Therapeutical use of Group - Finale

What is my experience in my ALS TUOG group?
For TUOG is session which I most afraid of, because at first, I thought to myself, I did not have any clue what it is about. But, as the module run through, then I relised that I have been doing it in my centre all along.
As for my ACL group, we actually shared ideas and tasks on the Mission : Operation Young Ones, and we also indirectly come to the same goals that is to come out with a mission’s template which can be use for the any future target group.

How do I and my ALS members work as a group?
After we received; the Mission : Operation Young Ones, Priscilla make out a schedule/timetable on the days and time to go online, for us to choose we quickly come to agreement on the day and time. Since this is the 4th module for Ding, Binn and myself and the 3rd together with Phaik Nie, Priscilla, and Cheng, we have no problem on selecting the time where everyone can attend (except that unforseen circumstances). Everyone of us are very directly and actively involved, since at first, we are quite “blur-blur” on the choosing the target group. After the 3rd tries finding the target group, Ding and myself came out on why not target on shelters/orphanage, then everything and informations just flowed in. We researched by googling into this target group and then Priscilla input and provided alot of facts.
Together we came out with the Aim, Objective, Program aims, Activities selected, Intended outcomes, Approach method, Target group and age, Pre-group assessment and Post-group assessment.
As an end result, we have the 8 session of activities following the guidelines provide by Alex using the Dramatherapy format.

What are the different ways that I and the group members interacts?
At one time, Ding and myself were so lost, when we have chosen the earlier 2 target groups which was not appropriate to use in our Mission – Operation Young Ones. Lost in the sense that we poured in so much into the 1st : Mission of Youth – Sexual Education and 2nd : Mission of Youth: Depression in adolescent - Assessment and Intervention and very disappointed that we were on the wrong track. Then by chances we both were online that night, and we came out with the idea of the “orphanage” and from here onwards, there were no stopping for the whole ASL members until we achieved the 8 session of the Group Therapy for this mission.

Sad to say Ding, was unable to join a few online session due to her hectic schedule, and I missed her. http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:pqmIG28puX355M:http://images.zwani.com/graphics/i_miss_you/images/11.jpg


Are there any personality conflicts?There were no personality conflicts in our ASL group.
At one time, Alex asked us “If you are animal what animal symbols would you choose and what would you choose for your members?”

I have chosen: Ding – Rabbit, Cheng – Goat and Priscilla – Tiger and myself – Deer
When I was asked why?
My answers:
Rabbit – Ding was always fresh, young and nurturing.
Goat – Cheng very homely and likes to eat.
Tiger – Priscilla born a leader likes to learn new things.
Deer – myself – see myself gentle, creative, kind (oh mine, still in me, “I don’t like to see suffering”)

I will also choose
Horse – Seok Binn always running around helping others, and not to forget her children.
Sparrow – Phaik Nie very fragile, homely, very ‘princess like’
Can anybody tells me why I chosen these 2?

I did the animal symbols test online and I got the results as these, true I am a DEER.
For 36,84 % you are: You are...A DEER! You're artistic, creative, very compassionate, gentle, and kind. You like to delve into very complicated artistic activities such as drawing, sketching, or playing music. You're always there when a friend needs you. 16.7067 % of 92352 Quiz participants had this profile!

You could also get this result:
For 0,00 % you are: You are...A WOLF! Your utmost priority is leadership and kindness. You make friends easily and steadily, learn quickly, and care about others, hurting as much as they do when they're having a hard time.

Or even this one:
For 21,05 % you are: You are...A BEAR! You're laid back, rather easygoing, and compassionate. You are rather unorganized, like to eat, and may be overweight. You cry over trivial matters, often, but are also there when a friend needs a laugh.

Or even this one:
For 10,53 % you are: You are...AN EAGLE! You're serious, concentrated, calculating, and judging. You are a natural born leader, and can be compassionate towards close friends. You may come off rather bossy to some.

I truly hope this will not be the end of our online interaction.

FLYER = Mission Code Name: Operation Young Ones

Toug Flyer 1

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TOUG in my group of adolescents

What can I do with the adolescent from my centre, who are no longer interested in coming for the therapies assigned to them, like music therapy, play therapy and etc. Lately, I have noticed that this group that I mentioned seems like avoiding in going into the session, or if they are working, they will tell their parents that they are tried, or "I will do OT in my work place, I don't want to go to the centre" and etc. Even my Ernest, seem happy if I missed a session, because of lately my father-in-law is not well, I have to miss some session.

How can I do a TOUG with this group so that they can bound up further with the centre. It is not easy to do set up my aims esp it is with autistics.

Possible aims:

- to develop relationship skills and co-operation with peers
- to be more empathy and patients with the younger children
- to depend group trust, cohesion development, team building and co-operation with each other.
- stress management
- Physical development - body awareness.

Comments are most welcome. Thank you in advance.

Mission of Youth : Operation Young Ones (Adolescents)

Last night we gone online again to discuss about out assignment, Seok Binn was down with sunstroke on Sunday (volunteered on the Zhi Chi charity fair) and she sounded very bad after a while we urged her to rest. Phaik Nie sent her apologies for unable to attend, and that left Pris, X10, Cheng and myself.

We have input lots of data into our dramatherapy form, I have already finished my 1 session input.

This time round, we have chosen target group - orphanage to run our group therapy. At 1st, we thought of taking X10's group senerio, but she suggested why not we make group therapy template which is able to use in orphanages in the future.

As X10 and myself went through searching in the net before this session we found alot of shocking and sadness news, it really breaks one heart to know.

X10, found this article in the NST:
The Article from NST - 24 June 2009 stated The world has 143 million orphans, six times the population of Malaysia. There are 500,000 orphans living in orphanages nationwide and about 100 babies are abandoned each year with many more cases going unreported. With these figures in mind, OrphanCARE, under the patronage of Sultanah Kalsom of Pahang, was established last year. The one-stop centre aims to place every orphan and abandoned baby with a loving family by coordinating and working with the government in the adoption process.

We put up our AIM:
To recognize of the needs, wishes and feelings of the youth

To provide social support and allow the children to express themselves

Objective (specific purpose):

to provide support for the youth to allow youth to share problem to let the youth to accept him/herself

1.to build up rappo and trust among each other-melinda
2.able to support group members with trust
3.problem solving together-cheng
4.improve social adjustment to build on relationships-sb
5. increase insights
6. able to cope with the stress.
7. provide an avenue for airing of issues


SESSION 1: (TRUST)
Warm Up:
Opening ritual:
Namastate

1. What's my name.
Time: 15mins
Aims :
-Getting to know each other
-Introducing oneself
-Training visual memory
-Reducing inhibition through movement
How to play:
1 by 1 the children make a movemnot or gesture while saying their own names. the other children then repeat the movement and the name. After everyone in the circle has said his name and demonstrated a gesture to go with it, go aroung the circle again and give everyone another chance to link up people's names with their gestures. Now the 1st player stands up and says, "What's My Name?" Players who think they remember it raise their hands. If they say the right name, the second player takes her turn, and so on.
Examples of Gestures:
Jump
Crouch
Spin
Reach for the sky
Cross hands in front of chest

2. Self Protrail
Time: 15mins
Material : drawing paper, crayon and colour pencil
Aims:
-self image
-sharing

Description:
Draw self, Left column Negative, right coloum Po


Main Development:
Mine Fields
Time: 15mins
Material: blind, paper or bottles
Description:
1 partner is blind-folded and must walk through a "mine field". Things represent the mines will be placed on the playing field. the other partner tells the blind-folded partner where to walk. If he touches a mine, he's is out. Therefore communication is very important.
Aim:
-Listening skills esp. to the partner's voice
-Good communication
-Senses skill
-Concentrate

Closure:
Relaxation
Shake It Loose
Aims:
-learn to relax
-learn to trust and follow the partner
Time : 20 mins
Material : Mat
Description:
Help the children learn to relax by giving them direct feedback.
1 child lies on the floor and lets another child move his limbs around, initially the child who is lying relaxed on the floor can feel it if his limbs don't flop freely. the child who is moving the arm or leg can instantly feel any resistance. The chioldren practive letting go of muscle tension and learn to trust each other.
Do it by pairs -
He lets his partner leg stay on the ground, but shakes it gently back and forth. If the lying down child is really relaxed, then the leg and foot will roll freely
Lift the leg by grabbing the calf and shake it until the foot swings very loosely.
Move the leg around.
Note : make sure not to spoil the trust by sudden movements and don't drop that leg. After finishing switch roles.

White light
Aims:
-learn to further relax
-Positive thinking = create positive feeling in the body

Time: 10 mins
Material: mat
Description:
Children lie or sit on the ground, close their eyes and follow instruction.
Feel yr breathing becoming slow and regular. Put yr attention on a spot above yr head and imagine a white light shining there. the light can shine though the crown of your head and come inside you. the light flows into every part of your body. The light brings you energy and strength. it will make you feel stronger.
First you feel the white light in yr head, then it flows down into yr throat, yr chest, and yr heart. you can feel the light in yr shoulders, now it slows down yr arms to yr fingers. If you feel tension in yr body, let it flow away through yr fingertips. Now you feel the shite light flowing down yr back and through yr belly. Next it flows down yr legs and right down to yr feet. You can feel the white light flowing through yr whole body. It makes you feel safe and warm. Yr breathing is getting more and more relaxed.
After finish talking, let the children lie there fr a few more minutes. Then as them to start moving gently and stretch out. Invite them to talk about their experiences of this relaxation exercise.
(Prompted by Pris. that some of the children are afraid to closed their eyes, but white light also can be played with the eyes open).

Hope that I am at the right track.

Now, I need to go and brainstorm myself, "How to create a magical space for storytelling". This project was handed by Priscilla to me for the coming World Mental Health day on 101009. I really hope that i will not dissapoint her.

Therapeutic Group Session for Autistic

As I am with an autistic centre, I am trying to check whether I am at the right track or not. Please feel free to correct me if I am wrong.

Dramatherapy Group: Beginning

Session no: 1 of 4 sessions

Duration: 45 mins to 1 hour

Target group of children: mild to moderate autism

Age : Adolescents

Main aims of session:
1) Communication skills - more able to express themselves
2) Social skills - interact more among themselves
3) To build up team work.

Group of 8 children

1. Introduction (5 mins) - searching for friends name
Equipment: Plastic fruits
• Get all children seated in a circle, allocate 1 type of fruits to each child.
• Children to introduce themselves and show their fruit
• Children needs to remember their friends’ fruit
• Now facilitator will place all the fruits into a bag.
• Children will takes their turn to pick the fruit from the bag.
• If the child knows who the fruit belongs to, she will call out the name.
• If the child do not knows, he will ask for help by asking, “Whose fruit is this?”
• Continue until all names are called.


2. Drawing – 10 mins
Since this is the 1st session, I was thinking to ask the children to draw something that symbolise themselves.
Posted question to the children:
• Now let’s do something special today, we are going to draw, you can draw anything.
• You can draw things that are happy, sad or exicting things.
• You can colour it with many colours or you can choose 1 colour.
(The reason for this drawing is that, I would like to know what type of mood are they in, in coming to this session. I know some of the children are not very happy in coming. I was hoping that in the session 4 which I intended to end the group therapy, I will again ask them to draw and would like to compare with the drawing from the 1st session and I am hoping to get a different answers)

3. Warming up games – 10 mins
Motion ball – equipment : ball
• Children in a circle, 1st child start to throw the ball.
• Children need to call out the friend’s name before throwing to him/her.
• Once the children have completed a full circle of throwing the balls, add a second ball and repeat the motion.
• This game creates a pattern of motion – children will have concentration and focus.

4. Obstacle course – 10 mins
Hula Hoop relay – equipment: hoop and stick
• Divide the children into 2 teams, a hula hoop for each team.
• Start by establishing a course – straight line to a goal (which I placed a cone)
• When the race begin, the 1st player rolls the hoop using the stick – along the straight line, reaches the goal, make a ‘U’ turn and rolls the hoop back to his/her teammate and passes the hoop to him/her.
• The race will continue until all children have completed the course.

5. Calming down – 10 mins
To releases tension – relaxing.
• Children to lie on the mat with a pillow under their head, close eyes breathe in and breathe out
• Open eyes, roll eyes left to right then up and down.
• Grip and release right hand and repeat on the left hand
• Lift shoulders, try to touch their ears for 3 times.
• Gentlely turn their heads from left to right for 3 times
• Yawn then pout like a fish
• Wrinkle their nose
• Wriggle their fingers
• Then gentely roll on to your right side and slowly get up.


6. Closure
Reinforce the session by questioning :
1. Do you like this session?
2. Which activity you enjoy most?
3. Today _______ (name of the child) has been a good boy. I will give him a sticker.

1st online discussion with the group on Mission

I have only little experience on Group Therapy, and that also to a very selected group that was autistic children.

We have narrowed down to age group of 13-14 years old. X10 have given the issues that we might tackle eg.,alcohol abuse, substace abuse, internet addiction/phornographic, depression youth, how about: normal kids, but focused on relationship/affairs, boy girl relationship, sexual educ, etc.

We have not have the full concension from the members, because Priscilla and Phaik Nie are unable to come online.

But anyway, since we have came online, we decided to use the Google Doc to do the input of data on the daring subject of "Sexual Education".

Since I have already opened up a doc on Mission Code Name: Operation Young Ones so we used it. You can not imagined, everything keep on follow in to the documents and the wonder of the Cheng, X10 and Seok Binn.

The next online discussion will be on 17th Sept, Thursday 7pm