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| A shelf in my bookcase |
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The photo above is the top shelf of my book case in my study, which is home to alot of books I have on Person Centred Counselling.
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| This is a picture of a seagull I took whilst walking my dog |
What have these pictures have in common?.....the connection is finally clear to me........being oneself. As a Year 3 student in my studies of person centred counselling, I was assessed today by my fellow students and course tutors as meeting the criteria to go out onto placement and practise counselling with real clients in the real world. But what does this have to do with seagulls you may ask, as I did. Now it makes perfect sense. Seagulls are "just seagulls". They aren't their ego, their job, their salary they just "are" and this (is my theory) between a seagull and me. To counsel, I need to be my authentic self, just "be me" and this I feel is why I have been taking many pictures of seagulls recently, because I see in them authenticity, freedom to be their real selves.....how can they be anything else other than a seagull?....doing their job just perfectly. I found the same of myself....so yes I am a bird! (but not of the feathered variety) but I do have wings none the less,and they have led me to fly from someone who wasn't my authentic self to someone who is, this is why I took voluntary redundancy from my job in IT and began training as a PCT counsellor.
I have mourned the bird I was in the world of IT to the free spirited bird I have become now - this is just the start of my counselling journey, I am now flying into the real world of client counselling.
I love how you have looked at the seagulls and made the connection to yourself. I have also studied counselling - but in SA you have to do it for no pay unless you are a psychologist. I did family counselling for about five years - it was quite difficult, I do miss it. I wish you well in this new career - it is a wonderful profession and so needed in our hectic crazy world - a safe place for people to be heard.
ReplyDeleteThanks Clare - family counselling sounds very challenging!
DeleteSuch a wonderful comparison and I have no doubt you will be a wonderful counsellor, with all your other skills you'll bring an eclectic mix to therapy and that's how changes and healing can happen xx
ReplyDeleteThanks Julia although for now I will have to stick with the PCT approach, but may move onto a more integrative approach in the future. Hope all is well with you x
DeleteAs someone who spent a good portion of their adult life trying to be something I wasn't, even though I knew already it was wrong, I relate totally to what you said. And you expressed it so well!
ReplyDeleteInteresting as well that we do still need to mourn that which we have chosen to leave behind so that we can move on and be truly fulfilled elsewhere.
Well done on your progress with the counselling and good luck with taking it out into the world.
Hugs
Debbie-J
Thanks Debbie-J, mourning my old job was something I hadn't thought I would do, but I did, for quite a long while!
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