Notes From Group Therapy, Part One

 [A couple of notes explaining what follows: 1) these are the lectures given by the counselor conducting the therapy, given at the end of the session after everyone has reported on their week; and 2) these are my notes, taken from my longhand, and my handwriting has progressed from bad to abysmal, so I think I have gotten the right words, but maybe not.]

[Notes undated - mostly likely 8/23/24.] 12;52 pm to 1:08 pm

[Starting with a recap from the week before. I recall not having a notebook for one session, and I think a notebook has been lost.]

Cognitive disorder - wrong thinking causing harm

Negative filtering - fixating or negative

Overgeneralizations - all or nothing

Global labeling - one time = all times

Shoulds. "I should" or "You should." Hard = shaming. Judgments.

 Jumping to conclusions - thinking without all the evidence.

Fortune-telling - "this is what will happen" therefore it will.

Catastrophizing - making out all to be really bad.

Mind reading - projecting thoughts - assuming thoughts.

[New lecture.]

Control fallacy - over-responsibility; powerlessness.

Personalization - not just imaginary [And something I cannot read except for "of me". My recollection does me no good here.] Internal locus of control. Learned helplessness - external control.

[Notes undated - mostly likely 8/30/24.] 12:39 pm to[? - no end time in notes.]

Recap - tossed out phrases.

2 control fallacies: over-responsibility (all in my control = all my fault); and powerlessness (when personalize).

Lot of anxiety - psy choice [?], personality disorder - always being right.

Fall under depression: blaming - you did it - pointing to an oppressor. Cain & Abel. Leads to a killing relationship.

Karma - not a guarantee - not Buddhism.

[9/13/24. 12:57 pm to 1:23 pm.]

Review - hand [?] should - not in prior notes.

no pen last week

Discounting the positive - actually maintaining a negative outlook.

Always wrong - one downmanship

Intervention - 

Step 1 addressing problem - assessment

1. write it down
2. ID cognitive disorder - labelling
3. begin reframing - if 0 is worst, then all other options between 0 & 100.

Mindfulness.

[9/21/24. 12:56 pm - 1:10 pm.]

Before you're aware of c.d. [cognitive disorder] - journal, get feedback.

1. Assessment (initial)

2. Labelling - name the cognitive distortions

3. reframing - look at beliefs, thinking errors, works best when intro. shade of gray - something believable. 

4. Intervention - so what? works with catastrophizing

5. make a plan - plan looks like walking through problem; must be believable.

[9/27/24. 12:56 pm - no time noted.]

Review previous week 

anxiety - ask so what?

new ones

[Counselor] Doesn't like the first one.

1. List Evidence Against. find contradicting evidence. Doesn't like because starts using confirmation bias.
2. Curious questions - trying to open up this kind of exploring. If mind-reading or a should - asking another person works.

sch 12/8