Respond to the Classmate’s Discussion as you would in a face-to face class by stating why you agree with their discussion, asking questions and stating your point of view.
Classmate’s Discussion
Something discussed in the lecture that I appreciated deeply was the commentary on how children are impacted by divorce as well as the loss of a parent. Children tend to connect their behavior to negative experiences and tend to blame themselves for negative outcomes. Many children try to bargain and commit to behaving better if their parents stay together or if a lost loved one can be returned. I am curious as to how a family counselor would respond to seeing children respond this way in a session. How can a counselor or parent help the child understand that the divorce is not a result of poor behavior, while also validating toward their feelings about the situation? It seems like it would be a difficult balance to find, and I would be interested to see how a situation like that may play out in therapy. It is important to consider how divorce or separation effects children.
Another interesting topic discussed during this section was the conversation regarding the formation of memories. I thought it was particularly interesting to think that the mural pathways that facilitate learning new information are distinct from the pathways that enable the retrieval of information. I had never considered that, it helped me understand why certain methods of studying emphasize recalling information and making connections as opposed to simply reading material or memorizing. Overall, this was a very interesting, useful, and informative module.