Reflection on the Event:

Presentation: I began by addressing feedback from the previous event, which highlighted three main points:

1. The activities were too difficult.

2. I needed to be more facilitative.

3. The event was emotionally draining because it dealt with core beliefs and could potentially reopen wounds.

As the host of the psychology society, I realized it was important to embody the qualities of a therapist. Eliciting, listening, and applying feedback are essential, and it's a core principle in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to collaborate and seek feedback from attendees.

Another quality I needed to embody was eliciting more perspectives from the attendees. After introducing the concept of Living Consciously, I shared a short self-disclosure and then asked each attendee, "Why are you seeking to live consciously?" This simple question engaged them significantly.

Activity: To address the difficulty of the activities, I started with a warm-up. I presented "Comedian" by Maurizio Cattelan, which is literally a banana taped to a wall. I chose this artwork because I remembered Ryan, the host of the Art Club, presenting the same piece, and everyone had drastically different reactions. Similarly, the attendees at this event had varied reactions. I asked them how they felt about it, what they thought about it, what bodily sensations they experienced, and what behavior they would exhibit towards it. Each attendee’s reactions showcased their core beliefs.

For the main activity, I integrated principles from Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and my observations from Ryan's event (essentially art therapy), and the outcome was very inquisitive. The attendees discovered meta-analyses through the worksheets on their own, which was not something I had intentionally planned. They recognized that they related to certain themes more than others.

Round Table Synthesis: An example of this meta-analysis is an attendee who practiced solitude and realized they couldn't say much about it compared to other themes, indicating something they needed to introspect on further. Many attendees had different meta-analyses of themselves, which I hadn't anticipated could be achieved through art therapy. Some of my friends even analyzed my choice of artworks and shared their thoughts during the synthesis, which I found very funny.

Post-event Thoughts: I recognized that I should embody the qualities of a therapist as it's in line with the theme of the psychology society. This includes focusing on engaging the attendees and minimizing self-disclosure. Seeking feedback and collaborating on future events is also essential. Please feel free to privately message me on Messenger (there should be a link below) for any feedback or suggestions.