Orientation to Professional Psychology -- Sami R. Genstein -- 9/5/00

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Counselors choose their profession for a myriad of reasons. Some hope to find answers to their own life questions, while others wish to help those around them. Still others desire the sense that they have made their mark upon the world, whether it be through wealth, power, or influence, or through the knowledge that they have changed someone else's life, hopefully for the better. Many who choose to become counselors find all of these goals compelling, to varying degrees. None of these aspirations are "wrong," or even selfish. They are that which moves us, our hopes and dreams. But they are not enough. They do not make us effective counselors. Becoming an effective counselor takes, among other things: awareness of oneself and others, the ability to form an empathic therapeutic bond, a variety of helping skills gained with time and experience, an understanding of the responsibilities inherent in modern counseling, the application of self-care, and a belief in the use of "self as instrument" and the power of self-actualization. These qualities form the basis of our ability to counsel: as a career, as an art, and as a way of life. Orientation to Professional Psychology focuses on these qualities, challenging us to explore ourselves, both as human beings and as counselors. To that end, it encourages us through experiential learning to become more open, more engaging, and more self-aware. This is the first step to becoming a counselor.

This course exposed me to the art of counseling directly, through exercises and discussions, but most notably through the challenge of being open and self-aware, and expressing that self-awareness to my peers and professors. In our "Getting to Know You" dyads, I found my willingness to self-disclose tempered by my dyad partner's boundaries. At no point did I feel uncomfortable, or as though I was straining to express my thoughts on myself. The developmental awareness exercise later on went similarly well; openness and expression of self-awareness in terms of the meaning of my age as a person and a counselor was easy for me. Despite facility with self-awareness, there are aspects which I intend to improve. My two weak points lie in being less aware of my mind-body connection than I would like, and in my self-doubt. I too often ignore my mind-body connection, becoming unaware of the ways in which less healthy lifestyles can impair my self-care. Additionally, I can give off misleading information to others, including my clients, by unperceived body language on my part. My intent is to, through experience in holistic courses at Lesley as well as activities such as yoga or T'ai Chi, increase my comfort and awareness of my existence in the physical world. My self-doubt, though lessened over time between my burnout and the present, hinders me in performing to my capacity. I feel this particular challenge will be overcome through experience and the greater trust in myself that experience offers.

But it is not simply enough to be aware of oneself. One must be aware of one's client in order to establish correct empathy. As a counselor, I use many of the same qualities necessary for self-awareness towards awareness of the client. To understand the client well, a prerequisite for accurate empathy, I also need to understand the client's cultural identity, as well as my own. This skill is particularly useful when dealing with clients who are from cultures with ways of relating which are different than my own (for example, cultures for whom not looking someone in the eye is a gesture of deference or respect), but is essential regardless.

I feel my cultural awareness is greatly expanded after the course. All aspects of my cultural identity influence the way I perceive the world, as well as how each of my clients will do the same, each perspective unique. My socioeconomic class and my race affect my perception of other cultures more than I previously thought. I understand more fully the effects of being a refugee or being born from refugees. I am also able to greater clarify the meaning of what I consider the most prominent factor in my cultural identity, the distinction of being a "geek." The challenge of understanding cultural identity in a way I find comprehensive is still somewhat daunting to me, as I have a lot to learn about other cultures. This was present in my mind during the role play exercise, as I counseled "Sara." I found myself having difficulty understanding Sara's position, despite feeling as though I should understand a career-driven, well- off woman more easily. I realized afterwards that the difficulty lay within an element not proscribed by the description of Sara; my peer's culture was significantly different than my own, and emerged through the role play.

There are also certain issues which came to light in the process of defining my own cultural identity. I make certain assumptions about qualities I see in others, which could promote unfair assessments. I also consider myself part of a persecuted people, and realize that my "persecutors" may likely come to me for help, especially if I work in a collegiate setting as planned. I may well end up counseling someone someday who dislikes a set of people of which I am a part. My desire to understand other cultures, especially in terms of what it means to be a effective counselor for them, should likely help overcome these challenges. I simply have not had enough exposure to people of other races, ethnicities and social cultures. I intend to change that during my time at Lesley.

Once I have established a sense of awareness of both the client and myself, keeping in mind multicultural issues, the next step is to offer accurate empathy and listening skills in order to forge a positive therapeutic bond. Research demonstrates the quality of the therapeutic bond is more important to the helping relationship than following any particular school of thought. But, if there is no empathy, the bond cannot form. Empathy consists of seeing the world from the eyes of another, conducting an "inner view" as opposed to an interview. Many skills foster empathy: attending (through eye contact, body language, and using phrases like "uh huh" and "go on"), listening actively (by being as present and engaged in the listening as possible), and attending to both the subtext of the client and of oneself. From there, one can develop advanced empathy, through acts such as reflecting the clients' expressions back to the client, and summarizing the client's comments over a period of a time (in the past ten minutes, over the session, over multiple sessions, etc.). Empathy is what allows a client to trust a counselor, and as time goes on, what brings about the ability on the client's part to explore authentically and feel comfortable with being understood, or being willing to clarify if s/he is not understood.

Of all the exercises in which we engaged during the course, the empathic encounter was, by far, the most encouraging. As a helpee, I was heartened by the willingness of my peer to listen to me without judgment or attempts to give advice. As an observer, I was capable of noticing subtle expressions of subtext in both the client and the counselor, in terms of eye contact, body language and tone of voice. The experience of being a helper was the most rewarding for me at the time. I maintained eye contact, and allowed the client to go at her own pace. Maintaining focus on the helpee was surprisingly easy; I found myself wanting to see her world as she saw it. I integrated some of the advanced empathy techniques as well, such as reflecting and summarizing. In return, the helpee greeted me openly, with respect and trust. The feedback I received after the exercise was almost completely positive. According to the helpee, there was no point at which she felt I presumed upon her or that I misunderstood her perspective. Such synergy was wonderful to see. The only challenge which emerged for me in that exercise was the difficulty in attending to certain aspects of my daily body language, such as crossing my arms. This should be improved with greater self-attending, and mind-body work.

Counseling does not stop with empathy. The later stages of the counseling relationship, particularly the understanding and action stage, require additional skills to be implemented. Techniques such as dealing directly with immediate client concerns, and carefully confronting feelings that impede said concerns, come to the fore. I find approaching a client / helpee with a life significantly different than my own more challenging than listening to another graduate student discuss her concerns about becoming an effective counselor. I realize that I led myself to believe, because the client in my role-play was a successful, well-off woman, I would understand her more than I did. Being approached by an actual African-American woman, with a way of speaking I considered different than my own, turned my enthusiasm into nervousness. I began to doubt myself, and in doing so, attempted to lead the client into realizing aspects of her situation I considered obvious and essential to her growth. This mistake nearly cost me the session. Luckily, the level of empathy I displayed led the client into asking for another session at the end, indicating that I made the first step towards a good therapeutic relationship. She wanted to come back. I will need to work on relieving nervousness and doubt, which will come with time, but also to rid myself of the thought that I need to lead the client into an important revelation. Only the client is truly responsible for their progress. The counselor's responsibilities are to be an effective counselor, to follow the dictates of appropriate behaviors in counseling, and to administer self-care.

If I were to pick a credo by which the responsibilities of the counselor are captured, it would be the phrase, "Do no harm." This statement entails many things, not the least of which includes behaving appropriately for a counselor. The primary concern which emerged for me during the course was one of disclosure. I am a talkative person by nature, and find discussion the best method to sort out my own thoughts. This will not be an option with clients. Bearing that in mind, I need to find another way to dialogue with myself in regards to clients. The first option which came to mind was journaling my thoughts on the client, while informing the client that all of the information was confidential, following the rules set out in the Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice of the American Counseling Association in regards to information about clients kept on a computer. I also realize that I will likely be working in a setting with people who are near my age, and of my social group, if I achieve my ideal work situation post-graduation. Some concerns of keeping one's life as a counselor and as a friend come to mind, but I feel that my concerns are likely exaggerated. I find myself somewhat oversensitized to my own concerns and perceived faults, an effect of being as inwardly-focused as I was.

In the aftermath of the course, I understand the need for self-care. A seminar course such as Orientation to Professional Psychology leaves one both drained and exhilarated, ready to take on the world once one has had a nap. If a four-day seminar about my life goals leaves me drained, the prospect of striving towards those goals in small ways every day is just as overwhelming. I intend to make sure I continue my hobbies, keep grounded in my spiritual life and engage in activities such a yoga or T'ai Chi. My self-attending will aid me in knowing when I need self-care, but the reminder that it is not only for my own good but the good of my clients that I take care of myself.

That is the heart of it. Helping others to self-actualize, working on the behalf of others, is in a sense caring for myself. It supports the belief in the "self as instrument," the understanding that being a counselor is work of the gods. So as I help others, I will help myself, and the world. Just as pain can perpetuate pain, so can love perpetuate love. And to perpetuate that love, I will find myself confronted by obstacles I may never have dreamed of: the pain of the world, of a culture, of another human being, and of myself. And that pain, or joy, should be embraced fully and unconditionally as true to the person that feels it. Without embracing that pain, there is no way to heal it. And to embrace another's pain authentically, one must understand the world from the other's perspective. To help another ascend is the greatest gift one can give, the truest gift of self. To become an instrument is to commit an act of love. That is the role of a counselor.