I know absolutely nothing about living with a disability: lessons in understanding the subjective experience.

 Recently I have been struggling with a issues that I don't really understand. I believe that disability is a vibrant cultural that is alive and well. I am not ashamed that I have a disability. However, I recognize that some individuals with disabilities might have self esteem issues because of their disability. Until recently I do not understand how this could be. As I am writing this blog, I am beginning to understand this issue. It is about my subjective experience as they individual that has a disability. I have no idea what it's like for my friends in the disability community to live everyday with disability. This issue recently came up. I was taking a step, because I did not understand how can someone with a disability have self esteem issues about the disability they have. The only conclusion I can draw is I wasn't really understanding the subjective experience of all individuals with disabilities. I have said that one of my areas that I would like to specialize in after I graduate is working with individuals that have chronic medical, and individuals that have disabilities. I have come to understand that if I am going to do this I need to forget what I know about being a individual with a disability. I just need to focus on my client, and really try to understand them. And this goes for every other issue a client maybe dealing with. In the beginning of the counseling relationship if the mental health professional is doing most of the talking, there is something wrong. We must try to to understand the client's perspective. The only conclusion that I can come up with is if we want to truly understand the client then we need to listen, and do not pass judgment. So maybe I don't understand why someone with a disability would have self esteem issues, but it is not my experience. It is not my story. So if I had client that was dealing with this issue I will seek to understand my clients experience.

The challenge: going back to a new environment

Between August of 2010, and may of 2011 was probably the most challenging, and rewarding work I have ever done. I was counseling student assigned to Metropolitan ministries, a homeless shelter for families, children, and single women. This was definitely very challenging for me. It was my first time in a counseling type of environment. A lot of changes happening why I was there. I have developed a little bit more grey hare since my time there. There is something very unique about a Metropolitan ministries client. This is something that you can only understand by spending some time at Metropolitan. I was able to get some very good supervision. In many ways my time at Metropolitan made me very passionate about the profession. I took the job very seriously.
Although I enjoyed my time at Metropolitan, I was ready to leave in May. I needed a break. This is just something that happens in the profession. So I am looking to do my final placement beginning next spring. Now it will be a full-time placement. I decided that I wanted to go back to Metropolitan, for half of the time I need. I am very excited about this. I know that I will be able to be challenged Metropolitan. I am passionate about the client's. I am passionate about the organization. This will be only half my internship. The other will be at a case management agency. I know that this will be a different experience for me. Due to the nature of the population, everything would have change. I will have new challenges that I must deal with. I look forward to going back.

Go slow the impact of social media and technology on the profession

I believe that social media has been a fantastic evolution for American society. Now I have to say that I have a Facebook account. I check it multiple times a day. I will send notification about this blog when I published in out on Facebook. For various reasons I am been thinking about the impact of the social media revolution has on the mental health counseling profession. They are too many questions that I have about the whole ethical issue of social media and mental health counseling. Do not get me wrong, the ethical codes that govern the profession do not specifically talk about social media. So one could argue that the use of social media in the counseling profession is absolutely ethical. On the other hand I believe there are too many questions that causes a ethical black hole. I believe it is definitely a boundary crossing, to have a client on your Facebook page. Now I am saying that clients cannot follow a professional social media page. For example, I know of some mental health professionals that have a professional Facebook page meant to attract new business with clients. This is completely ethical in my opinion. I also believe that technology itself get in the way of the therapeutic relationship it self. I feel that with technology that we are just trying to make counseling easy. As I said before, counseling is not easy. In fact it is very difficult. If you look at the founders of the great schools of counseling, they have not been impacted by the social media revolution. In fact they did not have the benefit of social media. Now I am not saying that we need to stop using technologies, what I am saying is we need to go very slow with this. This is only my opinion.