Hi everybody, welcome back. Um we are on week 10, the last week of our course for summer uh the summer term uh for PSY 63280 for individual and family life cycle. Um I hope you are all doing well and have been keeping well. Um and I just hope everything is going well for you guys. I know some of you folks have had a lot of work and things going on towards the end of the week. So, I hope that you're able to pace yourself. We just have this final stretch of this last week and um then we'll be moving on to the next term if um those of you that have taken courses with us still. So, I'm going to go ahead and start um our lecture today and talk about our this coming week and what to expect. Um and should you have any questions, please definitely reach out to me. um as I know that there isn't anyone actually online today. I see um nobody in the waiting room either. So um but feel free. I know some of you have reached out that either this time had worked for you or isn't now because of your schedules or um just have been juggling too many things um and can't attend live and are watching the recording. So I have been able to log on to see how many people have been watching the recording. So I do see that it is being watched. Um, but should anyone have questions, please reach out to me. I have had arrangements um throughout the term to u make individual appointments with people should they need. And I know we're in the last final stretch. So, all right, with that, here we go. Um, all right, week 10. We are um talking here about forming rituals and the intersection of life cycles. The learning objectives for this week are to explain the functions of rituals and life cycle changes and discuss how a therapist's life cycle issues can intersect with those of a family in treatment. So, uh, the readings for this week, there are two chapters of the expanding the family's life cycle text, uh, 26 and 27, as well as, um, chapters 20, excuse me, um, chapter 20 of the normal family life, family processes text. Um, and the film, if you have not already found it, please uh find the film Ordinary People directed by Robert Redford. This is going to be required for the um assignment for this week. So, I know we've been talking about it for a few weeks now. So, hopefully some of you have gotten your hands on it um so that we can u move forward. All right. So week 10, the assignment for this week is you're going to have a discussion, a course reflection. There's two parts for this. I have seen some of you have started to complete this. Um, which is great. Um, there's two parts. Part one is your student evaluation of the instruction survey. If you haven't done so already, just comment, um, I attest to having completed the survey. So you can, um, you know, just attest there and just write in, I have attested to completing the survey. And then part two is uh to prepare a 300 to 500word response or three to five minute message uh video response where you reflect on the um following. So do you do you feel you know more about MFT theories and techniques than you did when you began the course? This is actually does not apply. I know in the syllabus it says this. So I do want to make note that this course is not MFT theories and techniques. So it's individual and family life cycle. Um but the syllabus does show that. So I did want to kind of indicate that it is not meant for that. Um and please comment on our individual and family life cycle course. Uh what have you learned in this course and how might you use some of the knowledge in the future? What are your some of your main takeaways and were there any aspects of this course that you found particularly interesting, intriguing or relevant to your current desired career and why? So please make sure you post this by Sunday of week 10. week 10 Sunday this Sunday which will be week uh August 10th. So everything is due by August 10th. Um you do not have to respond to your peers but you're welcome to respond if you do feel like you would like to. Um also the family life cycle analysis. So this is the part that was is required for this course on the ordinary people video. So the purpose of assignment is to provide you with opportunity to apply the family life cycle theory. So you're going to be able to take that and translate it into clinical practice. So part of what you're going to need to do is write uh watch the film. So the ordinary people film. Um and then you're going to prepare a 1250 to 1500word analysis where you're going to summarize. You're going to provide a brief summary of the movie. identify horizontal and vertical stressors or problems depicted in the film. Then you're going to assess, you're going to describe what is constraining the family life cycle stages for each of the main characters of the film. You're going to then select one main character and how would you diagnose them. Be sure your diagnosis includes a specific DSM criteria and um one of the following. So, trauma related stress related disorder. Um, paying attention um um paying attention to other specified disorders um and look up the conditions. Okay. Uh uh let's see and depressive disorders and vcodes. Um so be a be please be make sure that you are using the DSM5 criteria and looking into that when you are going through that. Um um there's treatment considerations to think about as well. Sorry. And then you're going to also reflect on how you would proceeded therapy. So you would choose between individual um you know um uh sorry my cl glitching okay reflect how you would proceed in therapy. Choose individual couple or family therapy uh based on life cycle issues and your diagnosis. So there are no right or wrong answers for this but you're going to use your best judgment for this. um you're going to explain how your approach would be different based on dimensions of diversity. So, inequality, social justice, you know, picking something there and your analysis should be formatted using APA guidelines and please include two scholarly references. I have had some comments um some students asking can I use the text and you know yes you can use the text you can use obviously the movie is going to be a reference however um I would encourage you to at least include one article if you can minimum one if you can to integrate as well that would be the best so that you're actually using those scholarly references um and for this paper you can use first person and please note it is due by Sunday as Well, so let's go through the chapters this week. So the chapters this week is going to focus on um it's going to focus on chap like chapter 26 is going to focus a lot on rituals. Um we're talking about rituals are symbolic actions that give meaning to transitions in life. So they help reflect values, beliefs, and cultural traditions. And they help individuals and families mark changes like births, deaths, moves, illnesses and integrate them into the lives. Okay. Um also the functions of rituals, let's talk a little bit about that too. Um now the functions of rituals, they create continuity and coherence during chaotic times. uh they affirm who we are, our role in the family and cultural identity um and meaning of life. Okay. Um so really it's one of those things that um you know they are part of who we are. They offer an opportunity for families to come together emotionally and symbolically. So what happens is they provide structure during transitions. um it really kind of gives one that sense of identity and belonging um and can help with healing and making those connections around. So it's really um something that's something important to look into to see what individuals, families, couples and people do and how they integrate rituals in part of those narratives of things that happen in their lives. So life cycle transitions that benefit from rituals. So when you have v when you have rituals like what transitions can be helpful to have rituals because when you're in transitions good or bad uh they can often bring around bring up emotional challenges and identity shifts. So they offer a way for the family to proceed in these transitions um with intention. They don't have to be religious or traditional in nature, but they can be adapted. So, births, adoptions, adolescence, launching into uh adulthood, illnesses, caregiving, divorce, remarage, aging, and death are typical life cycle transitions that can have benefits from rituals. Uh maybe when someone's born in the family, there's a whole history of what happens at birth. um there's a whole ritual within the family system or within that individual family has taken on. So um these things can really be helpful for individuals because they really can help them process these things whether it's a birth or a loss or health related challenge things like that. Um so you want to kind of see if there's any of that in uh with the folks that you're going to be working with. um cultural and intergenerational dimensions to look at. Uh rituals reflect deep cultural meanings. Um immigrant and bicultural families may struggle with which rituals to obtain obtain or to retain or adapt to. So they can bridge generational gaps um and really kind of really help understand heritage um and really kind of give some sense of meaning of culture and you know generations um within their family system. So it is one of those things that you it can be challenging in different religions and cultures and um things like that as well. So, it's one of those things you really want to look into to see what it or if they are struggling with anything in particular. Are they wanting to retain any of that or are they wanting to adapt to any of it? And where do they where are they in that system? Creating new rituals. Families can create new rituals that are unique and person fell off my desk. um uh families can create them or um that are unique and personal to them. It's a very important to be inclusive and mindful of family dynamics like divorced parents and blended families. You really want to be mindful of different dynamics that occur and how rituals are taken into consideration in that in those settings. So you can really help validate experiences and enhancing resilience as well. So, you want to be able to be able to allow space for people to reflect on their current needs and realities, but honor their truths and to also look into what family members are involved in this process for them. Yeah. Um All right. So, moving on. Um, some of the things that are going to be important to think about are the use of rituals therapeutically. Um, we as therapists should be able to be able to invite families to create rituals in session or at home like encourage it and find out what are those rituals, encourage understanding of those rituals as well. Um, they can be especially powerful in context of loss, conflict, change. Um, for example, like lighting a candle for a loved one who's a lost family member or creating a launching cere's a launching ceremony maybe what they create for the team moving out that might be more special and meaningful in their home and family dynamic. So really us as therapists should be able to help clients process their grief or trauma connections create helping create connections without disruptions as much as possible and supporting developmental growth as much as possible as well along the way. So again, as anything that you're working in in our field, you really want to be hearing your clients, connecting with your clients, really kind of be able to um you know, see how that how best you can support them with what they're going through. Um, some questions to think about for this chapter that I wanted you to kind of think about are like what rituals were meaningful in your family growing up and how have your rituals changed over time or adapted maybe? Um, what rituals might be needed in your current life cycle phase? Something else to think about. And with these, I want you to adapt to like thinking about culture, gender roles, um, and your family structure along the way as well. Okay. All right. Now, chapter 27 is the next chapter um of expanding family life cycle. Sorry you guys, I have a little bump on my lip that is bleeding a little bit. Sorry about that. Um okay this chapter is focused on chapter 27 is on um really looking at therapy and therapy is more of meeting life narratives okay for those of the family and those of the therapists. So this chapter really focuses on our own context as clinicians as well. So a lot of times we think about our cl we only think of the client's context, what they're going through, what they're dealing with and how they're approaching things. But our own life cycle stage is going to be also important to look at and our own values and our old culture and our old proc our own process. Now, now this is obviously like the self with the therapist work as well like we've been talking about all terms, but this is also tied now more to your life cycle stage like what's currently going on in your current life cycle stage. So the chapter looks at you know the the therapist being as a participant right we bring our own values histories our own unresolved issues and our stage of life into the therapy room. Um owning our presence can deepen the therapeutic relationship. Personal beliefs and history influence the clinical stance and space and self-awareness is key to ethical attuned practice. What does this mean? like us as therapists just kind of get in there and tell our clients what's kind of going on in our life stage too. No, not not completely. Okay. What it is is it's talking a lot about being self-aware, understanding that we bring these things to the therapy room. Some of those things we might have to filter out because some of the things that we might be going through can be therapeutic for our clients, right? Um however you have to kind of look at the boundary of that and especially if self-disclosure um and obviously also depending on the setting that you work in self-disclosure in some settings maybe can be very benign in other settings it can be well I just really don't want people to know that I have a child at the same school you know or or a similar school or something like that you know um because of you know just the nature of where you're living and what's going on. So this chapter also talks about the therapist life events like having our young own young children dealing with aging parents going through divorce those type of things help can end up shaping our response to our clients. So it's really important to recognize how those experience will create transference, counter transference, positive and problematic. Okay. Um so look into what are you where are you in your life cycle? Are you singled? Are you partnered? Are you parenting? Are you caregiving? Aging? You know, um are there any losses and transitions that are happening in your life? Any cultural and family expectations? Um so kind of really kind of looking at that self and the therapist important work also for ourselves. Um and then the chapter also talks about when therapist and client lives collide. So a therapist launching their child may struggle with a client resisting independence. Okay. Um, a newly divorced therapist may overidentify with a client who's in marital distress. So, these parallels can be rich areas for insight or for bias. So, you want to look into similar transitions and how they can trigger identification or discomfort. So, differences may cause judgment or misunderstanding. Um, so you really want to reflect and understand, not avoid these things, but also be very mindful when you're working with your clients. Um, you want to be also be very clear that you're giving your clients their space and their process. They're coming to you for support and understanding and helping them navigate what they're going through, not necessarily creating a space where we could be biased for what they're going through. Um the chapter also talks about working across differences like therapist's world view affects how to understand a family struggles and resilience. Uh we must continually check our assumptions and seek to understand life cycles within the context. Um, so you want to look at class, gender, race, religion, immigration status, and really kind of see what's going on and look at differences and things that could be influencing one or the other and just come out with more of a curiosity lens, right? Um, is going to be important uh for ourselves in working with others in the field um that are going through these things. Um, use of self and therapy. Self-disclosure can humanize the therapist, but also must serve the client, not the therapist. Keep that in mind. So, there are times I will say I have self-disclosed, you know, um a lot of work that I've dealt with is um dealing with individuals and families going through cancer and treatment. So, I have self-disclosed. Yes, I did help a loved one go through uh cancer treatment and it can be very toll you you know or things like that. not necessarily describing what I went through, but understanding the space that they're in. You see the difference there. Self-awareness is also the foundation of professional use of self. Um, please make sure you're using supervision and consultations when you need. Um, and when things are starting to kind of come into session, they're bleeding into session they call it, right? Uh when things are starting to kind of the boundaries are starting to feel a little off. Um, therap therapist disclosure should be intentional and limited using personal awareness and not personal stories. Okay. Um and know when your inner in issues are interfering in the therapeutic you know space. Okay. Some questions for this chapter I want you to think about are um where are you again in your life cycles? How might it shape your work as a therapist? And what intersections do you feel might it be difficult to navigate for yourself? Um I wanted to kind of note here also that being a therapist is not separate from being a human. We are humans, right? Um we're all one of the same. However, what we're hearing from our clients is what they're going through. So, we need to recognize our life cycle position, how we're going to allow for authentic, connected, and effective work. We want to be able to integrate, not necessarily find perfection, right? So, integration is the goal here. um chapter 20 of family uh from normal proc family processes um by Walsh. Um this chapter also talks more about family rituals. Um kind of some of the things that we did touch on. I'll just highlight a few pieces here. Um, but basically just talking about the different types of rituals like obviously there's celebrations and birthdays and holidays and cultural traditions, but there's also family traditions like Sunday dinners, bedtime stories, vacations. Maybe the family has a certain vacation that they do every summer, reunions, things like that. Life cycle rituals like what happens at birth, adolescence, marriage, death. um they can be cultural, they can be um just traditions within the family system. Um it can come from more of a ritual lens versus a cultural lens and or both, you know. So you really want to kind of look into the reason what makes what a part of the family's rituals. What happens when rituals break down? Families under stress may abandon the rituals and they can be unintentionally. Um, overly rigid or empty rituals may alienate family members. So, sometimes reclaiming those or adapting them can help restore those connections and meanings. Sometimes you just lose sight of it due to stressors and things happening. Like let's say somebody's had a major loss in the family and it was just you know something that just really hit everybody by you know surprise. No one was expecting it. Someone very close maybe the glue of the family. Um and yes they may have rituals within loss and grief and things but maybe they just didn't apply any of those because it just hit everyone such different ways. So sometimes helping reconnect those are going to be helpful in finding meanings for people. Oops, sorry. Reinventing those rituals um so families can co-create rituals um you know and it may be helpful to talk about that in in sessions. Um they don't need to be grand, they just need to be meaningful and something small for them in finding that meaning. Um and it can involve children and um elders alike as well. Include those people. Include if you need to bring in cultural um pe aspects and people from their lives. Let's say someone um you know finding meaning in like let's say a spiritual advisor or someone who's part of their culture. Bring them in. get the documentation and so that people can be brought into that. Um have them sign the confidentiality forms and things like that and see if they clients will be okay to that include them in sessions might be very insightful rituals in clinical practice. Um they can clinicians can use rituals to help families process grief uh transitions or conflicts. Uh therapeutic rituals like letterw writing and acts of symbols. They can offer closure. Okay. Or reconnections in some sense. Um so invite the families to reflect on rituals that they value they miss. They don't really feel like they have anymore. Okay. And for you all to think about a little bit about what rituals are most sort of disappear over time. Also, what new rituals could help meet your family's needs? now. Okay. But think about some of those things like think about culture, current family practices as well. All right. Now, I just wanted to throw in a little few pieces here. Um, as I know that we are in our last week of this term, some things I kind of wanted to throw at you about the field in general. Um, and just some tidbits I wanted to share and leave you off with. Um, so as you move forward in your degree and career, some things I want you to keep in mind. Keep doing your inner work, okay? To self therapist, your own processes, your transference, counter transplants. The best clinicians are self-rele reflective not perfect. Okay. Use theories and tools but never forget the power of the relationship. The person in front of you always comes first. So please focus on the power of the therapeutic relationship um and being able to use those theories and tools when working with your clients. And remember your job is not to fix people. We don't have the magic wand. We are not medical providers that, you know, we can prescribe something and they'll feel all better in two weeks and the rash is gone or something. You know, we're we're not that type. It's by uh our job is to walk with them, witness their pain, hold space for growth, really be there in those moments, and help them navigate what they need and where they want to go. Okay? And that's not necessarily fixing people. It'll get them to a different space that they might have needed some openings for. Okay. And I and I saw this somewhere. I can't remember when. It's been so long. Um but you know, I really like this. I thought it was really beautiful and I wanted to include it for you guys. um as you step into the next chapter of your professional lives want to remind you of something important. So this kind of ties into the niche niche whatever um I want you to kind of start considering thinking about what your focus or emphasis or niche would be. Uh we've talked about it multiple times. Our our course and maybe other courses that you've had with me. Um in psychology there are many paths. You can work clinically, research, advocacy, policy, teaching, consulting and more. There's beauty of this field is that your niche doesn't always have to look like someone else's. Those could be or two three people could work on advocacy but different aspects of it, right? um paying attention to what energizes you, maybe what doesn't, um to the work that you find yourself coming back to, even when it's hard, that's where your contribution is going to matter the most. And when you find it, whether it's working with children or marginalized communities or trauma, you know, maybe um adolescence or substance use and abuse, um whatever it is, pour into it. Learn it deeply. Then just dive in and learn and learn and learn and learn and grow. Serve with excellence. Own your space with humility and confidence. And the world doesn't need a version of you trying to fit with someone else's role, okay? It needs you doing your work in your work in your voice in your way and obviously obeying by all rules and regulations and laws and ethics and all that good stuff. But that's where you're going to thrive. Okay? That's where you're going to make the difference is when you feel like you really connect with something and you really kind of effortlessly are able to help support, right? Because that's what's going to come natural, right? So think about some of those things um as you move forward in your degree um and your career um and you know different stages of your life cycle as well and how those can be impactful. Okay. And as always take care of your mind, your own self-care, your own body. These are big big big pieces simple little pictures here but there are big pieces of us that are important for us to continue hard at as we are students as we are you know working in the field and have been in the field let's say 30 40 years you know it's still going to be the same we still have to do those things for ourselves as we are human too well I want to thank you all for the last uh 10 weeks or so um some of you folks I've seen before in other classes hopefully I'll see some you in future courses with us. Um, should you need anything, please don't hesitate to email me, text me on my number. Um, and get a hold of me if you need anything. Um, I wish you all the success, all the good wishes ahead in your future courses and professional work as well. Um, and um, yeah, reach out if there's anything that you need. Um, if you need anything during office hours or outside of those hours or anything like that, just please reach out. I'm happy to help and support in any way I can. Uh, it's been a great course. You guys have worked really well. Um, I should have all the grades. Um, most of the grades, I know there's some pending. Um, so most of those grades I'm working on getting to you by, uh, Friday s, excuse me, Friday, Saturday this week. um so that you shall have a kind of g range where you're at. But everything is looking good so far and everything that I've been working on. So just wanted to give you guys that and I hope that you all are doing well and I will see you around in future courses. Take care everybody. Bye.