Completing Counseling Analysis

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Pages: 9

I absolutely love going back to school. After 12 years of professional isolation, it feels amazing to interact with others and challenge myself both physically, mentally and emotionally. Although the content is vast and overwhelming, each chapter has been thought provoking and inspired a deep desire to learn. This class has been an experience that represents a turning point in my life. Completing Counseling 5100 means much more than checking a course off the list in a graduate program. I have learned a great deal about myself and others. An overall look back at the experience gives perspective about what has been learned and what beliefs and behaviors have been developed or questioned and ultimately this has impacted the counselor I will become. …show more content…
Watching Dr. Cowles during our group therapy class was fascinating to me. I immediately saw that communication with a client is a learned skill. An expertise I don’t naturally have. Another behavior I’m trying to develop is how to share in class. The subject matter is intriguing to me; I have thoughts about everything, but I don’t want to dominate or talk too much. In the future classes, I will try to control this urge a little more. Because I learned from listening to others, it confirms what I believe about myself. I find people interesting. I value what my peers have to say. No matter what age we are, we each have our own wisdom and experiences that can help each of us grow as counselors. Unfortunately, I learned that my communication skills are rusty. For example, I find myself struggling to express my thoughts into words. The ideas are in my head, but speaking those thoughts continues to be a skill I must continue to focus on in the future. I also discovered that I’m not able to invest too fully into new friendships because communicating is energy expended. My physical disability does effect the ability to form new relationships. For example, I was not able to offer Sherrie too deep a friendship. I have truly been isolated for 15 years, communicating only with family and a few close friends. Having something as simple as a friendly phone call, ultimately proved to be more than I could offer. It does worry me some because I know that communicating with clients will be energy consuming. I hope that communicating will be like exercising. The more you do it, the easier it gets. I believe I’ll have to work hard to become more extraverted and open to new