Yesterday, was my first day for fieldwork. We ran an oral care group for about 18-20 adult clients. I believe the activity was well received by clients and staff alike. At one point during the group, I realized that I was making the group activity more important than the clients. We were helping the clients make bingo cards when I realized that I was doing way too much for the man that I was working with. Basically, all he needed was a little help getting started and he could do it himself. I made half the card for him because I was in a heated sweat to make sure the activity ran smoothly.
On fieldwork, there is a lot of pressure to design and run effective groups; but, we need to remain client focused and centered.
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Good "catch" . Great observation and self-awareness. Very common for students as well as experienced therapists to get overly focused onthe product versus process.
ReplyDeleteI hear you G. I was so focused on getting through our program I was not paying attention to how the participants were reacting to the activity. It certainly was a learning experience. I definitely need to work on making better connections with this group which I believe will happen as we get to know these people better.
ReplyDeleteI agree, I realized I did the same thing when running my group session. I was running from one table to another trying to help and do as much for the client as I could. Trying to make sure they finished the activity instead of letting them do the activity themselves. I realized that when I plan my activities I have to accommodate for everyone's functional abilities.
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