Caption: "Traveled roads lead to future paths"
Photographed by: Erica Contreras (myself)
“And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring
it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” Philippians
1:6
One of my most favorite pass times is hiking. I am not
athletic or physically fit, and for those who are in that sense knows that
hiking up a mountain can be torture. So why do I put myself through it? Because
I know that at the end of the hike I will have a beautiful view and a great sense
of accomplishment. However getting to the top means I must go through a
process, one I am not much of a fan of. I have notices that usually on my hike
when I first start its usually really hard! As I continue to walk it tends to
get easier, and then usually when I’m closer to the end it gets hard again. In
the same way as counselors we will go on a Journey with our clients. One that
will have some hard parts and some that are easier. The goal is to help the
client get to the top of mountain, and help them feel as if something has been
accomplished through the process. I believe chapter 9 does a great job of
helping us counselors see what the helping process looks like from beginning to
end.
Chapter 7 was an interesting chapter for me to read, because
as emerging counselors we are still learning a lot of things about when to keep
our thoughts to ourselves, and when it is ok to give feedback. It is
interesting to see how many times the bible warns us about the things that we
say. A bible verse that always makes me think about what I am going to say is
Proverbs 18:21 “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who
love it will eat its fruits.” As counselors what we say, and when we say it, is
very important to the process and journey we are traveling with our clients.
Words can make or break our clients and the progress that we are trying to achieve.
I believe that when you get to the stage where you can give feedback and be a
bit confrontational, it is one of those parts that are difficult to travel.
However sometimes it is very necessary that we be put in uncomfortable and
difficult situation to be able to get where we want to get. Always remember to
do everything in love and with the clients best interest in mind.
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ReplyDeleteDear Erica,
ReplyDeleteYou have provided such a sincere example of the joys and hardships of counseling in your metaphor of hiking. I too love hiking, so I relate to what you are saying about how sometimes the actual task seems like it is never going to end. We were talking in class about the feeling of spinning our wheels. As though we practice the skills the authors speak about, but after a while it seems the sessions are not progressing up that mountain. How often we will probably be in those times, and how blessed those times will be; even when it seems like we are out of breath so to speak. Then times of confrontation and feedback come and we do not know if the client will use them to haul freight up the trail, head back the way they came, or just sit under the weight of honesty. Tis a daunting thought, and yet hopefully we can take this time of challenge for all of its richness.
ReplyDeleteRachel,
Thank you so much for your response. It is such a blessing that we will have has counselors trying to guide them up that mountain. It is scary to thinking that our words will either help someone up or pushing them to where they come from. However, I’m sure that with God’s help we will be able to help other people.
Erica Contreras