Welcome.
Life is a therapist...and so am I. Welcome to my blog.
I recently became certified as a psychologist after five years of undergraduate studies, a two year Masters program, and a nearly two year registration process consisting of two grueling exams and almost 2,000 hours of on-site, face-to-face, supervised training and experience. I am now working full-time as a psychologist in a forensic (correctional) setting, and also work one or two evenings a week at a private practice office in the community.
I became registered only six short months ago, and although I have gained several years of experience prior to that through my schooling as well as volunteering for a suicide/crisis intervention hotline, I recognize that I am still very new to the field of Psychology. The learning curve has been a steep one and I often feel as though my wings were given to me prematurely -- I don't quite feel ready to take off and fly on my own without the comfort and security of a supervisor (or, more importantly, a supervisor's signature) to land on if I fall.
I have learned about countless theories, memorized dozens of methodologies, and practiced many new skills and techniques in my work with clients, and while my confidence is slowly on the increase, I often feel that I fall short of having "what it takes" to be a good therapist. Learning the definition of cognitive-behavioural therapy out of a text book is very different than finding effective ways to help a client challenge negative cognitions and identify errors in thinking in a one-hour session. Leading a client through a role-play exercise to overcome a traumatic memory of sexual abuse requires more than simply understanding the theory of process-experiential therapy.
In my journey to become a psychologist I have constantly struggled with wondering (and worrying) whether I am really doing all I can to provide the best possible service to my clients, whether my particular "brand" of therapy is working, and whether my clients are getting what they truly need out of their work with me. I believe this may be due to a number of factors, at least in my personal experience:
The fine print
I recently became certified as a psychologist after five years of undergraduate studies, a two year Masters program, and a nearly two year registration process consisting of two grueling exams and almost 2,000 hours of on-site, face-to-face, supervised training and experience. I am now working full-time as a psychologist in a forensic (correctional) setting, and also work one or two evenings a week at a private practice office in the community.
I became registered only six short months ago, and although I have gained several years of experience prior to that through my schooling as well as volunteering for a suicide/crisis intervention hotline, I recognize that I am still very new to the field of Psychology. The learning curve has been a steep one and I often feel as though my wings were given to me prematurely -- I don't quite feel ready to take off and fly on my own without the comfort and security of a supervisor (or, more importantly, a supervisor's signature) to land on if I fall.
I have learned about countless theories, memorized dozens of methodologies, and practiced many new skills and techniques in my work with clients, and while my confidence is slowly on the increase, I often feel that I fall short of having "what it takes" to be a good therapist. Learning the definition of cognitive-behavioural therapy out of a text book is very different than finding effective ways to help a client challenge negative cognitions and identify errors in thinking in a one-hour session. Leading a client through a role-play exercise to overcome a traumatic memory of sexual abuse requires more than simply understanding the theory of process-experiential therapy.
In my journey to become a psychologist I have constantly struggled with wondering (and worrying) whether I am really doing all I can to provide the best possible service to my clients, whether my particular "brand" of therapy is working, and whether my clients are getting what they truly need out of their work with me. I believe this may be due to a number of factors, at least in my personal experience:
- Clients may only attend one or two sessions and never call back again. Whether they got what they needed in those one or two hours, or felt that those hours were a complete waste of time, or came to the realization that they weren't yet ready to engage in therapy, is rarely, if ever, known.
- Clients (particularly those in a correctional setting) can be mean, manipulative, demanding, and above all, resistant. Even if you know this and do everything you can to prepare yourself for it, it's hard not to be caught off guard and feel inadequate or incompetent when it happens.
- Confidentiality is paramount. As such, opportunities to learn through observation are few and far between. I learn best through observation -- which creates something of a dilemma. Therapy becomes very much an independent learning process in that way, and it is difficult to learn new skills when you don't often get to see them used first-hand and in real-life counselling situations.
The fine print
- I respect the right of my clients to full privacy and confidentiality in their personal matters and I will never share personal details or identifying information of any of the people with whom I work in this blog. My goal here is to open a discussion of the process of therapy and to identify areas for my own personal growth, not to seek individualized case consultation or to discuss specific clients.
- If you are a mental health professional, please feel free to comment and share your own ideas regarding your preferred techniques, skills you have found helpful in your work, links to helpful information, or other feedback. Please extend the same ethical courtesy to your clients that I have extended to mine and refrain from sharing identifying information about your clients.
- I apologize if you are insulted, offended, or otherwise irked by interchanging terms such as counsellor, psychotherapist, therapist, psychologist, etc. While I recognize there may be subtle differences in the terminology, for the purposes of this blog, they mean essentially the same thing to me. Feel free to leave a comment if you are particularly passionate about this subject.
- It is my hope that this blog will eventually foster sharing and discussion among mental health professionals who are, like me, eager to learn, grow, and develop their skills. Please be kind and respectful in your comments. While constructive feedback and debate/discussion is welcome, purposeless negativity is not. Posts that do not abide by this simple and decidedly common-sensical rule will be deleted.
- Even if you are not a mental health professional yourself, I welcome your input, comments, and questions! Please note, however, that individualized counselling, consultation, or other psychological services will not be provided by way of this blog. If you feel that you may be in need of psychological or psychiatric intervention, please contact a mental health professional in your area -- online search of your local Yellow Pages should yield a wealth of community resources available to you. Your community may also have an information and referral service such as 211 that you might find useful. If you require additional assistance finding services in your area, please feel free to ask me and I'll do my best to help you out.
If you are currently in crisis and require immediate
support, please contact your nearest emergency department
or a crisis intervention hotline in your area.
This is awesome...so well written. Can't wait for the next post :)
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