REBT Presentation

Paulette came into the Family Group and gave us a presentation on REBT: Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy. She explained that people respond to stressful situations in different ways. They are being "Demanding," "Awful-izing" (thinking about how awful things are), "Self Doubting" or "Disputing or Debating." She provided scenarios and asked the class to consider what REBT responses the people in the scenarios would have. Here are some of the scenarios she gave to us:

1) X is a 19 year old first term student at school. The new term started two weeks ago. However, X was absent for the first two weeks. Before class he yelled to the teacher, "Hey! I want to make up work because I want an 85!" X gave in one of 10 makeup assignments he was given and was absent for the midterm.

Then Paulette asked us: "How would you categorize this person's behavior? Was he "Demanding," "Awful-izing," "Self-Doubting" or "Disputing and Debating"?

Based on our answer to that question, a counselor would develop a rational strategy for responding differently. For instance, if the student was "Demanding," a counselor would help the student figure out how to rationally get the work done, rather than find themselves in that frustrating situation.

Another tool Paulette gave us was the following list of questions. These are questions that the person with the problem would need to ask themselves:

1) What were you most disturbed about (what feelings did you have in that situation)?
2) What type of REBT response are you having?
3) What rational belief do you need to have, instead?
4) What actions can you perform that would have different results?
5) What feelings would you (or do you) get from those different actions?

Here are some other scenarios:

2) X has two brothers, one is an honor pre-law student and the other is an honor pre-med student. X appears to be very artistic. For example, he can play any song without any musical training, and his portraits of people are very realistic. X drops out of school in the last term of his senior year, turns to drug use and sleeps all day.

3) X has lost a lot of weight. She was 50 lbs overweight. She would like to lose another 20 lbs by the end of the month. Therefore she is now on a "Vitamin Water" diet. During lunch she tells her friend, "Lately, I'm having faint feelings and cold sweats. I just have to lose the last 20 lbs. You know, both my sisters are very slim, and I am fat, like my mother."

4) X is an 18 year old transfer student. She meets someone who is outside the school each morning. Instead of going to school they go to a friend's house. X has plans of graduating in February, and then going on to college. She has not applied to college, nor taken the SAT.

5) X has worked at Best Department Store for five months. She works very hard and is willing to work overtime. She is no longer attending high school daily. She overhears that the manager is leaving. Therefore, X tells the attendance teacher who calls her home that she will not be returning to school, because she believes that she will be made the new manager.

6) X likes basketball, and one can find him, every day, on the basketball court. Each morning he will play with anyone who comes to the court. He has been to school four times. He says, "I want to go to college and play basketball for the University of North Carolina. My uncle works at the college."

7) X is 19 years old and is dating a married man who has three children. She has made no career plans. She states that after graduation she will marry this man and move to Alaska because he is transferring to a new Army post.

Preparation for your Thanksgiving quilt square

Be prepared for Friday's creative project by planning what you are going to put on your quilt square.
1.What are you thankful for?
2.Who are you thankful to?
3.What visual symbols, pictures or colors can you use to express those feelings of thankfulness on your quilt square?

Coming Up With Our PSA Topic

On Monday Sarah re-introduced the discussion about PSA topics. Each student was required to write in their journal about a possible topic for our PSA. Today we had a discussion about those topics. We have consolidated our responses, and have created a list of possible topics for our PSA:

Verbal/mental abuse (target audience: 13-30 year olds)
Obesity (target audience: Americans, possible solution: eat organics, eat healthy food)
Dental hygiene
Hygiene in general
How to prevent STD's (condoms, female condom, abstinence)
Signs of STD's
Teen pregnancy - teen moms say what it's like to be a teen mom
Boys having a say in a girl's choice to have a baby
Boys being involved in decisions about childbirth
Boys supporting their girlfriends in their choices about childbirth
Gay marriage
Tolerance for gay, lesbian and bisexual people
Drug use: drugs being illegal
Prescription drugs can be addictive