The purpose of the present post is to complete an assignment. Surprisingly, though an assignment, this post will be a reflective post. Fortuitously I have one class this semester that requires regular reflective posts. But rest assured, I also already have academic papers that have been assigned for the semester, so practice on that front will be unavoidable.
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What are my hopes and fears for counseling this semester? In learning a new skill it is only natural that I hope to be good at it. Yes, I hope that the people I counsel will experience positive change in their lives as a result of our time together. I hope to be a good listener for each client I see. I hope that my clients feel accepted and encouraged by me. I want to be a voice of encouragement in situations of despair and disappointment. I want to help my clients gain insight into their lives. I hope that they will get a glimpse of God's love for each of them, through me. I hope my clients will trust me and be honest with me.
However, I also know that I will not be good at counseling. So I have hopes to learn this semester. I hope to learn from my supervisor, my peers, and my clients about things I am doing well, things I am doing poorly, and things I can do to improve. I hope to learn to how to solicit honest feedback from my clients. I hope to receive feedback well, and to learn much from it. I hope to gain insight and method in the way that I think about individual clients, reflect on past sessions, and plan for future sessions. I hope that a theory will find me, or at least begin to find me.
Practically, I hope for a good caseload. I hope for clients who will be reliable in returning phone calls, coming to appointments, and calling to cancel an appointment. I hope for very few no-shows, even though I have been told this wish is unlikely to be fulfilled.
I also hope, as in everything that I do, to learn more about God through counseling. I hope to gain his heart of compassion for each person I meet with. I hope to understand his purpose for me and for the world in a deeper way. I hope to hear from him what he thinks about each of my clients, and commit each of them to him in prayer.
I fear going into sessions and not knowing what to do or what to say. I fear being panicked when the time comes to bring the client in from the waiting room. I fear handling an emergency or a suicidal client, and messing up the procedure for what I'm supposed to do at the CAC. I hope to commit these fears to God in prayer, so that I am not overwhelmed by them.
I am afraid of disappointing my supervisor, because I want his approval. I hope for a great relationship with him.
I worry that I will be so busy with other schoolwork that I will neglect doing things that I should to prepare for sessions. I do not know how much time I will spend watching tapes and preparing for sessions. I think that there will always be more that I could do to prepare, and I worry about not doing enough. Thus I fear not being able to manage all my responsibilities well, and being distracted in all I undertake. I hope to find a good balance.
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I wonder if this post would have been much different if I had also included expectations.
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What are my hopes and fears for counseling this semester? In learning a new skill it is only natural that I hope to be good at it. Yes, I hope that the people I counsel will experience positive change in their lives as a result of our time together. I hope to be a good listener for each client I see. I hope that my clients feel accepted and encouraged by me. I want to be a voice of encouragement in situations of despair and disappointment. I want to help my clients gain insight into their lives. I hope that they will get a glimpse of God's love for each of them, through me. I hope my clients will trust me and be honest with me.
However, I also know that I will not be good at counseling. So I have hopes to learn this semester. I hope to learn from my supervisor, my peers, and my clients about things I am doing well, things I am doing poorly, and things I can do to improve. I hope to learn to how to solicit honest feedback from my clients. I hope to receive feedback well, and to learn much from it. I hope to gain insight and method in the way that I think about individual clients, reflect on past sessions, and plan for future sessions. I hope that a theory will find me, or at least begin to find me.
Practically, I hope for a good caseload. I hope for clients who will be reliable in returning phone calls, coming to appointments, and calling to cancel an appointment. I hope for very few no-shows, even though I have been told this wish is unlikely to be fulfilled.
I also hope, as in everything that I do, to learn more about God through counseling. I hope to gain his heart of compassion for each person I meet with. I hope to understand his purpose for me and for the world in a deeper way. I hope to hear from him what he thinks about each of my clients, and commit each of them to him in prayer.
I fear going into sessions and not knowing what to do or what to say. I fear being panicked when the time comes to bring the client in from the waiting room. I fear handling an emergency or a suicidal client, and messing up the procedure for what I'm supposed to do at the CAC. I hope to commit these fears to God in prayer, so that I am not overwhelmed by them.
I am afraid of disappointing my supervisor, because I want his approval. I hope for a great relationship with him.
I worry that I will be so busy with other schoolwork that I will neglect doing things that I should to prepare for sessions. I do not know how much time I will spend watching tapes and preparing for sessions. I think that there will always be more that I could do to prepare, and I worry about not doing enough. Thus I fear not being able to manage all my responsibilities well, and being distracted in all I undertake. I hope to find a good balance.
.....
I wonder if this post would have been much different if I had also included expectations.
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