Personal Philosophy Personal Philosophy on Counselling on Counselling

By Claire Rachael Pitt

Disclaimer of sorts.....Disclaimer of sorts.....This presentation was done with my fellow counselling students in

mind, the poor folks that have been stuck with me for the past three years...

It is missing a lot of the personal waffle that makes this slightly more coherent, as that was adlibbed on the night of the

presentation.

You may like or find something of use in this presentation, or you may not.

I am adding this to the online world so I that can upload it to my blog and keep it there to remind me of my views on counselling

and counselling studies at this moment in time.

I have probably made a total mess of some metaphors, analogies and whatnots.

Read on if you like .......

Hey! How did I get here?Hey! How did I get here?Well not actually here, I know how I got here tonight. I meant here as in ‘On the Counselling Diploma’.

I stumbled upon the level 1 course after seeing it mentioned in the paper or something like that, I can’t actually remember where.. whoops. I just know the idea got stuck in my head somehow.

I remember my sister had to take/make me sign up and I was disappointed to find out it was full up! That disappointment was quickly followed by relief, phew I escaped!

Anyhoo I got on the course after all (obviously), after some rejigging ( or a hit on the person that stole my place).

And so it begins.......... Dam dam der! (meant to sound sinister)

So Why Counselling?So Why Counselling?The main motivation was to get my brain back into action after bombing out of university, looking after the mum and

generally feeling like I was just going through the motions in life.

In all honesty though, I wasn’t thinking that deeply about it back then. Counselling was just one of the many topics that I

could of picked.

Counselling would be a piece of cake, it is just like talking and stuff after all. Although I don’t actually like talking about

myself.........

I hope I have made it clear that I had no idea what I was letting myself in for, I may of said the right things at the

time, but I certainly wasn’t ‘feeling’ them at all.

Hmmm they all seem to Hmmm they all seem to get itget it

As the course progressed and I reached the diploma level, I still wasn’t ‘getting it’ . The talk was being talked, but I wasn’t feeling

that counselling was something I could actually wrap my head around. If I couldn’t understand the benefits myself, how would I

be able to work with clients? Do I even like listening to people that much? Am I any good at it? Will I ever stop feeling

sick/terrified of bloody skills practice?

Did the students that had been through their own personal therapy have more of a grasp on the concepts because of their

experiences with therapy?

Was I really putting in the effort to give this a real chance ?

Opening that can of Opening that can of wormswormsOh? I am not actually ‘Perfect, Fine and ah hem normal’

Which is something I already knew, but putting it out there was a whole other ballgame.

Looking back at my blog in the very beginning, I took a very theoretical approach to my counselling studies. Wanting to

know how everyone else felt, not realising or even thinking to ask myself how I was feeling. I just found it all ‘fascinating’ or

‘interesting’. I was focusing on everything and everyone around me and not bothering to look within. To be honest just writing ‘look within’ would of made me retch and think ‘what

an idiot’, ‘what is she harping on about’ ‘bloody hippy’. Light bulb

moment after doing my own

past, present and future window

artwork

“That's a whole new can of worms”

Ouch! This is rather blood Ouch! This is rather blood painful.painful.

Peeling back the layers Peeling back the layers The onion (metaphorical me) got peeled and guess what?

It does in fact feel bloody awful at times.

You get the Highs of the Light bulb moments. Which makes certain things clear and you have a sense of

self awareness that just wasn’t there before.

Then you get the Lows. Unfortunately once you turn that self awareness button ‘ON’ there is no ‘OFF’ button and that self awareness follows you

round like an uninvited guest at times.

Once you start peeling back those layers, there is no stopping you, well certainly not in my case.

This can feel Painful and This can feel Painful and LonelyLonely

Leading to Bad TimesLeading to Bad Times

But if you Dig a little deeper, But if you Dig a little deeper, peel off a little more.peel off a little more.

It can Lead to Good It can Lead to Good Times.Times.

“ My personal philosophy is....Life is full of potholes,

you might fall down them. So pack a torch,

rope and crampons, climb the fuck out and get

ready to do it all again.”

Sounds good? Does it?Unfortunately life is not that simple and its much easier

said than done.

My old personal My old personal philosophyphilosophy

What happens when you fall down that pothole and just can’t find a way out or lack the energy to climb out.

Its dark down here and your scared.

How can a therapist help you get out?

1.Abseil down and sit with you in the dark? Well it would be nice to have some company down here, it is lonely.

2.Talk about getting out and how that would feel.3.As you talk and begin to feel stronger you realise that you do have the strength to climb out of the pothole by

yourself.4.They may bring biscuits and a thermos of tea.

5.Hit the therapist on the head and steal their rope, its much better than your one....

6.Next time a pot hole appears in your path, it might not be as scary because you gotten out before.

Changing that philosophy Changing that philosophy

The Integrative Approach The Integrative Approach

Just what is the integrative approach and how does it work?

I have been my own guinea pig on this and have come up with several ways of trying to explain it.....

The Smoothie The Smoothie Imagine that each type of therapy is a fruit and the therapeutic

process is a blender. The fruit can work well on its own, but together they can work in a different way.

For each new client you can make a new smoothie. The outcome is not unknown as you know your getting a smoothie.

The Porridge Test The Porridge Test Goldilocks is looking for the perfect porridge therapy, but

what is perfect for her?

Bowl One: 3 spoons of CBT, 1 spoon of PC and a big splash of Psychodynamic.

Bowl Two: 1 spoon of CBT, 1 dollop of Gestalt, 3 spoons of PC and a small splash of psychodynamic.Bowl Three: 5 spoons of PC and a splash of

psychodynamic.

Which one?

After all that searching for the perfect bowl of porridge, it had gone bloody cold. Although you know all the

ingredients involved, you have to remember that most important is goldilocks and not her porridge.

Hmmm I think I like it.Hmmm I think I like it.If we hadn’t been studying an integrative approach, I believe my own personal development would of been stunted.

I wasn’t keen on the idea of psychodynamic or CBT, I think it was the language used in both. PC (Person

Centred) sounded okay, just listening right? The more I learnt the more I could see the value in each therapy,

how they worked individually but more importantly how they worked together.

I think the ‘Inner Child’ work really resonated with me and I have learnt a lot from it, the ability to use it in the ‘here and now’ has made it a very valuable tool for my

particular toolbox.

Each element used in the integrative approach has had an impact on me and I will whizz through them now.

Hello from my Inner Child (from Hello from my Inner Child (from Jungian Jungian psychology)psychology)

“The most potent muse of all is our own inner child.”

Stephen Nachmanovitch

I would of never gone I would of never gone here....here....

Peeking inside wee me at age 11, more painful than I had first imagined

Or hereOr here

Fear and Monsters (CBT)Fear and Monsters (CBT)

Just what are my monsters?

Change it..... (CBT) Change it..... (CBT)

Talk about it (Person Centred Talk about it (Person Centred and psychodynamic)and psychodynamic)

Doodle It (Art Therapy)Doodle It (Art Therapy)

Not the tutorNot the tutor

Blog it.... (Creative Blog it.... (Creative Writing)Writing)

Blogging during the whole of my counselling studies journey has been immensely helpful.

So?So?What is my take on the Integrative

Approach?

It is a fluid thingIt is a fluid thing

I think if you substitute ‘warrior’ for ‘Therapist’ this quote sums up how I feel about being a therapist.

Therapy should be a fluid thing, not an exact science but not trial and error either.

You can talk about porridge and smoothies till the cows come home, some clients will get it and some

will not.

“Feeling important makes one heavy, clumsy and vain. To be a warrior one needs to be

light and fluid.””

 Carlos Castaneda quotes (Peruvian born American best-selling Author and Writer, 1925-1998)

Don’t be rigid Don’t be rigid

“Unless the knowledge gained from experience is reconditioned in each new situation, it is a rigid and a

dangerous guide.”

Square Peg Round Hole Square Peg Round Hole

I got it Backwards I got it Backwards I may of started this course with the wrong thinking hat on, but I

have begun to realise that although I wasn’t sure why I started this course or at least why I thought I started this course, I can now see why I stayed. Looking back at myself and within myself has enabled

me to see the way forward.“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived

forwards.”

Shit Sandwich Shit Sandwich

Life is a shit sandwich. But if

you've got enough bread, you don't taste the shit.

~Jonathan WintersLife does not have to be a shit sandwich and you don’t have

to eat it. Hopefully keeping a check on your mental health will one day

just be like popping into the dentist, no stigma attached.

Thanks for listening Thanks for listening and reading and reading

It has been a bumpy road, a river full of rapids, but the most enjoyable thing I have ever done.

Not actually this presentation, although it has been nice..........