expand my heart

It has been a great weekend. I thought that I will be completely blown away by my first week of lessons but it was not to be. I was truly refreshed and had learnt much - about myself, my classmates and how I am as a therapist. Yup, my growth journey in this area.

The second day, I was the client sharing to the counselor in front of the class about my issues. There was much anxiety, the fear of being judged or worse still, read wrongly. The counselor who is my coursemate asked some good questions which set me pondering and the classmates analysing my problems made me feel understood and to think deeper about myself and how I handle my relationships with people. It was a great experience. After I left the place, a coursemate came up to me and thank me for my courage in sharing as she shared to me that she has a similar experience but did not have the courage to share. I felt very affirmed and realised that different people have different level of openess.

Today I had the opportunity of being a therapist. Surprisingly I was not as nervous as when I was a client. I guess I am pretty used to this role. Some of the feedback given affirmed me a lot. They shared that I was able to think out of the box, asked good exploratory questions, had a nice pace, relaxed, warm and focused, encouraging, sincere, affirming and good wrap-up. Wow, have to admit it boosted my ego quite a bit haha...However, some of the other feedback set me thinking such as I could have more opportunities for empathy. This really jolt me. What happened to that part of me? Have I become so solution-focused that I have failed to dwell with the feelings of the other party enough. This is something worth reflecting about for myself.

I pray that as my skills and knowledge increase, the heart will also expand.