Thinking about counseling practice...

I have been hunting for a while now, for a brave person to practice on, for college. Studying counseling is great fun and I am learning so much- and it just keeps going! I am amazed at how much I have learned and then, looking forward- seeing how much more there is yet to learn, and just how much I need to practice!

Anyway, it has been quite a process getting the guts up to find a way to ask friends to be brave enough to agree to be ‘practiced upon’. Even braver have been the people who have eventually been amazing and said that they would indeed! Fortunately (probably!:) for them, I have found someone who has agreed to well, be listened to, which is great. I have been thinking about the other people though who put their hands up though. It’s such a funny thing- going to talk to someone who is trustworthy, outside the context of whatever is happening, and doing what counselors/psychologists do can be enormously helpful, and yet… like going to the Dr, we don’t want to, and choose not to till a situation gets really, really bad! It’s got me thinking about that middle ground, between talking to friends and getting up the courage to actually go and see someone. The funny thing is that the idea is usually harder than the reality, and once we have talked over whatever it is we need to talk over, often we feel better, and have the benefit of clearer perspective. I wonder if it would be easier to find some middle ground, or do we need to raise awareness of the role of a counselor- that they are indeed on your side, and won’t think the worse of you for any reason. They might not be impressed at the way other people are/have treated you, but that’s an entirely different story.

Thinking about that middle ground too… visions of a fast food restaurant come to mind!! But in actual fact, think it might be more akin to eating your fruit and veg every day before you have to make some major life changing decisions because you suddenly find you need to have heart surgery!

For now though, I am so grateful for these amazing people for their courage and bravery, and for the amazing way people stand in the gap for others!