Today I am going to be part of a presentation at the County Courthouse about the addiction recovery treatment program we have and how it works, the kinds of people who benefit and, how we try to motivate clients to get the most out of their involvement with our program. Lately I realized from a conversation with someone who works for another part of our organization, that we therapist types are an unusual breed.
What is unique about our work is that it is highly intuitive and driven more by emotions than rational thoughts. By this I mean that as a therapist I listen more to my intuition and my heart than follow the workings of my analytical mind. People often think of counseling as analytical and psychiatry fits that model more so than counseling. Counseling for me is a feeling or a sense of what is going on with my client in the midst of our session. It is through years of experience that I fine-tune my ability to read and guide my client’s.
Most clients come to counseling looking for answers and would prefer to be given direction and ideas. Good counseling is not telling our clients what to do but rather helping them to be more aware of themselves and to explore options and solutions to what they are struggling with in their lives. Clients seek counseling when they feel out of control, overwhelmed, stuck or in a mess.
My goal is to help them sort things up and come up with their own strategies to head their lives off in a positive direction. The clients are really the experts in their own lives, not me. They have tried many things and they often know what doesn’t work and occasionally what does. Good counseling helps them to have better options through a more clear understanding of who they are and what they want. Affective counseling helps clients to resolve self-limits, find their emotional well-being and get their lives headed in the desired direction.
Good questioning is a key component and that is for me often guided by my intuitive sense of person I am sitting across from. Each moment of interaction is rich with opportunities to take the client beyond the surface issues into their deeper concerns and emotions. Good questions takes a person to the core of what is troubling them and acts like flashlights probing around in the darkness of the unknown. The moment of insight happens when the light goes on and clarity has come into my client’s awareness. With awareness comes choice and the ability to change.
As a counselor, teacher, trainer and coach for the past 30 plus years, I have developed mastery of my profession. This mastery is what comes to all of us who do what we do for a long time and with focused effort. In the service of human kind, I have been blessed in making a positive difference for a number of people and that feels good inside. I still have lots to give and will keep using my unique skill set to assist those who are ready to move to the next step in the further expression of who they are.
Have a good week by breathing with awareness and by being fully present to the amazing possibilities of your life.