ACA Blog

In career counseling, we often talk about the importance of having a professional network. This network results in a mutually beneficial relationship in the world of work. I am glad to see that more and more, we are also stressing the importance of people building their social support network. In fact, in my community there is now a program that helps people in poverty increase their social support network.

I’ve really enjoyed the discussion and comments about social networking and all the ways it can impact us as counselors. I am all about the technology and think integrating it appropriately into my practice has been a fabulous thing. My clients seem to like it, I like it and my younger clients think it’s cool that their counselor texts and tweets. Until very recently, though, I hadn’t really given much thought to how social networking had impacted my professional networking. A lot of my counselor friends are Facebook users and we “friend” each other and keep in touch that way. Mostly though, we run into each other at workshops or conferences or some other professional gathering. The other day, however, my Facebook experience took on a whole new facet.

This weekend, my nephew’s soccer season got started and I was able to watch a few games while listening to a lot of advice. Parent 1: “You have to be more aggressive honey!” Parent 2: “Great hustle!” Coach 1: “Communicate out there guys! Help each other out!” Coach 2: “It’s not over yet!”

Let’s close our eyes for a moment and picture a round mahogany Victorian table filled with biscuits, pastries and wine set below a breathtaking chandelier with just the right amount of poignant light. Now let’s look around at the inhabitants of this room: Sigmund Freud, Viktor Frankl, Irvin Yalom and Martin Seligman. Four great scholars from different eras and mindsets celebrating their similarities and philosophies. They observe one another in detail, they speak and listen delicately as if not to miss a word and they seem overjoyed about this extraordinary gathering. “Let’s make the most of this meeting!” says Seligman, “Let’s find its meaning,” adds Frankl, “What a great group this makes!” cheers Yalom, ”Oh wow, is this a dream?” ends Freud.

I am not sure if it’s the innate counselor in me or just the social extrovert I was raised to be, but I seem to get into brief and yet scintillating conversations with complete strangers from all walks of life on a daily basis. And truth be known, I really enjoy it.

I just finished the first conference call regarding the Ethics Revision Task Force (ERTF) and let me say, it was a lot less painful than I had anticipated. And by that I mean that it flowed nicely as well as there seemed to be a number of things that the committee members were in consensus of and so from the start, your task force is all on the same page.

As my 20-month-old boy finally went to bed at 10pm, an hour after he was supposed to, I was acutely aware of how much time I had left in the day to get the rest of my “list” completed. In order to work full-time, go to school part-time, be a mother, wife, and fulfill my other identities, the challenge of prioritizing and delegating has become a part of my routine. I remind myself that I made these conscious decisions and have put myself in this position to juggle different responsibilities. Although this provides me with some solace, this does not provide me with what I really need, which is more time in the day.

I want to thank everyone who has shown me support over the loss of my father. I have been really touched by the support I have received on my blog and via email. Sometimes as a blogger or a small practice professional it is hard to gauge is anyone notices you or pays attention to your work. The ACA family has shown me that it is indeed a family and a supportive one at that.

Even being surrounded by Facebook posts, and laments from people longing for just a little more summer I can’t hide my giddiness for fall. In large part due to my unapologetic love of sweaters, socks, and my trusty NorthFace. But more than that there’s just something fabulous about Fall. The crispness, the extra satisfying sips of coffee on my way across campus, the softer sunsets that seem to linger just a little longer than their summer cousins. Possibly due to the fact that I’m not holed up in my apartment sitting in front of my air conditioner, but nonetheless, it’s a time of year I’m a little more mindful than usual.

No matter what your role or multiple roles you may have in your life, high expectations can be very beneficial to have because they motivate us to do better than we think we can. For the role of the student, for example, too often students will choose to take less demanding classes so that they can avoid failure.