Learning from My Mistakes in Clinical Practice

You must be trustworthy in order to keep client information confidential, which also requires restraint and discipline. Most importantly, a counselor must keep up with their own mental health. Knowing how to cope, unwind, and relax after serving others can sometimes become emotionally taxing. Taking care of oneself in order to help others is paramount to success in their career. I believe that I posses all of these qualities and can learn to strengthen and apply them through your graduate program. In a world that is ever changing, diversity training and sensitivity is also important. As a therapist, I will be placed in environments with the opportunity to work with people from different backgrounds, cultures, beliefs, traditions, and approaches than I. Building rapport through relationship and empathy will be the key to giving my clients the assurance needed to make their first step toward changing their lives and moving forward toward their desired self. My job, as a counselor is to empower, not to tear down, which is why I will seek to give back my services in low income areas, nonprofit organizations, as well as on a volunteer basis to improve my very own community.

It was positive on the basis that as I am hands on person when it comes to using computers I was able to manage all tasks carried out by the admin whereas due to policies and procedures and the level of confidentiality I wasn’t able to sit through mediation meetings held between the couples, I was only able to sit through a few MIAMS which are initial meetings between clients one and two with a mediator in separate meetings. Using Rolfe’s developmental model of the three questions what? So what? and what now? I would reflect on one incident when I typed up the wrong letter to send out to the client as I was told to follow a procedure that I was taught by the admin team on a previous occasion (Appendix 5)( (Jasper, 2003). As the admin team approached me in the next morning telling me to take out the files I closed the day before I felt nervous and confused I began to question myself and my hands started to sweat as I wasn’t told why to carry out the task of taking the files out when I was told what I have done as explained in appendix 5, at first I felt very upset as I believed it wasn’t entirely my fault as I carried out the task that was assigned to me by the other member of the admin team, then I thought this is the time for me to act brave and learn the actual procedure and correct my mistake as by getting upset will only bring my confidence level down and as a person I won’t feel

I always feel slightly off when returning to clinical practice after a break, whether that is one week due to SIM or a whole month for Christmas break. I felt like my sense of direction was disheveled this week. My first morning with a client I found myself lost on were to even start with her care. I forgot to introduce myself during my first morning and I found myself relying on the outline sheet for a head to toe. Even finding my way around the unit made things take slightly longer than I would have liked. As the day progressed I began to get back into the groove of things. Going into the second shift my morning was much smoother and I didn’t have to look at my head to toe guide as I preformed my assessments. I felt more comfortable with my charting and was able

Now that I have explained why I am interested the Capella, I will explain how my personality, beliefs, values, thoughts, and experiences influence the way I look at the world in conjunction with my role as a future professional counselor. In general, I receive satisfaction from helping others fix their own problems. As I help others, I observe various outlooks on problems and solutions that I would not have noticed alone. I think that fits with the Wellness Model, which states, “the counselor assesses client’s current functioning in several areas and helps determine which factors are interfering with the individual reaching his/her potential.” I look at my

Throughout my clinical experiences, there have been quite a few circumstances I have been placed in that have remained with me whether good or bad. All of them have been learning experiences for me whether it is how to improve and to do better next time from a mistake, for me to learn that this is or is not how a patient should be treated, how to handle family situations, and many others. One experience that I was able to participate in that will remain with me because I had not experienced this before was during my critical care rotation in the fall of 2015. This patient was dying and we were implementing comfort care for him.

Use your work from P3 and analyse (consider in detail) it e.g. what are your strengths in counselling skills, why you think they are your strengths and where do you use them. What are your weaknesses, why do you think they are your weaknesses and what can you do to turn them into strengths.

Each person is unique with different gifts, abilities, and struggles. Counselors are committed to walk with individuals on their journeys to growth and healing without judgement.

Step one is defining the problem. This means that you need to see the current crisis the way that the client is seeing it right now. In this step you need to employ what is known as core listening skills, being empathetic, being genuine and showing acceptance or positive regard for their situation.(James, 2004)

My clinical day of week 3 started pretty much with the same routine. I had to shadow a CNA preceptor and helped her throughout her assignment. By late morning, I have encountered a patient that at first refused to have a conversation with me despite my efforts of searching the right therapeutic questions that will make her open up to me. I founded the situation to be a little bit frustrated and made me feel unsuccessful that I was not be able to form a relationship with the patient. I did not know what to do or what to say. She just kept staring outside the window without saying anything. At lunch time, she surprised me when she approached me and expressed her apology for her earlier behavior.

I beleive that if I cannot be open and honest with myself then how can I expect the client to be open and honest with me. Through experience I Understand how daunting it is to express your thoughts and feelings, not knowing how you will be judged or how others may react towards you. Personally by offering my clients a safe place to be listened to, showing them unconditional positive regard by showing them understanding and respect and helping them to gain back their locus of evaluation has had a positive effect on me also. I feel reassured that I am a good person that i am useful and happy in the knowledge that i have given my clients a positive experience that I have helped them through a difficult and sometimes dark confusing time I am being who I truely am as this is what I have wanted to do for some time now.

As a counselor, being aware of the theoretical approaches and which ones best suit your perspective on human nature, complications, and change for an individual is vital. Not only is understanding the approaches important, but the counselor’s own values and personal philosophy are equally fundamental for the counselor to do their job efficiently.

As an effective counselor one of the main qualities needed is patience. Go to the next step of explanation only when the patient has clearly understood the content of the information you have provided. Therefore the counselor needs to have enough sufficient time for the patient, and should also be a good listener. Let the patient express everything he/she has to say, and give your inputs once when the patient has finished talking.

In the counseling profession, having knowledge of the theoretical approaches and which ones will be essential based on your standpoint of human nature, problems, and changes for an individual is important. Having a clear understanding of the approaches is key, but the counselor’s knowledge of his or her own principles, life experiences and viewpoints will define how the counselor will effectively perform their job.

Another important skill I have learnt is reflective responding. It is a back and forth process between a client and counsellor; which simply aids to clarify meanings, summarise and to help the client to delve deeper into the issue (Egan, 2010). I illustrated this virtuosity during a conversation with Nathan were I respond with “Correct me if I am wrong but are you saying that there is no point to life if you do not have someone”? Responding reflectively allowed him to clarify my understanding of his original statement; and also confide in more depth about his worries. Equally important, Egan has confirmed (2010) that “effective helping is a mixture of support and challenge”, and one with out the other can seem harsh and counterproductive (p. 211). In saying this I felt there was a need to challenge; to test the reality of one

2. The approach may not work on the clients who have no capacity to trust their own inner direction and those who see themselves as less powerful in finding answers to their own problem