My Work as a Counsellor
Throughout my undergraduate degree I focused most of my efforts on gaining relevant research experience; as a result, my counselling experience is admittedly limited. When I compare my experience with that of my colleagues in the counselling psychology program, I often find myself wanting. It’s at these times that I try to remind myself that while clinical practice is something that I want to be involved with, the bulk of my career interests involve research pursuits. While I do have a great deal of assessment experience, it is mainly in the context of psychological research and not counselling. That being said, below I will outline my main counselling experiences, past and future, and what I have or hope to gain from them.
Academic Advising and Career Centre
Outside of assessment, my first real counselling experience was volunteering at the University of Toronto Scarborough Campus' "Academic Advising & Career Centre" (AA&CC) as a Peer Employment Counsellor. In this position I was called upon to meet one on one with students involved with the employment searching process. While most of the time this was a fairly straight-forward process consisting of resume and cover letter building skills, it was not uncommon to have to delve a little deeper with students to explore what kind of careers they were searching for. In addition to my role as a volunteer employment counsellor, I was often required to identify clients presenting with possible mental health issues. While I did not treat them myself, I often gently inquired into the usefulness of seeking personal counselling to help both with their personal life and the career development process, providing referrals as appropriate. More than anything this position taught me how to actively listen to clients and provide support. Often the students who came to meet me were just seeking information on how to piece together a resume; however, having someone listen and support them while they learned this skill often allowed them to divulge personal concerns or distress from their lives. It really underlined the awesome power that non-judgemental listening can have.
Distress Centre Durham
My next counselling experience, and the first working with people experience mental health crises, was a short stint volunteering as a distress line worker with Distress Centre Durham (DCD). The Distress Centre was set up as a call-centre where people looking for someone to talk to were able to call in and speak with volunteers. While some of our clients were living with serious mental health disorders, the majority of the clients were lonely people looking for a friendly, non-judgemental person to talk with. Although I was not with the DCD for very long I learned a great deal about the mental health community and myself. I was able to receive training in suicide and crisis intervention, and gained many core counselling skills (i.e. active listening, open-ended questions, empathy, etc.). This position really forced me to consider the privilege I've been fortunate enough to live with most of my life. It was an eye-opener to realize how many people in my community were living with chronic abuse, neglect, and mental disorders.
I can still remember the content of my first call. The woman on the other end of the line was pouring all of her problems through the phone-line at me, and I remember sitting in the DCD office with the panicked thought that I had to fix all of this for her. I quickly realized that there was simply no way I was going to be able to do this and fell back on the counselling techniques I learned in my training. Nearing the end of the call I remember thinking "I haven't done anything for this woman at all". A few minutes later, just before our call ended she said "Thank-you so much for listening to me. It helps more than you can imagine". The sincerity in her voice and the importance of what she said hit me like a tonne of bricks. This was the moment that cemented in me that my decision to become a mental health professional was the correct one.
I can still remember the content of my first call. The woman on the other end of the line was pouring all of her problems through the phone-line at me, and I remember sitting in the DCD office with the panicked thought that I had to fix all of this for her. I quickly realized that there was simply no way I was going to be able to do this and fell back on the counselling techniques I learned in my training. Nearing the end of the call I remember thinking "I haven't done anything for this woman at all". A few minutes later, just before our call ended she said "Thank-you so much for listening to me. It helps more than you can imagine". The sincerity in her voice and the importance of what she said hit me like a tonne of bricks. This was the moment that cemented in me that my decision to become a mental health professional was the correct one.
CMHA London Wait List Clinic
Earlier this year I volunteered with a new program at CMHA London called "The Wait-list Clinic. It is set up such that student volunteers seeking experience in a counselling setting provide supervised one on one clinical services to adults from the community who are currently on the wait-list for further professional services. In my time at the wait list clinic I was able to meet with one client, a young man struggling with a recent diagnosis. I remember how terrified I was prior to entering the room to meet with him, my palms sweating, stomach churning, and hands trembling. As soon as I introduced myself I realized that this young man was just a person like you or me. It's something we often talk about in counselling training, but it's a very easy fact to forget. Clients are just people trying to live their lives the best way they know how. I was immediately more relaxed and was able to have several good sessions in the clinic with him.
I learned in the clinic that a lot of what is discussed in training is made infinitely more complicated when meeting with an actual client. Nothing is as black or white as it is often made out to be in lecture. Some times clients don't come back, often you're working with a multitude of different issues, and never is the situation cut and dry. This experience also allowed me the opportunity to learn from Dr. Bill Newby. He taught the other volunteers and I the importance of being cautiously confident in the knowledge that this is always a confusing field. No matter how long you work in it, you still here new things that stump you every week. I have taken this philosophy to heart and it has made me feel much more secure in knowing that, while the stakes may be high, it is impossible to expect yourself to know what to do or say at all times.
I learned in the clinic that a lot of what is discussed in training is made infinitely more complicated when meeting with an actual client. Nothing is as black or white as it is often made out to be in lecture. Some times clients don't come back, often you're working with a multitude of different issues, and never is the situation cut and dry. This experience also allowed me the opportunity to learn from Dr. Bill Newby. He taught the other volunteers and I the importance of being cautiously confident in the knowledge that this is always a confusing field. No matter how long you work in it, you still here new things that stump you every week. I have taken this philosophy to heart and it has made me feel much more secure in knowing that, while the stakes may be high, it is impossible to expect yourself to know what to do or say at all times.
The Student Development Centre
The next step on my journey as a counsellor is my clinical internship with the Student Development Centre (SDC) at the University of Western Ontario. Although I have only spoken with my new supervisors several times, I have learned that I will be able to participate in an intensive training process designed to make me a capable counsellor. In addition, the SDC provides close supervision and the opportunity for continued training through biweekly meetings and training sessions. I relish the opportunity to be working with student clients at the SDC and can't wait to see what I learn in my time there.