A counselor is a listener

Back from my first lesson from my second semester...feeling kinda proud of myself cos 1 person asked me not to daydream and the other ask me not to fall asleep during class and I did not do both! Yeah! I pity the lady next to me who was falling asleep though and the tutor said, "She must be really tired." Her response: still asleep. But I am really thkful for the classmates who went over to encourage her, gave her water during the break :) The classmate sitting next to me gave me digestive biscuits and milo, I was really touched. It feels like home :)

We talked about listening to our clients and my tutor was saying that the best kind of listener he knows does not ask a single question and yet able to get the information and emotion out of the client. Whoa! Talking about skill... I was pretty amused when we were discussing about empathy in the counselor. A classmate asked, "What if we are unable to empathise with what the client is saying, what do we do?" The tutor said, "Ya, sometimes when the client is talking, you just think to yourself, this is crap but yet, you can't tell the client, 'crap! Quit whining'" well, how real can this get?! I kept smiling to myself thinking how true this is. *Secret smile*

I am a tad worried abt tmr cos we will be taking turns to counsel one another for 15 - 30 minutes in front of the class and using this video for our assignment. What problem should I raise so I will not sabo my therapist and how do I counsel my "client"? But I feel really assured when my client-classmate put her hand on my shoulder and say, "I am sure you will be a good counselor."My confidence boosted. God, be with me :)