The weekend!

Wow! What a weekend, it was very busy. I felt like there wasn't any down time at all. Well, the weekend started on Friday since I had the day off from work. I took my cousins, ages 10 and 7 who are visiting from the fine state of California, ice skating. My little sis came with us, but she did not ice skate. Instead she went off to buy her big sis a birthday gift, since my birthday is only 5 days away. Woo hoo! The ice skating was much fun. I didnt know i was that good at it, i guess the roller blading pays off. We had a great time and I ran into, literally :), this very nice looking young man. It was pretty funny. Even though I have pretty decent balance, i am still a klutz. :) Friday evening, I got myself all prettied up (If I do say so myself, I looked pretty damn good) and headed out to a very fancy dinner with my brother, mom, dad, aunt and uncle (also visiting from Cali). We went to the III Forks out on the tollway, it was a good time. The III Forks is a pretty darn fancy steakhouse, so I was out of place for two reasons. First, I dont usually like to get all fancied up, I often feel out of place. Two, all there was to eat was steak and seafood and since i barely eat either, i was SOL. :) There was one thing on the menu that I would eat, so I ordered fried shrimp. I am not a big fan of fried food, but it was ok. They did have a very good salad there, it was yummy. Anyway, minus the fact that i was surrounded by big slabs of meat, the conversation and company was nice. Overall, it was a good time. Saturday started off with a brunch at my folks house. It was very good. Omeletes, pancakes, bacon, sausage, the works. the omelettes were great. Then my mom, aunt and I went shopping for a dress for Mark and Natalie's wedding. At first, it was very depressing, but soon, we hit a store that had many great dresses that fit me very well. So, i ended up finding a very cute black dress for a reasonable price. I still have shoes, accesories and a purse to match it to go, but i still have some time. It was nice to shop with my mom and aunt, they are great shoppers. Shopping makes me tired, especially when i am looking for something in particular. so, after the shopping spree, i headed home and sort of watched some tv, basically i fell asleep on the couch. Then, my good bud (soon to be roommate), Leslie called and said she was driving into town from College Station and she wanted to hang out, so I headed over there and we watched "Punch Drunk Love". I am a huge Adam Sandler fan and this movie was not your typical Sandler flick, but I really liked it. I thought it was a very unique and quirky romance. sunday morning at 10:30, which is early for me on a sunday, leslie came over so we could go check out our new apartment. It seems that the apartment people dont open till 1:00. You'd think I would know that since i have lived here for almost a year now, but anyway. Les and I hung out at my place till they opened and then we got to check out our new apartment. It is very nice, I am very excited about moving into a two bedroom. I like the layout a lot and the company of a kick ass roommate will be very cool also. :) then, off to mom and dad's house again for more food. It seems that when Lebanese people get together, all they do is eat. It is crazy. Now, I am back at home just relaxing a bit before William and Leslie come over for an evening of fun and relaxation. I love hanging with good buds and having good conversation. The Narghile (Hookah) is a great addition to this fine conversation. :)

Well, I have recieved a few of my birthday gifts this weekend, so I will go ahead and fill you all in. My aunt and uncle from Cali gave me a Smoothie Elite. It is so great!! It will be all hooked up at my party this coming weekend. My brother gave me the Top Gun DVD and the Breakfast Club DVD. Two fantastic movies that any 80's fan should own. My mom and dad are paying for my last two semesters of school (I told them that was more than enough), but my mom paid for my dress, some face lotion I have been needing and just havent bought and she said she wanted to pay for the shoes that go with the dress when we find them. How great are they? :) i am really excited about the coming week. i think the birthday week has begun. YEAH!!! My good friend Jason is coming into town on Thursday night and then I will see my old roomie, May-Ling and my good friend Kim, both from austin this weekend. have I mentioned that I love birthdays?!! Well, I better get cleaned up before will and leslie come over.

~Nada

Social Work - Advanced Micro Practice

Advanced Micro Practice is one of the classes I am taking this summer to continue working on my master's degree in social work. Basically, this class discusses the different theories, techniques, and interventions a social worker can use when working with different clients who are experiencing a range of different problems. Last week, we discussed Attachement Theory. This theory stresses the need to be close to another person, even as an adult. This need is not pathological and frustration of this need can lead to depression and anxiety. The main component of this theory states that psychological problems stem from deficits in relationsihps and/or deficits or distortions in internal representations of self, others, and relationships. Basically, the theory is stating that everyone needs attachments to others in their life and if these attachements do not exsist, depression and anxeity can be a very likely outcome.

Yesterday in class, we discussed Cognitive Therapy (my favorite theory and more than likely the intervention techniqes that i would use with clients). This theory is one of the best to use when working with teenagers and teens are definitley the people I would like to work with. On a little side note, I am doing my second internship at the Plano ISD Special Programs Center. I had my interview last week. It is the PERFECT place for me to do my internship. It is a 100% clinical setting where i will have my own claseload of individual clients and I will also have the opportunity to lead several skills based group sessions. I am very excited. I don't think I could have dreamed up a better internship placement! Anyway, back to Cognitive Therapy or CT. Cognitive therapy rests on the premise that cognitions or internal thoughts are the major determinants of how we feel and act. CT assumes that the internal dialogues of clients play a major role in their behavior. The ways in which individuals monitor and instruct themselves and interpret events in their life sheds light on the dynamics of disorders such as depression and anxiety. Aaron Beck who is the key spokesperson for CT, describes a triad of depressive cognitions. He says that "the self as inadequate", "the environment as not reinforcing", and "the future as devoid of hope" form three points of a triangle. This triangle describes the cycle that a client who is depressed can get into. The client will see themselves as inadequate or unworthy and they will also believe that their surroundings and environment have nothing to offer them and that they have no future ahead of them. They go round and round with themselves and with all these negative thoughts in their head until they truly believe that they are not worth anything and have nothing to offer with no future ahead of them. So, in short, they become depressed because of all the negative self talk that is occuring in their head. If someone tells themself all the time that they are not worth anything and will never amount to anything in this world, then they will live their life like that is the truth and that leads to depression. It is the job of a cognitive therapist to help that client understand their affective and behavioral responses to certain situations in their lives. To help them understand why they react a certain way or why they think a certain negative thought when something happens in their life. If a client can become aware of their thoughts and when they occur, they have a much better chance of stopping those thoughts when they do occur. There are several different intervention techniques that cognitive therapists use to help clients achieve their goals in therapy, but I think those can be left for another post. :)

I have been thinking all day about these different therapies and wondering if i am really ready to help teenagers work through some of their problems because come August 25, that is what my job will be. I am very confident in my skills as a presenter and my knowledge of issues that surround sexual assualt. That has been the focus of my job for a few years now. But, i am not as confident in my skills as a therapist. I have had the schooling and I possess the empathy and genuineness to be a therapist, but i am not confident in my skills yet. My coworkers and friends in the field have told me that it will just take practice. They said they were petrified during their first session with their first client. i am sure i will also be scared, but I hope that I have the courage to help make the difference in that young person's life. If I can make one day in one teen's life just a little bit better, then all this studying and driving (to Arlington) and worrying will be worth it. ok, enough rambling, I think I am going to watch an episode of Friends and hit the sack.
~Nada

just checking out this comments thing
~Nada

Hello all,

This is my first post!! I have officially joined the world of online journalers. All of a sudden, I feel very connected to a lot of great people. What a good feeling! Well, this will be a short post, but come back often to read all the crazy thoughts that go through my head. :)
~Nada