PERSONAL GROWTH
I learned psychological flexibility. According to Kashdan and Rottenberg (2010), psychological flexibility is the ability to adapt to situational demands, balance life demands, and commit to behaviours.
During the roadshow, we planned and executed 2 games for the participants to increase their understanding and awareness about the lesser-known impacts of problem gambling.
Initially, for the first game, the participants had 1 minute to correctly match at least 5 situations on the cards to their corresponding impacts of problem gambling.
However, right before the roadshow started, we realised that 1 minute was actually too short for them to match at least 5 cards, as even our own group member had difficulty doing so.
Hence, we decided to change the timing to 1 minute 45 seconds as it was more doable. This shows flexibility as we changed the rules and stuck with it for the rest of the roadshow, despite it being last minute. Our decision to increase the timing turned out well as most participants were able to match the minimum requirement of cards.
Whereas for the second game, participants had to stab a pirate barrel with different coloured swords, and if the pirate from the barrel popped out, the question will be picked accordingly to the corresponding sword colour that made the pirate pop out. This process will be repeated for 3 rounds.
However, half-way through the roadshow, we realised that participants started to get bored and frustrated as it could take a long time for the pirate to pop out. Hence, we modified the rules so that participants would just pick a coloured sword, stab the barrel and the corresponding question will be given to them (regardless of whether the pirate pops out or not). The process of playing the game was speeded up and as a result, the groups waiting in line for their turn did not have to wait that long as well. Additionally, after implementing the modified rules, the participants showed more interest in completing the game. This shows flexibility as even in a fast-paced and stressful situation, we were able to quickly modify the rules for better efficiency.
This learning of psychological flexibility matters because I would like to work as a therapist in the future.
According to Owen and Hilsenroth (2014), the flexibility that therapists demonstrate, in terms of technique for a given treatment, appears to be related to better outcomes for their clients. Clients receive better outcomes for their treatment when their therapist showcases higher flexibility levels during their treatment plans, compared to therapists who are less flexible with their interventions.
Therapist flexibility in technique is important, especially when assessing the client’s responsiveness to the treatment plan. For instance, with some clients, more techniques may be needed because they are less motivated, more distressed or defensive, whereas other clients may need fewer techniques as they are more motivated, or are progressing better (Stiles, Honos-Webb, & Surko, 1998).
Therefore, this learning of psychological flexibility matters as it is a vital aspect of a good therapist, which is what I would like to work as in the future. As every client has differing situations with different underlying issues, I would need to be flexible to be able to adapt quickly to new situations, instead of focusing only on one technique or one way to help them.
Kashdan, T. B., & Rottenberg, J. (2010). Psychological flexibility as a fundamental aspect of health. Clinical Psychological Review, 30(7), 865-78. doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2010.03.001
Owen, J., & Hilsenroth, M. J. (2014). Treatment adherence: The importance of therapist flexibility in relation to therapy outcomes. Journal of counselling psychology, 61(2), 280-288. doi:10.1037/a0035753
Stiles, W. B., Honos‐Webb, L., & Surko, M. (1998). Responsiveness in psychotherapy. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 5(4), 439-458. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2850.1998.tb00166.x