to the automatic thought mom had that nothing that worked with her son is working with Nicole. This may be true for some of the types of discipline she is trying to enforce with Nicole, but surely not all. 

I found the use of the multi-column worksheet to be helpful. I think having a client write down their feelings really helps them to reflect and identify, in this case, the positive aspects of one another. This exercise also will help them recall what they love about one another as a reminder on the hard days.

2. I think cognitive theory is one that definitely requires some practice. It seems like it could be extremely effective when used correctly, but I would want to make sure I fully understood the ins and outs of CBT before applying it in the counseling environment. The fact that this theory is reliant on counselor directives is what makes me feel a little uneasy about it. I think as I become more familiar and experienced in the counseling world, my perspective may change on that. As I said before, I would want to make sure I fully understood cognitive theory before implementing it. This is a theory I think would be especially useful working in the school environment like I intend to, so I will definitely be researching and growing my knowledge on the subject in order to prepare myself for practice. 

References

Corey, G. (2017). Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.

Masek, B. (n.d.). Cognitive behavioral child therapy.  [Streaming video]. Retrieved from psychotherapy.net.