Counseling Self-Awareness

Funnily enough, doctors seem to be difficult patients. few of them know that smoking is d raiseous to their health yet they smoke nonetheless. The akin is true with counselors. They seem to understand a lot of the problems of their patients and the people who gather up advice from them. Yet, when it comes to their necessitate issues and their receive problems, they do not seem to be utile in following the very corresponding advice that they would give to their knobs if asked about the same problem. Counselors withal have their own issues and their own ad hominem problems. It may be well-nigh baggage from the past or around unresolved personal issues.Some of these issues may interfere with the way that counselors do their job. It would be very classical therefore for counselors to be aware of themselves and their own issues if they were to become effective in recognizeing with themselves and their own issues so that they can prevent these issues from affecting their looks on the issues being presented by their clients. Personal Assessment Strengths I have my own authoritys and my weaknesses. I recognize the importance of identifying these so that I can in effect deal with my clients and the advice and resolution that I can provide my clients would be effective.Objectivity in any situation is difficult to achieve most of the time. Emotions can overcast up the situation as well as the vested interests and even monetary stick windations of people. Setting past some of these considerations is a practice I have achieved over the past few years of training and practicing as a counselor. Even when I was a child, I already displayed a certain(a) level of objectivity in my dealings with my playmates and my family. Objectivity, no matter what postmodernists and some other critics may claim, is achiev equal to(p) up to a certain degree, although it cannot be through completely. I consider this as one of my strengths as a counselor.In the conform ation of my counseling practice, I would encounter people with incompatible lifestyle choices and take issueent views from those that I espouse. If I allow myself to be affected by such(prenominal) views I would not be an effective counselor. Yet, if I am sufficient to practice objectivity, I can analyze my clients situation and predicaments from their own points of view and try to present solutions that are workable and acceptable to my clients. Another strength that I have when it comes to dealing with the counseling profession is my ability to tell apart my own principles and my own views from that of my clients.I know that I am not able to accomplish this perfectly yet I can set aside my prejudices and my biases. In this regard, I sometimes feel want a priest behind the confessional, unable to see the counselee but can hear him or her perfectly and deal with the issues at hand. Although different schools of thought may differ in their views regarding empathizing and showin g excessive emotions to counselees, I can also contain a very tight rein with my emotions if requireed. Likewise, I can also show emotions sympathizing with the client if I feel that this is ingested by the client.I am careful, however, in dealing with persons from the opposite sex, especially in regards to emotions because of the awkward situations that it may engender. As a counselor, I want to rid of complications as it would be very difficult to be involved in such cases. When dealing with the opposite sex, I have created a set of rules for myself, which have gartered me in my practice and in avoiding difficult situations that are difficult to place international from. Such set of rules is therefore very important for me and I consider this as my strength. Personal Assessment My WeaknessesThere are some disappointments that I debate I havent gotten over yet. When I was younger, I valued to become a medical doctor and study at trick Hopkins. However, due to financial co nstraints and some complications in my own academic performance, I did not manage to achieve this. Yet, I have completed the requirements of psychology and became a counselor instead. When I look back at this dream, I still remember the regret and the disappointment I had when I observed that I did not make it to John Hopkins. The disappointment has faded yet the pangs of regret and pain are still there.It seems that I also need to spend some time in order to finally get over this. In addition to this, I also have some baggage because of my relationship with my popping. I was not really close to my dad when I was growing up. He was conservative and too much of a disciplinarian for me to be close to him. As such, when I was younger, I both loved him and hated him at the same time. During the times that I matte up that I hated him, I also felt guilty because I knew that I should not be feeling that way because he is my dad. Yet, I could not help it.The feelings were intense. Deep inside my heart, the anger developed because of what looked to me like neglect and his improper treatment of me and my mom. Surprisingly though, my younger sibling got a better kind of treatment from him. It seems he changed later in life. The anger and the pain, however, were etched deep within me and I might also need some time in order to sort through my emotions and deal with them. Thankfully, during the times that I maundered with my mother, we managed to discuss our negative emotions and somehow managed to forgive my dad.It comes as no surprise though that I also have some unmet needs. In order for me to deal with these unmet needs, I usually write or if I could not write, I call my best friend and talk about my issues. My friend has been very faithful in listening to me. Although he is not a professional counselor as I am, he is nonetheless showing me some of the principles that I follow. When I am approach with my own problems I tend to scribble notes and brainstorm on ph ysical composition the best course of action that I have to take.Sometimes, I do this with my clients and some of them have been taken aback when they saw me doing it. So I have had to restrain myself on several occasions on doing such. When I can no longer restrain myself though, I ask my client if it is okay to take down notes and scribble on my paper while he or she is talking. I have also received varied response to this. I tend to follow the same process in dealing with the problems of other people. That is why, I always have a ready to hand(p) notebook to help me deal with different problems. ConclusionIn my meetings with my counselees, I could not help but learn from them too. Whenever I listen to problems and discover that such problems recollect my own, I tend to keep a check on myself and avoid dwelling on my own problems. If I do, I might get lost with my clients own problem and that would create a problem with me. Thus, I tend to check myself every now and then. I hav e also written a note to myself in my own notebook to constantly remind me of the need to focus on my clients problems. Whenever I enter my office, I enter the professional sphere and I withdraw from my personal issues behind.