When I teach the therapies chapter in my General Psych class, we break up into groups of 5ish and conduct Anger Management groups. We demonstrate techniques like role play and empty chair (remember Clint) and talk about feelings and demonstrate good counseling skills.

We only got through 2 of 6 groups today because they went live and they were really, really excellent and compelling. The first group featured two young men in a Computer Science class where the instructor was belittling them for needing and asking for help. We talked about the role of ego and how the teacher's ego defense mechanisms swept into high gear when he perceived attacks on his teaching styles and abilities. We talked about using the tutoring center and sometimes just having to get through difficult classes and dealing with difficult personalities.

The second group featured a family with an adopted daughter who was not fitting in with the rest of the family. The particular discord was with her adoptive mother. The overprotective son and the disconnected father played their roles well, but the real life adoptive daughter played the mother and the anger was palpable. Her real life friend played her and we could spend a solid month dissecting this five minute role play. That family really needs help and hopefully something we cover in class will help, but this is General Psych not theories of counseling, so maybe the daughter will just ask mom to go for help. The young man playing the father said he had no idea what was going on, and I said that was perfect for this scenario and probably consistent with the real life family.

Kathy, sounds like your students really grabbed onto this topic ~ did you know about all of this "personal history" before you made the group assignments?

Sooz

I don't know their personal histories. I tell them the assignments work better if you go live.

Today's class was even more intense. I was reviewed today. My evaluator said I was an excellent instructor and they were lucky to have me. That makes me feel great!!!!!


I had an entire group who were angry with their fathers for never being fathers and expecting to come back into their lives demanding respect they never merited. One was a 20 year old man whose father had 6 children to 6 other women. He stated that his father spent most of life in jail and the young man's mother raised some of his other children. His mother was his best friend and served the roles of both mother and father.

One young woman detailed her father's physical abuse from the age of three. We talked the importance of determining if we want these men in their lives and the inability to change the past and just go on from here.

I told them they were all brave for sharing their stories and their pain.