{"id":30516,"date":"2023-01-26T20:05:32","date_gmt":"2023-01-27T04:05:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=30516"},"modified":"2023-01-26T20:05:32","modified_gmt":"2023-01-27T04:05:32","slug":"best-practices-in-seeking-a-therapist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/best-practices-in-seeking-a-therapist\/","title":{"rendered":"Best Practices in Seeking a Therapist"},"content":{"rendered":"

Stephen King has provided a personal reflection on the art of writing in his book: <\/span>On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft. <\/span><\/i>King\u2019s book is 316 pages long and the content is jam packed with great advice for beginning writers. His advice spanned the depths of creating plot and character to simple suggestions of having \u201cno telephone in your writing room.\u201d [1] As I attempted to glean from this expert, I read: \u201cIf there\u2019s a window, draw the curtains or pull down the shades unless it looks out a blank wall. For any writer, but for the beginning writer in particular, it\u2019s wise to eliminate every possible distraction. \u201cI work to loud music-hard rock stuff like AC\/DC, Guns and Roses, and Metalica,\u201d King writes. [2] I could agree with eliminating distractions, but creating a dark room and listening to heavy metal would not be the optimal writing environment for me. I appreciate King\u2019s direct style of writing as he suggests: \u201cGood writing teaches the learning writer about style, graceful narration, plot development, the creation of believable characters, and truth telling.\u201d [3] I began to want to tell this author the truth about what I was thinking of his book and all his recommendations. I continued to read to see if there was merit in entertaining this author\u2019s thoughts but stopped at this reflection: \u201cYou do not need writing classes or seminars any more than you need this or any other book on writing.\u201d[4] With this statement I stopped. I needed to read no further but do what the author had suggested. For the remainder of this blog I will write what I would like. I will do exactly what the author is encouraging. King states: \u201cI think you begin by interpreting \u2018write what you know\u2019 as broadly and inclusively as possible.\u201d [5]<\/span><\/p>\n

As I have considered what I know and what possibly might benefit my readers, I have concluded that there may be some benefit in writing what I wish my clients knew I was thinking when they pursue counseling. I know that my cohort is in the process of finding life coaches and this could possibly benefit them. I know that there are different nuances to coaching\/spiritual direction\/ and counseling- I may be able to reconcile some of these differences in a different blog in the future. What considerations might be made in pursuing an appointment for counseling? Please hear my thoughts regarding best practices in approaching this reflective adventure. Sharing these best practices is a personal exercise in addressing my own resistance which tells me, \u201cI shouldn\u2019t instruct or put myself forward as a purveyor of wisdom.\u201d [6] Similar to the direct style of Stephen King, I say: \u201dtake it or leave it.\u201d\u00a0 Austin Kleon encourages his readers to: \u201cfigure out what\u2019s worth stealing, then move on to the next thing.\u201d [7]<\/span><\/p>\n

Best practices in pursuing counseling:<\/span><\/p>\n

1) I would encourage those seeking counseling to ask some questions of their coach or counselor: \u201cWhat are some of your daily habits which promote your mental\/spiritual health?\u201d I think clients don\u2019t believe they can ask this at the outset of a professional relationship. It is a personal question. I think my clients have permission to ask me this question because they are about to share intimate details of their life with me. If I am not healthy, how might I provide counseling which promotes health with my clients? Feel free to ask.<\/span><\/p>\n

2) If you do not click with your counselor, it\u2019s ok; bow out gracefully and find a new one. The process may be discouraging; finding a good counselor or coach takes time and determination.<\/span><\/p>\n

3) It is good to be honest with what you are willing to change. Changing things about ourselves takes time. It is good to be realistic about what kind of changes may or may not be able to be accomplished in counseling, considering the time and investment you are willing to make in the process.<\/span><\/p>\n

4) Pressfield states: \u201cThe enemy of the artist is the small time Ego, which begets resistance, which is the dragon that guards the gold.\u201d [8] In counseling, be prepared to observe the Ego, define the resistance, confront the dragons, and get excited about reaching the gold. In this process be sensitive to the resistance you might have. My life coach can step on my toes (where I am sensitive) and I must watch myself as this is how God is wanting to speak to me.<\/span><\/p>\n

4) When you come to a session it is good to come prepared with several topics you would like to discuss. Some of the best counseling takes place when a client can \u201cfreely associate\u201d in their verbal processing but if you would like to be goal oriented, come with several thoughts for discussion. Take some time to note for yourself prior to your session what Pressfield describes when he states: \u201cIt is commonplace among artists and children at play that they\u2019re not aware of time or solitude while they\u2019re chasing vision.\u201d [9] Tom Camacho was able to role model this process with Shonell during the zoom call this past Monday.<\/span><\/p>\n

5) Take notes for yourself and do not expect to remember what is processed in session. Take cryptic notes: sketch, doodle, draw stick figures\u2026anything to prompt you to action after the session.<\/span><\/p>\n

6) I would encourage you to be open and direct about the number of sessions you want to commit to with your coach or counselor. It is good to be direct about the costs associated with this service and it is ok to ask questions about the cost. In private practice I can negotiate with clients as to the cost per session. A fair question might be: \u201cWhat is the going rate for your services for those who have the qualifications you have?<\/span><\/p>\n

7) Some Scripture to consider as you pursue counseling: Psalm 119:24 \u201cYour statutes are my delight; they are my counselors.\u201d\u00a0 There is no replacement for spending time reading and meditating on the Word of God for life\u2019s direction. Proverbs 11:14 \u201cFor lack of guidance a nation falls, but victory is won through many advisors.\u201d It is wise to have various advisors and a coach or counselors\u2019 input should be confirmed and validated by other counselors\/trusted friends.<\/span><\/p>\n

It is my hope that you might benefit from having some of these best practices in mind as you pursue a life coach or counseling.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

[1] King, Stephen, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, 2000 p.156<\/span><\/p>\n

[2] Ibid. p.156<\/span><\/p>\n

[3] Ibid. p.146<\/span><\/p>\n

[4] Ibid p.246<\/span><\/p>\n

[5] Ibid. p.158<\/span><\/p>\n

[6] Pressfield, Steven, The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles p.30<\/span><\/p>\n

[7] Kleon, Austin, Steal Like an Artist, 2022 p.5<\/span><\/p>\n

[8] Pressfield, Steven, The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles p.163<\/span><\/p>\n

[9] Ibid. p.45<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Stephen King has provided a personal reflection on the art of writing in his book: On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft. King\u2019s book is 316 pages long and the content is jam packed with great advice for beginning writers. His advice spanned the depths of creating plot and character to simple suggestions of having […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":165,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2558,2197,2201],"class_list":["post-30516","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-counseling","tag-pressfield","tag-stephen-king","cohort-dlgp01"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30516","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/165"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30516"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30516\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30517,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30516\/revisions\/30517"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30516"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30516"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30516"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}