The Journey of Becoming

Monday, November 3, 2014

The Transformation

God has gifted mankind in so many ways and yet often we cannot or choose not to acknowledge that we even need a Savior. The gift of being able to change either physically or emotionally, positively moving toward Jesus or away, is exclusive to mankind.

The butterfly what an amazing transformation, beginning as a caterpillar and eventually emerging as a beautiful fragile butterfly. Change is how God designed these creatures, there is no choice it is what they do. Change is difficult and usually painful but if positive always worth the journey. The desire to change often comes out of painful circumstances, very much like being on a merry-go-round with no place to get off. It goes around and around and never deviates from what it was designed to do. In scripture Paul described his desire to do what was right but found it very difficult sometimes wanting to do good but then sinning once again. The journey you and I are on is very similar to what Paul experienced and yes sometimes we fall but thank God we can also pick ourselves up and keep moving forward if only a crawl at first. This is one of the wonderful attributes God has given us as his children, is that of free will. We can choose to follow him or not, and to move toward change in a positive way or not. Most of us have seen professionals take down a building, in order to build a new one in its place. Change many times involves a deconstruction and reconstruction. We must have a plan and the willingness to admit we have something in our lives we want to change and a desire to do the work.

There have been many times in my life that I have discovered something about myself that needed to change, and yes it was challenging but worth the journey.

References

Thomas, J.C. & Sosin, L. (2011). Therapeutic expedition: Equipping the Christian counselor for the journey. Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group.

Transformation Over Time

Left Caption: Me (20) playing video games in my parents' basement. Photographer: Josh Wittman
Center Caption: Me (21) fooling around on a playground train. Photographer: Taylor Luckenbill
Right Caption: Me (22) reading a Psychology book with only one semester until graduation. Photographer: Tyler Eshelman

A question from the Thomas and Sosin (2010) book that stands out to me is “Do I need to change, and do I want to get well?” This is a question that I have had to answer in my journey of becoming. I have had to ask it several times in the past, both in my walk with the Lord and my journey as a college student. In my spiritual walk, I was resistant to change despite my desire to be rid of the tight bonds of my sin life, and I resisted the need to change to succeed at my academic life. In both, I wanted to pursue pleasure that was unfulfilling, whether giving into sinful desires that went against scripture or gaming activities that detracted from my academic studies. In the face of the question, my answer to the first part was, of course, “YES!” My walk with God was almost nonexistent in the midst of my sinful lifestyle, and my grades were suffering because I did not want to give up excessive us of the toys of my childhood (aka video games). However, it took longer for me to say “yes” to the second part of the question. While I would say “yes” on the surface, I said “no” through my actions because I did not want to give up the comfort of the familiar. As illustrated by the pictures, I did say yes to academically beneficial change, and I also finally gave my life to Christ in practice, not just in theory. In the same way, I need to step out of the familiar to become an effective counselor and need to show my clients patience as they too may have a long process of change like I did.

Stages of Change

From http://www.newyouin22.com/p/aff/video/12704

The Thomas and Sosin (2011) text keeps getting more interesting as we get closer to the end. I really appreciated the section on the Stages of Change. I learned about the Trans-theoretical model last year and it has helped me a lot on my own life. I used to jump into things quite quickly and did not always achieve the results I wanted. I can also be very persuasive and have encouraged others to start things in the past without giving things a lot of thought. Once I learned the stages of change, it helped me understand why I needed to give things more though and not jump into changes so quickly. For instance, I have a dieting group on Facebook, and now I encourage the others to really look at the reasons they want to lose weight and consider which plan may help them the most depending on their reasons. We talk more about the things that might trip us up, and make back up plans. We talk about how we might avoid temptations and what we will do if have a setback. Knowing the stages of change has helped us to be more realistic. I make sure I don’t start something too quickly when I am still in the Pre-contemplation stage, but wait until I have worked through it and Contemplation. I take time to make the proper Preparation before I enter the Active Stage. I have also learned to be kinder and gentler to myself when I fail and realize that setbacks and cycling through the stages is more realistic. I used to feel everything had to progress linearly, but that is not realistic. I feel like my progress is slower, but steadier and I’m no longer putting undue pressure on others to follow along.

Bringing About Change

Caption: After a dark night, the sun arises for a new day.

http://www.freeimages.com/photo/1444769

Ecclesiastes 3:1 For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven. (ESV)

Change. Change is a word that often causes anxiety in people, as the process of change is not always a smooth road to follow. However, change is an essential to human life, as things around us are always changing, such as environment, people and ourselves. Sometimes change is outside our influences, such as changes to the environment, but changes is to oneself is facilitated by one’s actions. This is not always an easy process and patients often come to counseling hoping to bring about change within them. This is why it is essential for counselors to be familiar with the process of change, not only with others but the process of change within themselves.

As I was reading Sosin’s chapter on change, and the various stages of change, I realized that I have found myself stuck in some of these stages myself. An example would be on how I desire to live a healthier life by eating right and exercising more. I often get stuck in the middle stages of contemplation and preparation and rarely making to the action phase (Sosin, 2011). I feel as if in the path from dark to light, concerning change, many people get stuck in the middle grey areas (contemplation & preparation), and I can relate with them. I hope that my similar experiences of resistance, will allow me to better understand the client and help facilitate progress towards change. I realize that change within one’s self can be a difficult process, and I cope with change by relying on the Lord for strength. So I pray that God will guide and work through me, so I can help effectively guiding a patient through the process of change.

The Journey of Change

Photo taken by Erica Contreras

No caption

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven

Ecclesiastes 3:1

Although it has become easier over the year’s change has always been a very difficult thing for me. The first time I experienced a big change was when my family moved from Northern Virginia to Southern Maryland. Not all changes are scary and hard some changes happen without us even noticing however some changes will always be scary. The uncertainty of what will happen and if we will be able to succeed on the new journey is very scary to all. However as stated in our book by Thomas and Sosin (2011) change is necessary in the therapeutic process. If client come to us for help and everything stays the same then we have not been successful in our job. I think its important for therapist to remember that change does not come easy to many. Many times we do not want to change because we are scared of what is next but sometimes change is just very difficult because we have done something for so long that changing whatever it feels nearly impossible.

Change is very important but not possible without all the other parts of therapy mentioned in the chapters read. The assessment is the beginning part of the therapy where the counselor gets to know the client, this is very important to the success to the therapy and also to the change that will be done. If the counselor really takes some time to assess a client she or he would know when and how to address change with a client. After treatment planning it is important for the counselor to create a treatment plan in which the counselor takes in consideration the changes that they would like to help create in the life of the client. Change is difficult sometimes and more times then not it will take time and work for the client and also for the counselor but with good planning, God help, and time change is very possible.

Changing, molding, and shaping

Change is a scary world, that most people chose to avoid. Thomas & Sosin (2011) describe that people realize they need to change because they feel pain. Other words for change include molding, shaping, and growing. The process of change begins with understanding that something needs to be different, whether that be a relationship or a habit. Something is not working the way it should and change is necessary to improve the quality of life. When I think of change, I think of molding and shaping. It makes me think of the story in the bible of God being the potter and his people being the clay. Within the counseling session, we are to be present with our clients to help them mold themselves. That process includes realizing change in necessary, being ready and willing to make that change, understanding what the change will entail, taking action, and keeping the commitment.

Change is a scary thing; however, being present and being available for the client can be greatly beneficial. I have heard many professors say, don't take a client where you aren't willing to go. This applies to change also. If the counselor is not willing to make changes in one's own life, then you cannot expect your client to want to change his/her habits, behaviors, or relationships.

Reference
Thomas, J.C. & Sosin, L. (2011). Therapeutic expedition: Equipping the Christian counselor for the journey. Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group.

Learning Formalities

Learning The Formalities

Sharp Top Mountain

Bedford, Va

Photo taken by myself

This week's assignment was very informative. The chapters reviewed, Chapters 10-12, gave information regarding the formalities, paperwork, and structure regarding the counseling session. In Chapter 10, the proper structure for conducting an assignment was reviewed. In Chapter 11, the beginning phase of treatment planning and different components associated with treatment planning and case conceptualization are examined. Lastly, Chapter 12 incorporating change within the client’s life is introduced.

In Chapter 10 I learned a great deal of information. In class, we have already performed an intake which helped to introduce us to assessments. Assessments reveal a lot of intimate details about our client providing us with an array of topics to discuss within the counseling session. As counselors we must tread carefully on what we decide to highlight within our client’s history. We also must pay attention to the client to really understand what may be the most important topic to help the client with.

Chapter 11 I enjoyed the incorporation of the AIM Model. Case conceptualization can be hard to understand so having the AIM Model to follow will help us to cover the areas in our client’s life that we need to focus the most on. As stated by Thomas & Sosin “The AIM model covers the areas that must be accurately conceptualized” (2011, p.366). It is impossible to cover every problematic area in our client’s life in an effective amount of time.

In Chapter 12 the main focus is incorporating change within the counseling session. The quote provided in the beginning of the chapter really resonated with me, “More is involved in changing us on the inside than increased diligence on the outside” (Thomas & Sosin, p.384). Change is a difficult process for our client’s. We must guide our client’s through the different stages of changing in order to adequately prepare them to incorporate these changes throughout their daily lives.

References

Sosin, L., & Thomas, J. C. (2011). Therapeutic Expedition Equipping the Christian Counselor for the Journey.. Nashville: B & H Pub. Group