My Counselling Skills Notes: Intro
I've always loved studying. Reading books and magazines like Reader's digest. Watching documentaries and TV shows. Imagining how I would do things. I guess I am curious in my own particular way.
I even finished my Master's in Teaching Mindfulness-based Courses recently, and I still get that student excitement (and perhaps a bit of anxiety, too) when I embark on learning something new.
I also love teaching. Sharing what I know. Someone once told me: 'Pili I like how you explain things.' Or my sister would say: 'you tell me an episode as if I am watching it myself.' So, I think I am a bit of a storyteller. Once again, in my own way.
With mindfulness teaching, I've been building up my inquiry skills. It's just that I had to unlearn a few of my 'ways' and relearn them in a particular manner: being more experiential and intentional, practising active listening, pausing, becoming comfortable with silence, and reflecting. All of this has been great, but I feel I want to go deeper. To be better able to support people through their everyday challenges in a more personalised way.
After some reflection, I've decided to start dipping my toes into counselling. I have first-hand experience as a client. Sitting and sharing my inner world with someone else requires trust; it's a leap of faith at times. Putting my vulnerabilities out there for someone with a 'kind ear' (someone who doesn't judge) has been priceless. And I've witnessed how supportive it can be. Now I've decided to study it properly.
In a few weeks time, I'll start a year-long Counselling Skills Diploma. I'm approaching this as an older student: curious, practical, and ready to see how it all fits together. My initial plan is to see how these skills can inform my coaching and teaching practice, and then I'll figure out my next steps. But first, I need to learn.
That's why I am calling this blog series My Counselling Skills Notes. Instead of just reading and leaving my notes in my notebook, I'm going to share what I'm learning in simple terms here in my little corner of the Internet.
Each post will follow (at least that's my intention) the following structure:
What I read: The book, article, or concept I've been working through.
My takeaways: The ideas that actually landed, written as if I'm explaining them to a friend over a cuppa. If I'm still figuring something out, I'll just say so.
The experiment: One small, practical thing I'm trying in real life.
This isn't 'expert' writing. This is a student writing about her delights, difficulties, and especially her discoveries. Plus, I'm doing it to keep myself accountable.
You are more than welcome to tag along on my learning journey.
Got any questions about counselling skills theory and practice? We can figure them out together, or at least flip through the pages of Freud, Rogers, Beck and their colleagues to see what they have to say... and talk about it in the comments.
In my next post, I'll share a very short reading list of the books I'm starting with.
No pressure to read them. This is just a map of where I'm going.
See you next week,
Pili
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