The Beginning of My Journey
Question:
Discuss about the Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation.
Four years ago, when I started my Diploma in community services, I never thought that I was going to be in this position today where I am almost finishing my Bachelor degree in counselling. Back then, all I knew was that I loved to work with people and had the skills to listen and give a sincere feedback/opinion to my friends about their problems. This intrinsic skill pushed me to pursue my degree. At this stage, I was unaware of the enormous learning curve I was about to embark. Using PACFA (Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia) training standards, this report will demonstrate the integration of key learning’s in counselling which I have developed during the last three years of my studies which includes my growth on self-awareness, relational capacity, the application of counselling skills in practice and ethical decision making, using samples of assessments and lecturers feedback.
I was completely sure at the beginning that I was going to exceed because of the enormous positivity in me. However, I was very wrong. The second Assessment was an essay discussing the history and philosophy of happiness and the role of positive psychology in promoting happiness through counselling in which I failed miserably. Some of the comments I received on the essay said, “You are overviewing the concepts but what you actually need is, to provide evidence-based descriptions of exactly how things will be used.”, “The last sections had more descriptions of theory than definitive interventions with explanations”. Seligman (2000) believed that Positive psychology helped people in making their lives more productive and fulfilling (as cited in Magyar-Moe, 2009). I was one of those people who always looked at life in a positive light, yet it was so difficult for me to transfer those thoughts and feelings on paper.
I felt disheartened. Obviously, I needed to work more on my writing skills, but most importantly, I did not possess the ability to connect theory with real-life examples. I remember thinking that maybe I was not doing enough and I needed to do more than just reading. It was necessary that I made connections between the model/theory and reflect on how and why I could apply these approaches to every client. I needed to trust the ability of me and my client about working in collaboration during the sessions. During placement I worked in a collaborative team with my clients, I did not need to have all the answers; I was there to learn with them and for them. I learned to stay with clients rather than getting in front of them. I learned that a small change can also be a positive one, and hopefully, that small change will be the one that can help my client to have a better and more positive perspective on his/her future.
I am a very physically active person; I was really excited about this unit because I felt like I could bring all my personal experience and connect it with the unit’s theory. I knew about the importance of physical exercise and what it does to your mind and your body. I had the opportunity to write about a case study, identifying key issues creating an appropriate action plan for responding to those issues. Unfortunately, I did not do enough to create a supportive and engaging action plan for my client. Looking back now, I can see how I did not have an open mind and I failed to understand that for some people physical activity was not a priority. I fell short of putting myself in my client’s shoes. I did not have the capacity to use my solutions to focus on counselling because I was more focused on my client’s problems than on her strengths (Geldard, Geldard & Foo, 2016).
The Enormous Learning Curve
The feedback my lecturer gave was “Improve your mark and focus more on the therapeutic content of your action plan”. I was not exercising the capacity that I possessed to extend my knowledge and my counselor skills further enough. During my time on placement, I learned to create plans according to my client’s needs, using solution focus therapy (SFT) based on my client’s strengths and attributes. By the end of my placement, I learned the importance of focusing on the importance of the therapeutic relationship and to use my own experiences as a part of the session. I particularly remember this client, who could not stand for more than five minutes at a time, by the end of therapy she was able to take control of her health by walking 30 minutes daily with her dogs; at the same time, this working relationship allowed us to create SMART goals for her to create a new future.
This unit helped me understand what a literature review was and the steps required to work on a project proposal. Initially, I did not comprehend what the benefit was to have this unit in Counselling. After the first week’s readings, it was clear to me that with my degree I could and should do more than just working with single clients as my responsibility is not just with clients but also with communities in general. Parham (2011) stated that counsellors and psychologists should “stretch behaviourally beyond their personal boundaries of comfort and safety using a more of ‘thee’ and less of ‘me’ mindset in order to frame their adventure into new territory” (as cited in Jacobs, Hoffman, Leach & Gerstein, 2011, p.1209). It has become clear to me that research and action are valuable tools for us as counsellors to be able to respond to socio-psychological events on a large scale.
Consequently, I had a fantastic feedback, a part of which reads, “This is an interesting literature review that skilfully synthesizes the key research and findings related to food insecurity and its social and psychological impacts on single mothers”. This unit has taught me that I should share my skills in more than one way; it could be through research, action, prevention, and advocacy. The possibilities are endless. It is obvious that my career is just starting but I can honestly say that I have much more expectations and social responsibilities on myself that I have acquired with this degree. I believe my self-awareness has increased after taking this unit and I feel that after my placement all these experiences will play an important role in my future therapeutic work regardless of the setting.
Relational capacity in a counselling scenario as defined by McLeod & McLeod (2014) is the counsellor’s emotional and psychological capacity and competency in relating to self and others. I believe this is not an easy achievement, as the counsellor needs to be able to engage with people from diverse cultures and ethnicities while being authentic and grounded.
The theory that I chose to complete assignment-two was cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). I provided an overview of the history, principles, and goals, as well as the key concepts. I chose CBT because I felt more confident about my knowledge in this area. My tutor feedback said “A good understanding of CBT demonstrated overall. Some of the personal reflections and examples here, while on the right track, should have been covered in more depth”. While I had some knowledge of CBT theory, it was obvious that I was still miles away to be able to apply this theory correctly. Hough (2014) points out that “Counselling theory deals with assumptions and hypotheses about the human development”. At this stage, I was not fully aware of how important this theory was if I wanted to continue with my journey to become a skilled counsellor.
Improving Writing Skills and Theory Application
In the same way, McLeod (2009) stated, “A theory provides a way of interpreting events with the aim of understanding them”. It became clear that theories frame counselling sessions allowing the client to become fully engaged in the whole process. This idea was sinking into my head in the second year. During placement, I had the opportunity to use different approaches allowing me to see how psychological theories could be use in different settings with different clients. I started to develop the ability to assess and evaluate client’s struggles and then working together in a therapeutic partnership in developing strategies to overcome those struggles. It was easier to run the session if I had a clear understanding of what approach to use with the client, this allowed me to focus on the direction that the therapy should go according to the circumstances and goals my client’s. I also become aware that strategies and goals can also change, because life is always changing.
The second assignment was a practice session, where I had the opportunity to put in practice-based counselling skills and advanced counselling skills. It was a recorded video that lasted 22 minutes, which required a lot of effort to make, as I felt very nervous due to which my communication with the client was not very clear. I poorly chose my words and my paraphrasing, therefore the direction of the session was not clear, and my client was a bit disconnected with the whole process. Geldard, Geldard & Foo (2016) believe that paraphrasing is a foundation micro-skill, which allows the client to feel that they are important because they are being heard. I can see how I was over thinking every word that I was saying. The development of my therapeutic skills, to become more confident in my theoretical knowledge and to be able to connect them both when dealing with a client has been a long and hard road.
Consequently, lecturer’s feedback was “Whilst you do seem to follow the gist of the story, you don’t make this clear enough and it becomes unclear what the session is actually about”. The lesson for me was to trust and believe in myself; to use and practice my accurate listening skills and my paraphrasing, to immerse myself in the client’s story making connections with the knowledge that I possess. This experience pushed me to learn meditation to overcome my nerves and that was a huge help during placement. Therefore, I did stay connected with my clients and I used my paraphrasing skills to sort out any confusion.
AOD has been one of the more challenging units I had ever done as it actually tested my values and my beliefs. In one assignment, I had to create an assessment and case formulation for the main characters in a film called Candy. I was cautious about trying things out and to step out of my comfort zone. This movie made me feel really uncomfortable, it was shocking for my values and what I think is good not only for me but for others and the community in general. During my younger years, I saw too many kids get lost in drugs and alcohol; I saw families who suffered immensely when they lost their loved ones to drug abuse. Undoubtedly, my beliefs and behaviours had been influenced by messages portrayed by the media and society in general. These experiences, however, helped me create my own attitudes towards life; they define who I am today.
Importance of Focusing on Client’s Needs
Tutor feedback was “Your paper was a good effort. Some more work is needed in developing the specifics of your treatment plan and supporting this with research-based evidence to ensure that your specific choices are efficacious”. I believe that my personal feelings and biases shaded my ethical judgment on this occasion. Pope & Vasquez (2016) proposes that “being relentlessly honest with ourselves will help us to reach the most ethical response to ethical issues”. I came into this unit with a preconceived understanding of AOD. However, by the end of this unit, and thanks to my lecturer, I became aware of my attitude towards people affected by AOD. During placement I was pushed many times out of my comfort zone, I did learn not to be judgemental in my approach with clients. These experiences have increased my self-awareness allowing me to see my clients as unique individuals; I was able to rely on my ethical intelligence to focus on my client’s lives and their choices without being judgemental.
I knew from the start that this unit was going to bring feelings that I did not want to remember; all those memories of grief and loss that I had suppressed for the last 10 years were challenged. Losing someone I loved deeply has been one of the most painful experiences of my life. I had to share these feelings with my lecturer. She was very supportive and showed me that those feelings were not something negative, it was the opposite, and my life experience/wisdom could become a tool when dealing with clients who also have experienced loss and grief. Hooyman & Kramer (2008) affirms, “that the client’s feelings stimulate strong feelings of previous or feared losses” in the counsellor. I was challenged to understand my own grief processes more, to be mindful of the language I should use with my clients and be open and honest to difficulties I could find while projecting my own grief.
The assignment was a 25 minutes video with a client who recently had lost his job. I felt quite comfortable during the video, I knew the needs of my client from the beginning of the session, and I was able to back up my session using Solution Focus Therapy. Lecturer’s feedback was “Your discussion about transference and countertransference, which is the ability to recognize triggers which come up for us within the therapeutic relationship will enable you to continue to grow in this manner and enable you to further cultivate the skills you already have”. Receiving this feedback made me really happy, reassuring me that I was on the right track being helpful and understanding. During the video, I did not show signs of being nervous, my voice projected my empathy towards the client, and my listening skills were accurate. I felt also very confident using SFT, it came naturally, it was not forced; it was just me being a counsellor’s with confidence.
In this unit, the practical and theoretical understanding of how change is facilitated in a counselling setting was the focus. In the first assignment, I needed to create a paper based on a chosen video, explaining how changes in client are facilitated by counselling, linking theories and models. The video used for this work was “Becoming More Fully Human” by Virginia Satir, who is considered one of the early innovators of Family Therapy (Banmen & Banmen, 2014); I was able to explain my theoretical understanding of ways changes occur and its process clearly. While doing this assignment I remember feeling really connected with the literature, which made the writing easy and very enjoyable. I believe this connection was due to my own personal interest in the subject. I see myself working with families and family violence in the future.
Research and Action as Valuable Tools for Counselors
My lecturer’s feedback was “A solid paper well done, a good structure with interesting points in a clearly articulated manner”. I had accomplished what I struggled with at the beginning of my degree, I had made the links. Now it is clear to me that for being a good counsellor I need to work with a logical framework or structure and the theories makes part of that framework act as a guide my counselling sessions (Hough, 2014). I got more exposure to this part of the learning curve while on my placement. I became self-conscious about the therapy that I needed to use with every client and I was successful in helping my clients to recognize their difficulties and to maintain change. It did feel great when my clients were able to maintain that change as it took a lot of hard work from both our sides.
I recently finished my Placement in a private practice and it was the most amazing experience, which exceeded all my expectations and more. My placement was done in a private practice, where I had the opportunity to experience firsthand and learned the different sides of what goes on in the life of a professional counsellor. I saw my supervisor in action, using different types of approaches according to the client’s issues. My supervisor provided me with a supportive environment which allowed me to self-reflect when ethical issues arose; I understood the importance of actually seeing therapy done (Wheeler & King, 2001).I am a visual learner, so through these sessions, I acquired a guiding principle which would stay with me throughout my professional career.
The final assessment of this unit was a reflection of how my professional persona as a counsellor developed on placement; I used my blogs as a source of data combined with academic references. It was clear to me the importance of placement; seeing knowledge applied is an irreplaceable part of training. The knowledge gain through both books and observation is essential to achieve profound learning (Geldard, Geldard & Yin Foo, 2016). My lecturer’s feedback was “This paper has helpfully captured your personal and professional growth, which has been analysed within an academic framework”.
In summary, with this paper, I have been able to evaluate my self-development which is the result of my work during the last three years through readings, workshops, peer to peer support, lecturer’s support, placement and supervision and my willingness and hope to become a valuable counsellor for my future clients. I will forever carry with me a great sense of self-awareness and confidence that upon becoming qualified counsellor will guide me in the right direction and I will be prepared for any kind of a situation.
References
Banmen, J; & Banmen, K. (2014). What Has Become of Virginia Satir’s Therapy Model since She Left Us in 1988? Journal of Family Psychotherapy, 25(2), 117-131. doi:10.1080/08975353.2014.909706
Geldard, D., Geldard, K., & Yin Foo, R. (2016). Basic Personal Counselling: A Training Manual for Counsellors. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral.proquest.com
Hooyman, N., & Kramer, B. (2008). Living through Loss: Interventions Across the Life Span. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral.proquest.com
Hough, N. (2014). Counselling Skills and Theory. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral.proquest.com
Jacobs, S. C; Hoffman, M.A; Leach, M. M; & Gerstein, L. H. (2011). Counselling Psychology and Large-Scale Disasters: Moving on to Action, Practice and Research. The Counselling Psychologist, 39(8), 1203 -1211. doi: 10.1177/0011000011419309
Johns, H. (2012). Personal development in counsellor training. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral.proquest.com
Magyar-Moe, J. L. (2009). Therapist’s Guide to Positive Psychological Interventions. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral.proquest.com
McLeod J. (2009). Introduction to Counselling. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral.proquest.com
McLeod, J., & McLeod, J. (2014). Personal and professional development for Counsellors, Psychotherapists and mental health practitioners. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral.proquest.com
Murphy, R. E. (2010). Psychology of Emotions, Motivations and Actions: Health Psychology. Hauppauge, US: Nova Biomedical. Retrieved from https://www.ebrary.com
Pope, K. S., & Vasquez, M. J. T. (2016). Ethics in psychotherapy and counselling : a practical guide. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral.proquest.com
Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia. (2014). PACFA Training Standards. Retrieved from https://pacfa.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/PACFA-Training-Standards-2014.pdf
Wheeler, S., & King, D. (Eds.). (2001). supervising counsellors: issues of responsibility. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral.proquest.com
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