Personal Reflection Paper #1
After taking the Character Strengths Survey, I discovered my top five strengths were: Hope, a sense of purpose, kindness, honesty and humor. Hope in a therapeutic setting is very essential in a sense that you are giving your client hope to see that tomorrow will be another day… a better day than the one before. It is guiding the client to see the light at the end of the tunnel; yes, you are an alcohol now but if you take these steps, follow through, you will soon overcome that obstacle. It can also be a weakness in a therapeutic setting because you, as the therapist/psychologist/counselor might give them too much hope and when the person does not reach that goal, they may fall back to square one. A sense of purpose is also very essential because you want the person to feel like they matter in this world. Someone may come into your office because they are depressed and suicidal, asking them questions about “how their mother, father, or sibling would feel” if he/she decided to kill themselves. Sometimes, just helping the person see that by committing this action will negatively impact others in their lives is all they need. This, too, can also be a weakness because if you’re taking that same approach I stated earlier, the person might respond by saying, “my parents are dead”, or “I am the only child” or “my family deserted me, and my girlfriend/boyfriend left…I have no one in this world.” So where would that leave you as a therapist? You would have to be very careful in whichever scenario you decide to portray because it could in the end turn around and bite you in the behind. Kindness is definitely very therapeutic, showing the person you value their input and that you are there to listen. It can also turn south because some people come in extremely vulnerable in most situations. Sometimes, showing too much kindness can be read as “I’m interested in you”, as it has happened to me countless of times when my intentions were purely innocent; I was just trying to help. Honesty is the best policy, but it can sometimes be the worst policy. As a counselor, you must be able to determine if your client is at the place (mentally) before you empty out your soul and rant on about why Mrs. Susie’s cakes are not the world’s most delicious cakes in the world but Marie Calendars’ is the best. You have to be able to discern where they are emotionally and how you’re going to deliver the news. Having a sense of humor is one of my strong suits. I find humor in something, no matter the situation. I am a person who truly believes that laughter is and always will be the best medicine because life is just too darn short to be sad and depressed all the time. Enjoy the little things…the simple things. Humor in a therapeutic setting is as essential, as it is dangerous. You can’t have a client come in because their mother passed away because their father accidentally shot her during a hunting accident and you say “at least it wasn’t you, right?” just to lighten the mood simply because you feel awkward. Sometimes you just have to sit there and listen. No jokes. Just be there and listen.
My bottom five strengths were: leadership, perseverance, bravery, teamwork and caution. It will be especially useful for me to strengthen my leadership skills in a therapeutic setting because I can encourage my client to get things done and preserve until the end. A great leader must first be a follower (to an extent). I need to know and observe what my client’s strengths and weaknesses are and help guide him/her along the right path.
Perseverance is another that I can use because sometimes a client or even the counselor might become a bit overwhelmed or just discouraged at how a session might be going. Things could be going well one day or for one week and then they start going downhill. I would need to see that from a distance and be able to pinpoint it before it starts to create a problem. When things get tough, I or the client shouldn’t pull back from the tough situation at hand but should push through until the end.
Bravery in a therapeutic setting is tricky, but a person must be careful in how they choose to execute it. Being brave is not just being courageous or being someone who doesn’t shy away from challenges, difficulty or pain but they are also smart/wise. I say this because a brave person will speak up for what is right, even if there is opposition but they must not let arrogance fil their head. Being brave is also using your best judgment in any situation and knowing the right time to say certain things.
Teamwork is vital in a counseling session because in a sense, the therapist/counselor/ or psychologist is working with the client in order to help him/her reach their goal. Although it may not be a group counseling session, but the two of you will be working as a team to help the process move along smoothly and more efficiently. As a therapist/counselor, you should always exercise caution because even you might end up saying something you could later regret if you’re not careful enough. For example, let’s take the scenario I used earlier about the person who came to therapy because their father accidentally killed their mother in a hunting accident. Yes, no one should never make a joke about someone’s loved one passing, but it could also have a negative effect on the client. They might commit suicide (if they were already thinking it), they could probably lash out and say a few things they themselves would regret later or it might even escalate to an altercation between the counselor vs. the client. You don’t really know where the client’s mind is, you just know that they’re sad and hurt. Don’t say or do things you might later regret.