ACA Blog

So as I’ve established--and some of you may agree--dating isn’t easy. It’s especially difficult if you have anxious attachment patterns. Although the highly scientific attachment style quizzes I’ve taken online indicate that I have a secure (or at least predominantly secure) attachment style, I know I have some anxious/ambivalent/enmeshed patterns stemming from a co-dependent relationship with my father growing up.

Look, I hate to burst your bubble but there is no such thing as a, “fresh start.” Can’t be done. Not even remotely possible. Once you are you, you have written all over that slate that once began ‘clean.’ Oh, you can try to erase what you’ve written. You can even write over it in darker ink but what’s done is done.

ONE: Continual learning is a requirement in the counseling profession. Summer ‘tis the season of license renewal and continuing education completion, fees for license renewal are due to the board of health professions along with the promise that continuing education requirements have been met. I have been guilty of groaning about paperwork and requirements, but I find the process of continuing education rejuvenating and exciting.

I graduated a few short weeks ago and finished up my clinical hours. Although I miss my clients and my coworkers, my new-found free time has enabled me to pick up a few things I had missed during the past year, like writing in my own blog and reading books. My free time has also allowed me to process the learning experiences of the past year--and holy cow, there were quite a few!

Life is messy. I don’t care how many times you clean the kitchen or how well. It just gets messy. Maybe it’s bread crumbs or a smear of jelly. Maybe it’s grease and pasta splattered across the stove. Maybe you made a smoothie and forgot to put the top on tight. But face it: mess happens. It happens in our kitchens and it happens in our lives.

So, needless to say, the date with my buddy never happened. And we’re not actually friends anymore . . . Sorry for the depressing start to this, but it’s actually good news in the end! You know how I mentioned that listening to my emotions was a big part of moving on from my last relationship?

After completing the first year of my doctoral program, I believe I need to make myself a t-shirt that states “I survived my 1st year of my PhD.” But beyond that I have recently come to the realization of how mentorship is all around us. Upon acceptance into my program, I was assigned to a faculty mentor who is also serving as the chair of my dissertation committee. I immensely see the importance of her mentorship in creating my planned program and during the dissertation process. Just think of if you had to embark upon uncharted territory without anyone to confer with. This would be quite the fete; however, quite manageable with one’s mentorship.

Counseling is a powerful treatment for most ‘mental’ conditions: depression, neurosis, anxiety, addictions, defiant personalities, bipolar disorders, schizophrenia, psychosis—in fact most dysfunctional conditions the DSM IV identifies.

Well, this has been a long process and we are in the home stretch. Therefore, we of the Ethics Revision Task Force (ERTF) would like to inform you all of what’s been going on and what’s ahead.

Romantic relationships provide an unparalleled opportunity for personal growth, but they’re sure as hell not easy. They can trigger our worst qualities; they can leave us in a state of depression or anxiety for months or years. We can lose track of ourselves in a relationship--stop doing things that make us feel good, lose touch with friends who bring out our best or even forget who we really are.