The privileges of this profession

Folks I talked about some of the hazards of this profession. I would like to talk about some of the privileges.

So as I begin to get into this profession, I recognize how much of a privilege it is to be able to do you what we do. Sometimes what we do require those of us in the profession to do stuff that we never thought we would have to do. I am thinking about issues of reporting child abuse, performing suicide risk assessments, and involuntary placement someone in the hospital against their will. As a license mental health professional I have this privilege, and this responsibility. I do not take this for granted. I recognize how much this is a responsibility. This is why it is also a privilege. As a 25-year-old I never saw that I would have this privilege and responsibility. This is not something that I take for granted. Often I feel that we are often we do not know what we are doing. We only go with the client takes us. Sometimes it takes us on a wonderful joining. e Often times it takes us to a place of pain for that individual. I believe that we must be able to be able to form a strong therapeutic relationship with the client. I believe that this therapeutic relationship is the primary vehicle for change in that individual. For that reason I am still very person centered. I am also interested in the utilization of other theoretical vehicles.
Because of what we have to do sometimes, we need to have a good group of people to back us up. This includes supervisors. Supervisors have been there before, they know how to get you through the difficult issues. We need family. People that don't know about some of the stuff we have seen. People that just love us for who we are. We need community. We need people around us that are willing to support us no matter what. We also need administrators that will keep the doors open so that we will be able to practice our craft. We also need to recognize that we are not superheroes. We cannot do everything. We cannot help every client. On the other hand, we need to go in with the belief that we can help every client.
All of the big three issues that I talked about above have such a gravity on the situation. I was talking to a colleague today. She was talking about what she was doing at the internship that she is that right now. She made me realize that what we do is definitely a privilege. The training that we do is meant to get us ready for what we must do. We must be willing to do stuff, at times makes us feel a little bit uncomfortable. This is the true privilege of this profession. All I can say is I am in awe.

Reevaluating my assumptions about group therapy

On Monday began the first day of the new semester. Typically I am very excited about beginning a new academic semester. This semester is no exception. I am very excited about beginning in this semester, even though I know this will probably be one of the most busiest semesters of my graduate program. I have classes. I have a couple classes with a significant is requirement. I'm also going to be involved in some disability advocacy activities. I had some speaking engagements coming that I will be involved with. I am so going to be traveling to Washington DC to participate in a review of a federal grant program. Even though I have a lot of activity is going on in my life my first priority has always been school.

One of the classes that the I am the most excited about is my of group psychotherapy class. This class will probably be one of the most intense classes of the semester. I have recently been exploring the issue of group psychotherapy. I have some experience with the facilitation of groups. When I was at Metropolitan ministries, a local homeless shelter.I co facilitated two groups. One was a employment group for the client's. I also was involved with a dialectical behavior therapy group. The employment group was a mixed bag. I didn't really enjoy it. The dialectical behavioral therapy group, was an interesting group, but I thought it was a little bit too psychoeducational. I do understand the importance of this type of group. Even though At times I had difficulty understanding the materials.  I felt not very passionate about reading these groups. In preparation for the semester I have been reviewing information on group psychotherapy. What I am discovering is that I may have underestimated the power of groups. I have had a renewed interest in groups. I think that in groups might be a very powerful treatment option for client's. I'm especially digging into psychodrama, and gestalt therapy groups. I will talk to you more about these treatment methodologies in future blogs.

One of the most important things about the group psychotherapy class is the opportunity for personal exploration. This is one of the unique things about a program in mental health counseling. During this class we will have the opportunity not only to lead a psychotherapy group, but to participate as a participate in a group. I believe that the only way that you can acquire the knowledge necessary to facilitate a group, is to participate in a group. I will keep you updated with how this is going to go. I'm sure that it is going to be a very interesting semester. Maybe what I believe about groups is incorrect. I'm excited to see what this semester will turn out to be.

The prevention of burnout

I am very fortunate, I have not experienced burnout. Yes, my experience in the mental health profession has been stressful at times. I am passionate about the work that I'm doing. I still believe that I'm living my dream to become a mental health counselor. I am passionate about the mental health profession, its people, and my clients that I have had the privilege to walk alongside them as they try to seek personal change.
I do recognize however that one day that I may have the experience of burnout. Recently, I saw a statistic that said 70% of at one time or another will experience some type of burnout. I need to recognize that I might actually experience burnout at times. I have developed my own routines so that I don't experience a high degree of burnout. This is only a list of ideas.
I am involved in other activities besides mental health counseling. As I have mentioned before, I am actively involved with the disability rights movement in the state of Florida. This is a way to do something besides counseling.'s. I'm also a writer. I keep up with this blog on a regular basis. I also have a trusted group of colleagues that I talked to about professional issues. Also active in the area of counseling and disability research. All of these activities are very important to me. I'm also actively involved in my church.
All of these diversifies my life. I consider myself a mental health counseling student, with interests in mental health counseling, and self-determination for individuals with disabilities. What have been some ways that you have perverted burnout?

Welcome to on the profession

Avoiding the hazards of this profession

This is the beginning of a series of blogs about avoiding burnout in the mental health profession.
You could say that counseling is a profession that isolates you. Is it just you, and your client. I don't necessarily agree with that statement. Recently I was having a conversation with a friend and colleague of mine. I won't go through the details of the conversation, but suffice it to say I was having some stuff that I needed to talk about. My friend was able to listen to me without judgment, my friend did not offer any advice, she was someone that just listen to meet without judgment. And for that I am appreciative.
I recognize that some of you reading this blog, might be starting out a new practicum placement. All I can say is don't isolate yourself. If you believe counseling is a individual profession, then you won't last long in the profession. I know that I will all ways need colleagues to consult with on challenging cases. I will also need to be able to talk to find ways to deal with what my clients are dealing with. I recognize that counseling is a very difficult profession, we do not need to practice alone. We always need to remember to practice as a team. What we do is something that is very challenging. We need to be able to the people, that we trust and seek support. If we do this we will become stronger mental health counselors. If you need help, just ask. I had the privilege of doing some work with success for kids and families. They are a local community mental health agency. I was told that asking for help is not a weakness, it is actually a way to make you a stronger mental health professional.
So what

It's time to reshape our beauty standards - St. Petersburg Times

It's time to reshape our beauty standards - St. Petersburg Times
this is going to be in tomorrow St. Pete Times about the standards of beauty. I found this article very interesting. This article was written by a journalist, who is also a mental health counseling student in my program at the University of South Florida. This is a very nice piece, and I thought I would share it with you guys. I think is very important for mental health professionals to be aware of this issue. Also for people that are not mental health professionals. As always I welcome your thoughts on this issue

Update and feedback

Hello my own friends, I hope you all are having a good summer. I recognize that I have not posted in a couple of weeks. I wanted to let you know that I am alive and well. I wanted to talk to you a little bit about what has been going on in my life the past couple weeks. I have to do this every now and again to let guys know what has been going on. I recognize that my family might appreciate this. I have done very well in school for the summer. in two weeks I will begin my final semester of full-time classes. Come January, I will be completing my final internship, and taking comprehensive exams. I didn't know what to talk about that. My family is renovating the house. I have also started a new blog about the disability rights movement in the state of Florida. This is something that I am very excited about. I also have been invited to be a program reviewer for a federal disability program. Life is amazing. I recognize that it might get busy again very soon. So I wanted to give you a quick update about everything. I have all is well. Also I would appreciate any feedback you guys have about the blog. What topics would you like to see. What content do you like, what content do you disagree with. Again I will try to do this every so often, so that you can input into the blog. You may e-mail, or place a comment to the blog. Hope all is well.