In an effort to prepare for an exciting new opportunity, I'm asking you guys out there in Blog World for a favor. If you have been to some sort of therapist or counselor, can you share with me about your experience? I'm training to be a pastoral counselor, but I'm just starting out. I have the opportunity to intern at a relief hospital for orphans of the recent Sichuan earthquake that devastated China, so I'm looking for some advice really. What would be most helpful would be to tell me directly why your therapist sucked or rocked. I'm looking for a little preparation because the children are coming soon.
I've always been rather sensitive and empathetic. I love listening to people's life stories as well. My Chinese has gotten decent, so I feel comfortable counseling in Chinese, but I feel most comfortable with children. I've been struggling lately to see the way to reach out to the recently orphaned, but it wasn't until today that the path got clearer. I had thought that I would just go to Sichuan directly. Then, I realized that there's a family I know in Chengdu that I could visit and volunteer with. That would still be a difficult path. However, there's also a children's charity hospital here in Zhengzhou that I have visited once and the government is about to approve it as a relief hospital for Sichuan orphans. Thus, I don't have to go all the way to Sichuan and leave my family and job. I just need to make a few trips to the outside of town on a regular basis. It's amazing how things work out so well sometimes.
So, that's where I'm at and I could use some stories. Anyone got any therapy stories?
I have had bad therapy sessions. It helped some what but not very much. I believe with the nature you have though (caring and nuturing) I believe that you will be a good therapist/counselour. I really don't have a therapy story...it depends what kind you are looking for?
http://www.progressiveu.org/032913-lupus-uncureable-wait-what
Love comments? I do too!
I really just looking for any stories and advice. I'm going to talk to the professionals too, but I wanted to hear from "real" people and their experiences.
Thanks for commenting.
www.progressiveu.org/blog/americangirlinchina
Ah, this was where the double post was...RIP. I had to rewrite Dani because I got an error page. My blog has been acting funny the last few days. The censorship people may have found my blog and be trying to control it.... I get a lot of error pages.
It doesn't really matter, but I may not get to be on ProU as much as I like, just so you guys know.
www.progressiveu.org/blog/americangirlinchina
But I hated her at first. I was a people-pleaser, completely unable to make a decision for myself. She picked up on this right away, and kept the most amazing boundaries. She would tell me nothing, I mean NOTHING, about herself. She also hardly reacted to anything I said...I mean, she asked really good questions that directed me to examine what needed examining, but she didn't react with any emotion to anything. I couldn't shock her or make her angry. She was sympathetic, but very neutral. It drove me nuts! I couldn't figure out what she wanted to hear, so eventually, I just had to start digging into my own issues. Which was exactly what I needed to do. I am a completely different person today because of my work with her. And I really like who I am today. She rocked.
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/ediblewoman
I've been to a couple counselors before. The main issue I had with them is simply trusting them, this was especially so for the counselor I knew outside of the doctor-patient setting.
Just something to keep in mind. I don't know if you're doing a specific kind of counseling, but it's likely that you'll have people that don't trust you at first. Don't try to "open them up," just work on gaining their trust. They'll open up to you when they're ready.
I am treated as evil by people who claim that they are being oppressed because they are not allowed to force me to practice what they do. ~D. Dale Gulledge
I must keep trust issues in mind. Thanks for that.
I'll be counseling a group of orphans at a relief hospital as a result of the recent earthquake. (As far as I know right now)
www.progressiveu.org/blog/americangirlinchina
I had a bad experience with my brother's counselor. I refused to talk to him for the longest time because he gave me the creeps, but my mom talked to him a lot. I'm not sure what she said, but the first time I talked to him, he acted like he knew exactly what was going on in my head, and accused me of being controlling because I always interrupt people. I don't mean to interrupt, but sometimes, when a thought strikes me, I have to tell it to smeone right away, or I'll forget about it. My other brother and a friend of mine who both have ADHD have the same problem, which leads me to think I might have it as well, but have managed to get it pretty much under control without meds.
But anyway, this counselor was pretty mean to me, wouldn't let me talk, and pretty much told me I was a rude and inconsiderate person. With my self-esteem issues, hearing that, while I spend every waking hour trying NOT to be rude or inconsiderate, I'm not succeeding in the least...wel, let's just say he had me in tears...for a long time.
I couldn't look at myself in the mirror for several days after that without feeling guilty and worthless.
But my school guidance counselor is an entirely different story. He just listens. He doesn't offer solutions...just listens, offers some support. If you specifically ask for help with something, he'll guide you toward a solution, but if you're having a problem, are upset, angry, or anything, he'll let you talk it out as long as you need to, so that you can figure things out for yourself. And he's really nice, and is good at making people laugh and smile once they're done crying. ^-^ I'm gonna miss him next year.
And that's comin' at ya' from yer local redneck hippie.
I've had a mix of both good and bad. The bad therapist was the "professional". She would sit and ask me dumb questions trying to waste an hour. I didn't feel comfortable talking with her at all. She would ask questions like "What are you feeling?" and "Why do you think so?". See, I've always had a highly scientific mind, and I'm not very emotional, nor do I know how to really feel anything. I'm just sort of numb. I would either answer her questions sarcastically or stupidly trying to push her. It didn't work out, and I wasted $700 to do that.
The great therapist I had was just a Ph.D. student getting her requirement hours in. She actually listened, didn't ask stupid questions, and got me to open up somehow. She asked me why I was there, and when I told her it was because the guy I just broke up with said I needed help, she didn't take this as such a serious matter. It was like she read my body language, really understood, and learnt what I was like. She gave me practical knowledge that I could use, and really helped me start to learn who I was.
Good luck! I hope you do well!
The sanity within is overwhelming.