living for today

The past is done with. What ever happened in the past is done. There may be things that we are not proud of. Things that we may have wished I never happen. This is done with. All we can do is seek forgiveness for what has happened, love the ones that are with us and live for today.

I've been thinking about this statement today. I have had a really interesting day with a client, my work with this client has made me write this.I know that I normally don't write this, but this has been on my mind

So what did you do today?

Good afternoon everyone, and happy Tuesday. I am right, now sitting in the FMHI library. I am the only student in the library right now. I have decided to take today off from my responsibilities at success 4 kids and families. I am doing this for a variety of reasons. One reason is I do not have any client's today. The other reason is, in my clinical supervisor said you need to take time off for spring break. I am working with some very good clients at this time, but I am also working with some clients that have a lot of complex issues. My supervisor didn't want me to lose my passion for the profession.

I have to be a little bit honest with you guys, this is a little bit difficult for me. Don't get me wrong, I definitely knew how to relax and take time for myself. If I'm really honest, I have trouble setting my work responsibilities aside. I consider myself very dedicated to the clients that I provide services to. What I must be able to do is to find some kind of balance between my professional and personal life. If I am not able to do this, my clients will not be receiving the best type of help that I can provide. I also have to figure out a way to have a lot of fun in the process.

So on this Tuesday, how am I having fun? I've spent the majority of today at a café that my friends have on the USF campus. Yes I did do some school work, but it is stuff that I like to do. I have also been working on some stuff for a federal grant review panel that I will be on in April. I have also been listening to some incredible music. I am having the opportunity to publish this blog, which I have not had the opportunity to do. Plus I was able to sleep late.

I recognize that this is a area that I will have to  work on throughout my professional life. I also am recommending that we need to find some balance in the professional and personal life. This is absolutely critical.

home and family

I have been reflecting recently about what it means to be home. Having a home is something very unique. I believe it is not only having a roof over your head, but it is about the people that live with you. For many of us we live with family. Family is also really important. Families love us, families also forgive us. They also set appropriate boundaries, to help us grow. I feel very fortunate that I grew up with a family like this.

Recently I have had the opportunity to shadow and to facilitate sessions with clients in the home. This is a very unique opportunity. This is also a privilege. I am being invited into one of the most intimate places a individual has, the home. For those of you that have provided treatment inside the home, you know exactly what I mean. Will being invited to see what really goes on in a family.

What I have a recognize is that there are many definitions of what home is. I believe that as long as we can keep the family intact, it does not really matter what home look like. I have had the great privilege of being in individual homes, and truly see what is happening. For that I am grateful. Again, I keep coming back to what we do is absolutely amazing, and a privilege.

what they don't teach you in graduate school

Hello everyone, I hope everyone is having a great day. This past week has been very interesting. It has been good, and difficult at the same time.I am realizing that I have the great privilege of being associated with some of the brightest minds in the mental health profession. I am doing a lot of stuff that I am not done before. I am seeing a lot of stuff that I have not seen before.What I am realizing it is I really loved its job.

·, Having said that, this is couple weeks has been very challenging. I have been and what it means to be a mental health counseling, professional. This is the stuff they do not teach you in classes. This is real life . Let me give you a couple of examples.

Always, always trust the process: having a very good session with a client of mine, and all of sudden she took the session and direction that I did not see happening. On the inside I was freaking out. On the outside, I was still in like I knew what I was doing. What I was doing was trusting the process. What I need to realize is that the client will go will he or she needs it to go. You just have to trust the process.

The therapeutic relationship the most important aspect of change: okay this is what I already knew. I think it is important to emphasize that I believe this is absolutely critical. The client must be able to fill safe so that they can deal with the issues that has brought them to see you. If the client doesn't feel safe, then they won't be able to engage in counseling. This is why the therapeutic relationship is very important. This takes time to develop. That's not going to happen at session 1, it will take a couple weeks. It could even take a couple of months.

When something is not working with the client, modify your style: I don't like labeling of client as a resistant individual. I have often said that resistance is just another way of saying that we don't know what the hell you're doing. Some times we have to think outside the box to help the client. .we have to be willing to do this. It is very important to do this. I am working with a client that has required me to abandon my typical style of counseling, and do something totally different.what I need to recognize is this is okay.

a man man is on the loose: fight for USF

The University system is a very unique place in society. It is about the free exchange of differing ideas. There is no God or does God exist. How should we solve global warming. What is the best way to facilitate peace in the middle east? How can we best support people with disabilities? This is what the University system seeks to find out. I am proud to go to one of the top universities in the state of Florida. The University of South Florida.

Unfortunately the University of South Florida is under attack by the state legislature. The Florida Senate has proposed a 60% budget cut for the University of South Florida. This is 100% political. There is no rationale and logic behind the purposes budget. If this budget cut succeeds, it will prevent the University of South Florida to carry out its mission the expansion of knowledge around the globe. I believe that this is ultimately not going to pass, but only if we as a community stand up and fight.

As a mental health profession, I believe this will have a devastating impact on the profession . USF provides me with the knowledge necessary to treat my clients.I have the privilege of learning my craft from some of the brightest minds in the profession. This will have an impact on the delivery of this information. Ultimately, work with clients will be affected. This is not acceptable. I encourage you to contact the Senate to express your concerns about this very important issue. Let's fight for the University of South Florida.

perspectives on resistance

Often times we talk about how to deal with a resistant client. I would like to talk about my perspective on the nature of resistant. I believe there is another name for a resistant client. I believe that when we say that a client is resistive, what we all really saying is that we don't know what the hell we are doing as counseling professionals. As you may now know about me, I believe the therapeutic relationship is the primary vehicle of change in the counseling relationship. If the client sets the pace in the relationship, how can you say that they are resistant men they are not following everything that we want them to do. The client is the one that sets the process in the counseling relationship.

The group psychotherapy process is something that I find really fascinating. Often times we talk about the working stage of a group. The working stage is the stage that deeper issues are allowed to be explored. What I have come to realize that we don't all work in the same way. Some of us find it very easy to work. On the other hand some people find it very difficult to do the work. I believe that we do not all work the same way. Some of us deal with the issues in a very direct way. For the people, they'll work consists of making the room safe, so that they can do deeper and more complex work. We all do not work in the same way. You should now label someone as a resistant, simply because they are not doing what you are doing.

Individuals counseling I believe is a lot like the group psychotherapy. It takes time to develop that skill. Relationship, so they can trust the therapist and explore deeper issues that need to be addressed. I like how psychodrama addresses resistance. Psychodrama says that there was no such thing as a resistant client, they say that the client is just simply slow to warm up. Good psychotherapy takes time. Resistant, is a copout for the professional. It blames everything on the client, who is actually the one in charge of the counseling relationship. The client is the one that sets the pace in the counseling relationship. It might take time, but we must be willing to walk with the clients, regardless of how long it takes to warm up.

lesson learned

 

Okay everyone, two weeks down from this madness called a the final semester of my graduate program. All I have to say, is the last two weeks have been absolutely amazing. I would like to take this time to give you some reflections about what I have been learning about this amazing semester. It should also be mentioned that this must the has also been very challenging, and at times frustrating. I have been able to realize that when I have been challenged and I am feeling frustrated I am learning a lot about just how amazing this profession is.

So I have a amazing opportunity to complete some of my internship atSuccess 4 kids & Families. Success 4 kids & Families is a phenomenal organization, that I have been affiliated with. I am having the opportunity to see how a community-based agency runs. I also have a opportunity to truly create ideas that. I feel that I have a lot of ability to be creative.

Metropolitan ministries is a place that I left. I have come to realize just how I am still passionate about this organization, and the people that we support. This organization gives you some very unique counseling opportunities. You have a the opportunity to interact with many different types of clients.

The biggest lesson I have learned over the past two weeks is, that it is not all about me. Let me try to explain what I mean by that. As a mental-health counseling student in training we all have requirements that we need to meet. These requirements come from schools, and the jobs that we have. We have requirements that we needed to do. Some of these requirements could include making audiotapes of counseling sessions for review by supervisor. Another requirement is to have client contact time that meets the requirements of school. As you can see, I have a lot of requirements that I have to do. However, it is about the clients that I work with. Yes of making sure that we get the right amount of client contact time is important. However we have to be able to focus on the needs of our clients more than focusing on what we need to. We'll in this profession to empower individuals to totally change their lives.

Another lesson I have learned is we need to be able to accept feedback. Yes sometimes it is not easy to listen to feedback, but this is the only way that we are going to grow to become excellent professionals. We need to be able to use supervision to grow into professional. Part of this ongoing professional growth, is the willingness to accept feedback from colleagues and supervisors.

At the end of all this, I keep coming back to one simple believe. This craft, known as counseling is absolutely amazing. Counseling is about developing relationships with people. I'm thrilled every day that I have the opportunity to practice my craft, and truly help people as they try to engage in change.