After reading and meditating on the reading material these past few weeks, I have some thoughts and comments about the information. First, I thoroughly enjoyed examining Hawkin's personality wheel on page 339 (Thomas & Sosin, 2011). Even though I believe human personality is more complex than this wheel, there still is a great deal of truth and this wheel can help a Christian Counselor, or a Professional Counselor for that matter, organize a great deal of information about people in this diagram! Second, in Chapter eleven of the text, there were three areas of client mental mapping (Thomas & Sosin, 2011). One is generalization, the next is deletion, the last one is distortions. I agree that these areas, according to the authors definitions, should be "put in check" so that greater understanding can be accomplished in the helping relationship between the counselor and client. I also disagree that the counselor cannot refer to their experiences to help the client. The reason I disagree is because there are many examples of human experience we all share and will be beneficial for the counselor understanding. For example, it is natural to refer to our experiences, mentally, when someone brings up a topic to remember early experiences (Feldman, 2014). Some examples include stress, learning, shopping, criminals, justice, right and wrong, and education. My point is this: we all share life and experiences; we all have this in common, so why not relate and be able to refer to our experiences? Lastly, in chapter twelve, I felt the authors "hit the nail on the head" about the nature of change. Experience has taught me that one must prepare to change their mind, heart, and behavior. Then put these beliefs in motion. Through trial and error and maintenance, one has better changes of change! Before any of what I, or the authors discussed in their text can happen, there must be an icebreaker.
Feldman, Robert S. (2014). Development Across the Life Span. Boston, MA: Pearson Publishing.
Thomas, John C., Sosin, Lisa. Therapeutic Expedition (2011). Nashville, TN; B & H Publishing Group.
James,
ReplyDeleteHawkin’s diagram is interesting when taking the time to look at it (Thomas & Sosin, 2011, p. 339). When I first saw the diagram it was a bit overwhelming and confusing, but upon further observation, it does make sense how our lives have different realms (Thomas & Sosin, 2011, p. 339). I do believe that this particular diagram is meant more for Christians and those working in an explicit Christian environment because Christians are ones that believe in these concepts. When you discussed the idea of not being able to self-disclose from past experience, I agree that there is a time for that and we have even discussed this item in class. There are times when self-disclosure will help the counseling process along and will be beneficial to the client. Lastly, the topic of change was something that stuck out to me as well. It will be a challenge for me to be patient while some clients are slow to show change, yet it will be rewarding to see clients progress in their journey.
Thomas, J. C., & Sosin, L. (2011). Therapeutic expedition: Equipping the Christian counselor for the journey. Nashville, TN: B & H Publishing Group.