ACA Blog

As a little girl when asked what I wanted to be when I grew up I always said a million things. I wanted to be a teacher and a doctor and a farmer and a cowgirl. My little brain did not have the capacity nor the desire to break down my dreams into separate plans called A, B, or C. I also lacked the ability or desire to see life as a linear pattern of experiences. My baby brain saw a teacher/doctor/farmer/cowgirl. There was no either or. I didn’t compromise or negotiate my existence. I just knew what made me smile and decided I wanted to smile all of the time.

I missed blogging last week due to work I was doing in Costa Rica with a group of distance-based students. It was enormously rewarding in many ways, learning about both the local community as well the larger and varied texture of Hispanic culture representing different countries and regions of Latin America. It’s a real blessing to do the work that I do.

A few short months ago, I began an internship to complete my Master’s Degree in Couple and Family Counseling. Last Fall, in the midst of my practicum experience at my university’s student and community counseling center, I pursued and succeeded in securing an internship with a Child and Family Therapist, who is trained in Somatic Psychology and Dance Movement Therapy. In her practice, she works with children and their families. The majority of these children are birth – 5 years old. Most of these children have experienced a trauma in their life: via post or perinatal experience, abuse, living in a conflict-ridden family, or having a history with Social Services.

My day draws to a close with a disappointing end as my last appointment is a no-show. I take a moment to reflect on the journey of those who come to me in search of relief of their pain. Pain comes in many forms but most often it is physical pain they ask for freedom from. Showing up is the first step to healing all the layers of hurt, disappointment, abuse and the many reasons one suffers from pain. Showing up is the courage to begin again, to take a step toward acceptance of the deeper meaning that our pain can reveal. It surprises me that more people choose to show up at all.

If you work at a qualifying agency that utilizes volunteers, you should seriously consider becoming involved with the President's Volunteer Service Awards program. It is easy to sign up if you qualify (specific information pertaining to qualifications and to sign up as an agency or as a volunteer can be found at the link below). Should you decide to sign up, the online process takes only a few minutes; it is then reviewed and either approved or denied. The review process can take a few weeks but our agency learned of the approval in a matter of a few days.

One of the biggest growing pains in life is learning to take responsibility for both the good and the bad. Over the past year, I have been able to watch this struggle from the outside and gain a new perspective. We all know that traditional-aged, first year college students are known to REALLY enjoy their new freedoms. Some of these freshly turned 18 year olds exercise an impressive amount of caution while many, mindlessly plunge into all the glorious newness that college life offers. Regardless of which group the student belongs to, there is a lot to be said about how one reacts and processes the outcome of some negatively-perceived situation.

For the last three years I’ve been living in the Washington, D.C. metro area and my dog, Landry, has remained back home with my Nana in Texas. It might not happen every day, but occasionally it will hit me out of nowhere that I miss that little stinker! Whenever life gets a little hectic or I find myself being tempted to get wrapped up in the negativity around me, I miss Landry even more. He always cheered me up after a hard day. Now that I think about it, I think we could all benefit from taking some pointers from Landry.

The bestselling author Suzanne Collins penned the novel The Hunger Games which has been made into one of the highest grossing films of all time. In fact, it has become such a sensation that girl tweens are having Hunger Games themed birthday parties where guests come in costume as the characters from the novel and film. When I saw the movie many of the children in the audience were also dressed up. The actors who star in the film are all over the talk shows and rumors tell us that there will be three sequels.

These are difficult to describe, but you just know when you have one…There is a sense of clarity, connection, understanding, presence and appreciation.

The hostage negotiator Kohlrieser in his fascinating book, Hostage at the Table, describes how the idea of being a hostage can be a truly fertile metaphor for what we do as counselors. In some important sense, every client whom we have feels like they are being held hostage by forces they think they are unable to control. Basically, our job as counselors is to help that person reclaim their power and autonomy and thereby their happiness. I also sense a strong sense of victimhood pervasive among counselors.