Yesterday I caught a train into Parramatta to attend my first counselling practical assessment. I was a little apprehensive about it, not knowing how the process would pan out and whether or not all the skills theory I had studied would resolve itself into competent practice.
I needn't have worried so much, as it turned out. The facilitator was lovely - motherly, reassuring and very experienced. So all of us were marked 'competent', which alas, is a good as it gets as far as marks go.
One area I do need to work on is getting a 'paraphrase' in early on with a client. Essentially, this means reflecting back a salient area of content to confirm and clarify what has been said so far. For example, if John says that he has lost his job, crashed his car and misplaced his wallet all in the last week, a counsellor might paraphrase. "You've had a terrible time lately' or 'It's been a really rough week for you." or something similar. I know I can do it but when you are juggling a list of skills-you-must-show in your head, its easy to forget one or insert it too late.
I'm glad I started this course, though I'm not sure where it will lead. But that's okay too.
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