It is down and outright unethical for counselors to meet their needs through their clients; be it their need is to be depended upon or to get a sense of mastery out of their clients. Some may even be a counselor just to fulfill their needs of being loved or needed by another. The essence is that counselors should be aware of their motif when it comes to counseling practice.
What is/are my motive(s) to practice counseling?
Maybe a better question for me to ponder would be: Why am I in counseling in the first place?
Truthfully... I don't really have a concrete answer myself. I took up counseling because that was one of the Masters course available in English in Malaysia. I could have easily chosen the courses provided by the public university but... call me bias (despite learning that one should be open and culturally sensitive), they were not my cup of tea. Now, there's another course - Masters in Clinical Psych available in HELP which very much tickles my interest but... it is no longer in the realm of my choices. Not only am I on the verge of finishing my current course, it maybe too hard a course for me to keep up with though undeniably, I think I would love it more than counseling. Counseling is to certain extent too ambiguous and too vague which is not to my liking whereas Clinical psych tend to provide more objective answers. Of course, both are advantageous when it involves the helping profession; I would say it's a matter of perspective.
Anyways, putting that aside, am I going to be potentially at risk at meeting my own needs through my clients? This thought came to my mind last two days when I stumbled upon one of the most interesting cases. It was my first experience with a student who totally rejected me. I wasn't even able to start class as he sat on the sofa, in the same position, for almost 2 whole hours. That's how determined he was, sending the message that he DID NOT want tuition. The thing was that I didn't even feel like withdrawing. I got even more excited and intrigued by the boy's reaction. To me, it was a good opportunity for me to practice my counseling skills and if I could really break the boy, it would definitely boost my confidence when it comes to practicum semester. Now, in relation to my self-reflection - Why am I practicing counseling? Is it to meet my needs of self-mastery? Or am I interested in the welfare of the boy? Maybe... Maybe not...
What is/are my motive(s) to practice counseling?
Maybe a better question for me to ponder would be: Why am I in counseling in the first place?
Truthfully... I don't really have a concrete answer myself. I took up counseling because that was one of the Masters course available in English in Malaysia. I could have easily chosen the courses provided by the public university but... call me bias (despite learning that one should be open and culturally sensitive), they were not my cup of tea. Now, there's another course - Masters in Clinical Psych available in HELP which very much tickles my interest but... it is no longer in the realm of my choices. Not only am I on the verge of finishing my current course, it maybe too hard a course for me to keep up with though undeniably, I think I would love it more than counseling. Counseling is to certain extent too ambiguous and too vague which is not to my liking whereas Clinical psych tend to provide more objective answers. Of course, both are advantageous when it involves the helping profession; I would say it's a matter of perspective.
Anyways, putting that aside, am I going to be potentially at risk at meeting my own needs through my clients? This thought came to my mind last two days when I stumbled upon one of the most interesting cases. It was my first experience with a student who totally rejected me. I wasn't even able to start class as he sat on the sofa, in the same position, for almost 2 whole hours. That's how determined he was, sending the message that he DID NOT want tuition. The thing was that I didn't even feel like withdrawing. I got even more excited and intrigued by the boy's reaction. To me, it was a good opportunity for me to practice my counseling skills and if I could really break the boy, it would definitely boost my confidence when it comes to practicum semester. Now, in relation to my self-reflection - Why am I practicing counseling? Is it to meet my needs of self-mastery? Or am I interested in the welfare of the boy? Maybe... Maybe not...
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