Barbara Jordan

Usually my blog posts are focused on providing you with practical suggestions on various topics such as clinical supervision, work-life balance, stress/time management, leadership development, and self-care for people in the helping professions. Today, however, I am asking the ACA blogging community (both readers and writers) for their most valuable insights regarding presenting a paper at a conference. For the first time, I will be presenting a paper at the International Counselors Association in Jamaica in June. I've presented several workshops and seminars, but I never presented a research paper. So, I am asking you for your best advice. What works? What will my critics look for in my paper, my presentation, and in my research design?

Do you struggle with organizing time, details, and paperwork? When people expect you to do things in a linear (successive, direct, straight) fashion, do you have trouble? What works for me is to keep all related project papers in piles stacked in left-to-right (or right-to-left) tiers, overlapping 50% so you can see half of the top sheet of each pile. This works best because "out of sight" is usually "out of mind" with people who have a lot of ADD traits.

I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of all the stigma surrounding Attention Deficit Disorder. After all, we all experience a little distractibility, impulsivity, memory lapse, and disorganization every now and then.  I propose that we consider ADD a diversity issue rather than a deficiency.

Well, ACA blog readers...you would not believe what happened to me last week. On Friday afternoon, I received a call from a very panicked administrative director. I’d just begun working as a Clinical Supervisor at this agency. So, you can imagine my surprise. Apparently, she had just discovered that one of the counselors had not completed several case notes and discharge summaries! Wow! How could this happen?! As a certified Substance Abuse Counselor (CSAC), he should have known better. The worse part? We couldn’t contact the counselor because he is out of the country on vacation!

Do you think your work as a counselor is stressful? Most would answer a resounding “YES!” I’ve heard stress leads to memory problems and I believe it! I’ve always been so forgetful that my mom had ME hide the Easter eggs! I still have to put “hello my name is” stickers on my spouse, kids and dog from time to time to avoid mixing up their names. And, while most people have a photographic memory, mine is just plain out of film. One of my clients complained of forgetfulness. He once admitted, “At least my friends’ secrets are safe with me.” I asked him, “How long has this been happening?” He said, “How long has what been happening?”