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| Detective Lotta. Photo by Tia Poissant |
When I was young I loved to read mystery novels. I started with Boxcar Children, moved into Nancy Drew, and eventually graduated to Agatha Christie. Beyond just mysteries, I was an avid reader. I loved learning; school was my jam. However, something about a good puzzle always enticed me. I liked mysteries because of the puzzle. I even loved math because of the puzzle. For me, my interest in academia has always revolved around figuring out a conundrum. This love of discovering the unknown brought me to Psychology in the first place. Human beings are the most vast and interesting puzzles of all. While wide generalizations can bring one into some understanding of human behavior, cognitions, motivations, and drives, each individual is so uniquely created and then refined by their own specific set of factors. These few chapters on assessment and case conceptualization have enlivened that love of a good puzzle. As with any good mystery, it is important to think out side the box when framing an understanding of your counselee. Keeping an open-mind is imperative. The reason why behavior and cognitions are mysterious and sometimes, seemingly irrational, is often because part of the big picture has not yet been discovered. Thus, all the of factors, behavioral observations, functioning level, spirituality, personal strengths and weaknesses and multiple aspects of history (family, psychiatric, medical, social, employment, developmental etc) must be throughly assessed and given adequate consideration. As counselors, we often discuss having an holistic mindset in relation to how we view individuals, but how often do we quickly jump to a conclusion about them or think that our designed model of counseling will ultimately work best for everyone? To recognize each individual as an unique enigma, we allow ourselves to then keep the open-mind we need to consider all the factors as circumstances at hand.
Great post Tia. I really enjoyed reading it. I agree with you that many times we assume a "one size fits all" for therapy or even the way we relate and try to understand those around us. However it is vital that we remember to look at each person uniquely and assess where they are and why they are there and how we can best help them.
ReplyDeleteJob well done! I similar to you find enjoyment in the unknown and yet to be discover. As counselors we will encounter ourselves with different individuals going through different life situations and it will require from us outstanding assessment skills to help them. We might not know exactly what is going on with the individual’s life but it will be a mystery that we will discover at the end of the treatment at least that is the goal.
ReplyDeleteWell said, Tia. I have also always been intrigued by puzzles and the art of "solving". As beginning counselors, one advantage is that we are not yet "set in our ways" as everything is new. I think this is something important to keep in mind as we begin counseling, being cautious not to fall into a routine that would allow us to miss the uniqueness of clients and their situations. While I look forward to the day when counseling feels more comfortable, I think keeping a fresh perspective of each situation is crucial in order to not impose ourselves, our own ideas and our biases onto clients before even hearing their stories.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your thoughts!