Today's post is one of appreciation and professional admiration for Sarah, who I am sure we would all agree, delivered a wonderful session this afternoon. She fielded all your brilliant questions, thematically, whether they were sent to us beforehand, or asked naturally in relation to the many diverse topics of conversation. Just fantastic. Organic, dynamic and all inclusive learning right there within that short time.
As way of a brief overview of what was discussed then, here goes...
Sarah was very clear to signpost that her thoughts were her own, and not necessarily those of all, or other therapists. She opened up by giving us a privileged insight into her own career path, remembering, the journey is in progress for us all, it doesn't necessarily ever end!
I was particularly impressed with how Sarah worked with the group, so naturally. You were seeing a professional, caring expert at work there, always careful to mention you by name and skilfully giving some examples of her own life experiences, including coping with grief as means of providing context.
The theory (I know some of you love a bit of theory, some are still being persuaded) aspect was very clear. It IS important, as Sarah, Jacqui and I would all agree, which helps make sense of the practical nature of arguably any subject, whatever it may be. The theoretical concepts help build the foundations, as is the import of personal development. Another key point was that you will ultimately get to know yourself on a better/different level when practising therapy, or indeed if you are in therapy. Client communication and in fact all communication is extremely important. And that is what we are developing in this Unit, namely oral, written, listening and reading analysis. It all ties in, seamlessly, but nevertheless. needs to be learned.
Supervision became another principal theme on the day, where Sarah discussed how essential a person centred approach is. The allocation of supervisors was also cross-referred to and this led into some interesting discourse about ethics and professionalism.
The question of self-care routine was next up and that really opened up some healthy communication. Sarah noted that she had no routine per se, but had strategies. She stated that we are all likely to do things differently, but for her, the outdoors is essential, with walking, swimming and the like being particularly helpful to her. For others, it could be the gym, skincare regimes, dog-walking and so on. This led onto some discussion about the emotional impact of supporting people and all that this entails.
When the subject of starting up a practise was posed, Sarah suggested (her opinion) that you don't do that straight away after graduation. The safety aspect and pros and cons of working from home were also discussed in this section, with some excellent proactive questions being asked, which were both sensible and practical. Neutrality of the room was also noted as being really crucial to promote a relaxed environment.
In terms of competition, and I guess that IS the right word contextually, it was noted that there is certainly a need for therapy and therapists and most likely, even more (potential) clients. Sarah talked about how she utilised her excellent networking skills when she decided to start her own Counselling business and does not advertise as such. Being comfortable with a client is so important and how and why you might decide a prospective client is not the right 'fit' for you was talked through.
When we looked at the pandemic and how this has changed the world of Counselling, this led neatly onto the topic of educational learning. There was some interesting debate around the practicalities of such. Sarah reflected on the point that going online, wrestling with Zoom (as we all did, educators, counsellors, learners, children, doctors etc,) was arguably / probably where Counselling was actually heading anyway. I found this segment particularly interesting as I see you as such a collegiate group, yet one who have never met in person yet. Jacqui's comments about the dynamics of classes changing when in a face to face context was fascinating. The watchword in this part of the q and a was really about accessibility for me. This developed into the theme of current trends, which helped us focus on key issues such as isolation, anxiety, and the client perspective. Sarah outlined her objective pros and cons at this juncture.
The session finished with a short dialogue about qualifications and levels. The best advice from the three of us was to look into the qualifications which suit your needs the best and if University study is where you are heading, Strathclyde University was heralded as a good starting point. As always though, my (Mark's) advice is to speak with Kathleen and Len who will have the best in-house recommendations for you, depending on your respective career paths. One thing is for sure and that is this - that you ALL display many great skills and traits that are essential to become professional Counsellors. And remember, once qualified, everybody is a colleague.
I am certain that there was much more communicated than previously noted, but I am very keen for you to comment in the section below as to what you enjoyed about the session. There are no specific prompts, just some feedback on what you gained from Sarah's wise counsel.
I shall leave you with these websites that Sarah discussed and thank you to Lisa too for alerting us to a podcast which will, I am sure, be of great use to us all.
Sarah, I have a feeling I may ask you back in the Ne'er sometime if you are willing!
Business Gateway | Business Gateway (bgateway.com)
Counsellor Online Resources and CPD • Counselling Tutor
Podcast Archives • Counselling Tutor
Counselling Directory - Find a Counsellor Near You (counselling-directory.org.uk)
ONLINE CPD FOR COUNSELLORS & PSYCHOTHERAPISTS - onlinevents.co.ukonlinevents.co.uk
Home - Person-Centred Therapy Scotland (pctscotland.co.uk)
Improving children’s mental health in schools – Place2Be
I THINK that is them all, I certainly hope so. If I missed anything out, please holler and I will add the link in for everybody.
I look forward to your comments as always and thank you to everybody who attended today, it was a truly memorable and informative experience.
Yours aye,
Mark
Hello all,
Thank you to everybody who contributed this afternoon and well done to the four presenters who delivered great research.
Congrats. go to Anna, Andrea, Ciara and Robin who discussed the following topics: depression, perinatal mental health, postnatal depression and the ineffectiveness of Freud's theories. Some great research again, make no mistake. Excellent questions again, thank you for them. They were all thoughtful and linked to the talks very well indeed.
Next week is in two parts: Sarah from 2-3, followed by a short reflective session on the oral presentation assessment, including my own reflections.
Lorraine, Alannah and Jonathan will present on Tuesday 16th November, all first attempts for the avoidance of any doubt.
On the 16th I will look at formal writing (report) and this is likely to be on the same subject as your respective presentation topics, but you ARE permitted to change to another Counselling related subject should you so wish.
Please make any comments on today's talks in the comments below, they really resonate I feel.
Great stuff all, have a lovely evening.
Mark
Hello all,
I am delighted to let you know that next Tuesday (9th November), my former colleague at the old Stevenson College (now Edinburgh College) and good friend, Sarah Austin, has accepted my invitation to speak to you via Zoom at the start of our normal class. She is really looking forward to connecting with you.
She will be with us for an hour to talk about her role as a Counsellor and importantly, to field any questions you might have for her related to the world of Counselling.
A little about Sarah then, which I hope you will find helpful.
Sarah holds an Honours Degree in Psychology, with twenty-six years experience in FE teaching in Special Education, Social Care and Counselling. She has been in private practise as a Person Centred Therapist since 2005, supervising other therapists since 2013 and training Postgraduate Psychotherapy students since 2015.
Sarah works using a Person Centred approach, first developed by Carl Rogers. This approach is client-led and supports clients' natural ability to develop and change within an accepting, non-judgemental therapeutic relationship. It aims to develop as equal power dynamic as possible so the therapist is not seen as the 'expert' and does not give advice.
Food for thought:
As therapists we're continually developing our practise: at the moment, the world of counselling is changing rapidly with online therapy (eg. using Zoom) now being offered by almost all therapists as an option. This has implications for how we communicate and how we work safely but also means we can work with clients from anywhere in the world.
I am certain that we will have an excellent time with Sarah next week.
Please e mail me any questions you may have by the end of this week please (5th November), which is coincidentally Sarah's birthday and I will send them on to her before next week.
I look forward to listening to the session very much indeed.
Mark
Hello again everybody,
Another wonderful round of presentations today, I thoroughly enjoyed them all.
Well done to Joanne, Ainsley, Yvonne, John and Jan who were all successful today.
The subjects covered today were as follows: Social Media and the effects on the young, CBT, Grief and effects on mental health / wellbeing, PTSD, Complex Trauma.
Again, some brilliant research, logical links in the talks, some personalisation, but lots of solid content to help scaffold all the fine content. Top drawer for the second week running.
"Tomorrow can be a new day", and today has been an excellent day.
Please note your thoughts below in the comments section, especially if you presented today and of course, if you were in the audience listening in.
Have a great week everybody and I look forward to the final seven talks next Tuesday.
Here's to a restful evening.
Mark
Hello all,
I thoroughly enjoyed the six presentations we listened to today for the Communication Unit we are working on.
I think Jan and Yvonne summed it up perfectly when they noted they were fantastic and fabulous, and I must agree.
We had six very competent deliveries which were well researched, sensibly structured, covering a variety of topics and to a high standard of delivery, so well done to Kellie-Anne, John, Lisa, Shannon, Vel and Robyn.
The subjects were Alcohol and Drug Addiction, Meditation, Wim Hof Method, Trichotillomania, The Gloria Films and Dialectical Behavioural Therapy.
I would like you to comment on how you felt the session went this afternoon, especially if you presented your research today, but I encourage any attendee to provide feedback too. Every comment counts after all!
Wonderful work all round and total success, very well done.
Thank you to all attendees; I am sure you will have learned a great deal from the talks, for lots of reasons.
Please note down your reflections below.
Mark
Hello all,
Here are some links that may be of interest to you, not only for my unit, but for other aspects on your Programme.
DOAJ (Directory of Open Access Journals)
Hodder Education Magazine Extras
Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET)
Internet Archive - "free books, movies, software, music, websites, and more"
JSTOR - includes ebooks
National Library of Scotland (Digital Resources) - registration required
Scientific Research - international
Scottish Government Library Services Newsfeeds - some open access
Taylor & Francis - link leads to specific open access journals
TED Talks - videos
University of Westminster Press - mainly ebooks
Wiley Open Access - link leads to specific open access journals
Enjoy!
Mark
