Last day

I cant believe that this semester is already over. I have learned a lot from this class on how to work with families and different ways that a family may function. I enjoyed coming to this class because it was always interesting. I really enjoyed talking about adoption because i can relate to that since i am adopted by my aunt and uncle. They never really went through that whole entire process because they already had guardian ship over me. But good luck everyone on the exam today!

Last class!!!

I cannot believe my first year of college is over.  This was by far my favorite class that I have taken so far in my college career, because I felt that the information was so important to my future career and it was presented in such an interesting way that always kept my attention.  I hope to teach first grade when I graduate and the knowledge that I take with me from this class is going to come in great handy.  I will be working will all sorts of different people young and old in my career and its good to know how to react in certain situations.  This class has provided me with the knowledge I need to be successful not only in a job but everyday life.

The end is only the beginning of the next stage.

I received my evaluation from the therapist I was shadowing at the mission. One of the written statements he made said that he thought I would one day make an awesome therapist because I already was a good listener, but also that I seemed to have a knack for asking the right questions and/or was able to restate what the client had told me in such a way that they felt I was really hearing them. The content vs. process discussions have truly helped me in thinking things through. Much of what I have learned in this class will go far in shaping me into the therapist I want to be.

Into the Real World

So now that I have all of this great information about families it's time to start thinking about how to use it. I will be graduating in December with a degree in child, youth, and family studies and I have no idea what I want to do for a career. I really couldn't see myself being a therapist, but I do want to work with families in some way. After Chris's presentation I would rather help children before they hit rock bottom. It's great that there are programs like SOS, but it is also important to try to start children on the right path at a young age. I would love to work with young children in foster care families and make sure that they have a strong support system.

I hope that I can use everything that I've learned from this class at some point in my life. I've become aware of the way I respond to people and I'm trying to become a more active listener. One of the best things for a child is knowing that someone cares about what happens to them. As a professional it's important not to judge people on what they've done, but instead to help them to figure out how to deal with a problematic situation. It's all about HOW we resolve things, and not WHAT has happened.

This has been a great class! Good luck to everyone on the final!

Final Blog

I was really impressed with this class. I felt I learned how to apply concepts to everyday life. The realization that process over content is probably the most valuable thing I learned. It is very easy for families to get caught up in the "why" they are fighting. Knowing the "why" is not as important as the "how" will help me as a professional talk people through their problems.

After sitting through the final lecture I thought to myself about how I listen and react to people. Sometimes I will shout out a response with out thinking it through when I am with my friends or family, but when I am with strangers or teachers, I try to think things through first. Also, by viewing the movie clip, I saw that it is very important to listen to people and how they react. Just do not hear them while they are speaking, but to think about what they are really trying to say or get off their chest. All people respond differently and people need to know when it is the right time to be sarcastic and the right time to be serious. I have learned a few things in this class and had a great time listening to each lecture.

Blog 13 - traditional responses

I liked our final lecture on traditional responses. I thought it was really helpful, especially because I want to be a therapist someday. It has never really dawned on me before that as a therapist I might need to listen and respond in a different way than I would when not in a session. I will be careful with my responses to people in the future. Also, I thought the movie clips did a great job showing his point. All in all, I enjoyed this lecture as well the class as a whole.

Hey guys,

So i figured i'd blog before finals because i really wanted to talk about the speaker we had Tuesday. Tuesday's class was probably the craziest, most entertaining class we've had. But i also learned a lot too so obviously the speaker new what he was doing. I learned so much about youth and about how running away can be addictive. That's one thing i never really thought would be possible. I never thought of running away as something that would be addictive because it doesn't sound like something anyone would be addictive to. If i was a family science major, i think this lecture would have been really helpful for working with the youth because there was so much information on why they run away. I think the most interesting thing about the speaker was when he talked about the homeless. There didn't realize that homeless people dug holes and piled in to a hole to keep each other warm in 11 degree weather. Also, it broke my heart when he showed us a slide of paintings that were painted by a homeless man. There is so much talent in them and they can't use it because of the situation that they are in. There is so much hope for them if they could get out and promote themselves. But they need support from their friends and families, it's not something they can do all by themselves. Although this wasn't something that will affect my major or my career in any way, it gave me such a large insight to something i had a very superficial thought of.

BCam

Active Listening

The last lecture on active listening was really good. It is so true that to be an active listener it requires several things. Support, understanding and listening are so good. My fiance is so good at understanding when I am having as prob;em or if we are having a problem in the relationship. Anytime I have some kind of an issue regarding school or something else in my personal life that I am freaking out about, my fiance is so wonderful ad understanding. It even surprises me how understanding he can be sometimes. He is always cool and calm and understanding. I think that is a big reason we have been together as long as we have been. You definitely have to have a partner that is understanding to make a happy relationship work for over 6 years!

Active Listening

Our last lecture on active listening and understanding really put everything we learned this semester together. When professionally helping someone its important to be completely open-minded and really try to put yourself in their shoes.

Most of the time I go to my friends and family for help they give me a lot of the traditional responses which in turn do not help and often confuses me more about my problems. I now understand that you need to help the person by not giving them solutions but helping them help themselves by realizing what their problems are and deal with them effectively and positively.

Just like a kid can tell if his parent wants to work or needs to, I think someone asking for help will be able to tell if you really do understand and your really wanting to help them in the best way possible. This is why i think active listening and understand are so important to helping, so the person has confidence in you and trust that your pointing them in the right direction.

Working with families

I think it is important to understand how to work with families, especially in the fields we are going into. It was an eye opener to discuss all the traditional responses and how each situation is different and must be taken differently, with different responses. When you think about responding to others for situations like, death, divorce, troubled children, marriage, etc. A person would think of the typical response, I'm sorry or is there anything I can do for you. It is important to have the effective interpersonal support..of listening, understanding, and support. All these things will make the other person feel like you are there for them but not over powering them. Overall when a person is in a trying time it is up to them to decide who they want to talk to and how they are going to handle the situation. A person who is on the outside should never try to push themselves onto someone because maybe they feel like it would be better for them to talk. The person will talk when they want to. Knowing how to react to different situations can be a great tool for anyone.