Trainee diary: Counselling Skills
Cherished memories and lessons learnt
Having been asked to bring in five items from home, I was really looking forward to this week’s class. I was intrigued and thought it would be a way of sharing a bit more about ourselves through our objects. We were separated into groups of four and asked to set our objects out on the [...]
Unconditional positive regard
We were set a task this week where we were asked to research someone who had been in the news recently due to her controversially based therapy work. She is a Christian counsellor and she believes homosexuality is a sin and a mental illness. She believes she can reverse sexual orientation. This belief has raised a lot [...]
How many trainee counsellors does it take to change a light bulb?
We were asked this week to jot down either a recent dream or a dream that we could recall easily. I wrote mine down quickly as it was a dream I’d had frequently as a child. It’s not a particularly pleasant dream and after I’d written it I wondered if I was a bit loopy! [...]
Reading between the lines……
After a check in we were split up into groups of four. Within the groups there would be a helper, helpee and two observers. The helper and helpee were then asked to leave the room. Myself and my remaining group member were then told that we would be observing, with a twist. I was asked [...]
Data Gathering
I guess sometimes we can be overloaded with information. Say, for instance, you’re having a conversation with a friend who tells you that her sister’s, best friend’s, cousin’s, auntie’s, brother’s uncle was a farmer. That his grandfather was a farmer and that his nephew was thinking of becoming a farmer. How would you remember where [...]
Emotions and Being Understood
I felt very ill and very emotional during class this week. Ill because, unbeknown to me, I had Bronchitis. (That’s dedication!) Emotional because it’s an odd time of year for me, coupled with being ill. I don’t do “ill” well. I always want my Mummy! (I’m 37, does this matter?) I become bored and frustrated [...]
Squeals and Strudel
We carried out a fun experiment toward the end of our lesson this week. We were divided into two groups and we were put into separate rooms. My group was then asked to invent a new language. We were also asked to include signs/actions as well. At first we all sort of stood around making [...]
Role-play reactions
Well, well, well, I am all singing, all dancing once more - a great weekend with good friends and a wee tipple may have helped … I’m only human! Anyway, anyway, anyway, back to the task in hand!! We started with a check in this week. I thought really hard about what I’d share with the [...]
Looking through the ‘Johari Window’.
Who has heard of the “Johari Window”?? I hadn’t until last week. Our tutor began by showing us a picture of said window and explaining what the theory behind it is all about. So what is it? It’s a simple and useful tool for establishing and improving self-awareness. It’s a great way to give and [...]
All in all an “Egg”cellent week’s work!
During the first class this week we began with another “warming up” session. We were asked to throw a ball to someone and whoever received it was asked to talk about something significant that had happened in their week. I loathe ball games. This stems from a time at school where my P.E. teacher had thrown three [...]