If I could share advice with future counselling students,
here is what I would say...
Excerpts from my Practicum Reflections Journals:
- Immerse yourself entirely in your work site. Stay hungry for information and openly ask your coworkers to share their expertise.
- It's okay to take a more relaxed approach to a session and not feel compelled to try out every single working alliance skill you have been taught. The value of an initial session is not dependent on how aware you can make your client of their thoughts and feelings, it's more about gathering pertinent background information and getting to know them. Nurturing rapport and trust in the therapeutic alliance is the most important working alliance skill to pull-out right away.
- Treat client confidentiality very seriously, and recognize that some sites will have strict policies and procedures around its protection. Be very clear about how you intend to protect the client information you take off-site, and err on the side of over-protection.
- My practicum experience told me that it can be fruitful to push-back against agency policies if it is truly warranted. Be sure that you build your case and offer convincing arguments as to why a policy should be relaxed for your client. Obviously, remain respectful, and take the position of advocate for your client.
- Though you may hate the thought of watching yourself back on video, this will be one of the most valuable learning tools you have. Get over yourself and get used to it! Record yourself for as long, and as often, as you can.
- Be prepared for a supervisory relationship that may be a little less 'warm and fuzzy' than you anticipated. Some supervisors are quite formal, and aware of the evaluative and hierarchical nature of the relationship. Given my experience, I would sum it up by saying that I had to earn some respect, and build credibility, before the supervisor-supervisee boundary relaxed a bit.
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