We are starting to think about where we might study next. I am considering the next year of the diploma. K is thinking about the MA, brave soul. Quite honestly the price makes me blench (plus paying for my own counselling) so It's the diploma for me. We also need to think about the next essay.
What was clarifeid for me about the act of counselling another is the need for self awareness. That is to say; it's fine to feel the same emotions as your client but, in order to avoid the horrors of counter-transference, one must be AWARE of one's identification with the client's feelings and seek to maintain a distance from them. This is to avoid the danger of projecting one's own desires onto the actions of another. K put it very well: We are human. Humans have needs. If needs are not acknowledged, they may (on an unconscious level) become demands. This was reassuring because as a counsellor, one is not an 'expert' necessarily, though I suppose that depends on the context of the counselling relationship.
On a practical level we started on the practical tasks of learning to establish a relationship with a client.
T and I discussed a 'script' for this purpose and decided that:
- be friendly and welcoming, good eye contact. Introduce oneself and establish the other person's name from the off.
- set up the framework eg: ' we're just going to talk about our previous experiences of being counselled for about five minutes'
- focus on client, open body language, encouraging 'um-hums' etc.
We engaged in role play in triads. K, V and I took turns to play at being a newcomer to the group and encouraged the newbie to relate a previous experience of counselling that had helped them. Very interesting to consider our non-verbal communication skills. For some peculiar reason I had a tight grip on my phone and I wasn't even the timekeeper. K also noted that I was a bit keen to leap in with observations from my own experience. All good feedback. K seems very accomplished, I must say. Her input is very valuable.
Arranged tutorial with A for next week.
