wind me up - tire me out - watch me sleep
Had an interesting CBT session today.
We went over the "thought diary" I kept - which consisted of one entry when I found out I lost the job last week. I usually loathe doing these things but I'm actually finding it helpful. She is impressive in terms of actually getting me to find my own way out of the bad thought patterns I have myself in, normally I've grown bored and sarcastic with a counsellor by now as I know most of their little tricks. Which led to an interesting discussion about my idea to look into becoming one of them *insert scary music*
Yes, I am seriously contemplating becoming a counsellor. I can't count how many people have told me I should and I'm finally beginning to gain the self-confidence to believe that they weren't all lying. I like helping people. I like listening and talking through problems. It seems obvious and I actually think I could do it well. I would really like to incorporate arts therapy (music, painting, theatre etc) into it as well at some point.
So I asked what was the best way to go about it and we talked about a course at a local college - a 9 week, part-time, "taster" course. It would be a start and give me an idea of how far I'd be willing to go with it. The rather disturbing fact is - you don't need any qualifications to call yourself a counsellor. Anyone can call themselves a counsellor and set up a client list of highly susceptible people if they so wished. It's not illegal unless you claim you have qualifications when you don't. Pretty frightening eh? Of course genuine, honest counsellors will have all relevant qualifications available to view if a client asked but a lot of people wouldn't think to ask...
But the first step is investigating the college course - seeing if it's financially and practically viable soon or at some point. If I get on with that I can look into finding a level one vocational-type course and move on from there. Most levels only take a year to complete (part-time) so I can study and keep earning. At this stage I'm looking at it as purely a learning experience. I need intellectual/academic stimulation before my brain withers away. Whether I actually choose to make a career of it only time will tell but it is nice to have direction at last.
Unfortunately I'll never find someone to teach me how to shop for my Dad. I spent 3 hours at The Mall (yes Americans - we only have the one, that's why it's Capitalised!) and came back with a card and a cable for my laptop. My father is impossible to buy for. Most Dads are hard but mine doesn't like any of the usual Dad things gift companies cater for - he doesn't like football or any other sport for that matter, he doesn't go fishing, he doesn't lust after pin-ups, he doesn't have a hobby of any kind, he doesn't read much, he doesn't listen to music, he doesn't watch films - which leaves.. well, socks. And nobody wants socks on their birthday. Every christmas I end up getting him a CD or DVD that I know will never see the light of day, let alone the disc drawer.
And so I left when they closed with nothing whatsoever. His birthday's tomorrow. Sorry Dad.
I am a crappy daughter :(
We went over the "thought diary" I kept - which consisted of one entry when I found out I lost the job last week. I usually loathe doing these things but I'm actually finding it helpful. She is impressive in terms of actually getting me to find my own way out of the bad thought patterns I have myself in, normally I've grown bored and sarcastic with a counsellor by now as I know most of their little tricks. Which led to an interesting discussion about my idea to look into becoming one of them *insert scary music*
Yes, I am seriously contemplating becoming a counsellor. I can't count how many people have told me I should and I'm finally beginning to gain the self-confidence to believe that they weren't all lying. I like helping people. I like listening and talking through problems. It seems obvious and I actually think I could do it well. I would really like to incorporate arts therapy (music, painting, theatre etc) into it as well at some point.
So I asked what was the best way to go about it and we talked about a course at a local college - a 9 week, part-time, "taster" course. It would be a start and give me an idea of how far I'd be willing to go with it. The rather disturbing fact is - you don't need any qualifications to call yourself a counsellor. Anyone can call themselves a counsellor and set up a client list of highly susceptible people if they so wished. It's not illegal unless you claim you have qualifications when you don't. Pretty frightening eh? Of course genuine, honest counsellors will have all relevant qualifications available to view if a client asked but a lot of people wouldn't think to ask...
But the first step is investigating the college course - seeing if it's financially and practically viable soon or at some point. If I get on with that I can look into finding a level one vocational-type course and move on from there. Most levels only take a year to complete (part-time) so I can study and keep earning. At this stage I'm looking at it as purely a learning experience. I need intellectual/academic stimulation before my brain withers away. Whether I actually choose to make a career of it only time will tell but it is nice to have direction at last.
Unfortunately I'll never find someone to teach me how to shop for my Dad. I spent 3 hours at The Mall (yes Americans - we only have the one, that's why it's Capitalised!) and came back with a card and a cable for my laptop. My father is impossible to buy for. Most Dads are hard but mine doesn't like any of the usual Dad things gift companies cater for - he doesn't like football or any other sport for that matter, he doesn't go fishing, he doesn't lust after pin-ups, he doesn't have a hobby of any kind, he doesn't read much, he doesn't listen to music, he doesn't watch films - which leaves.. well, socks. And nobody wants socks on their birthday. Every christmas I end up getting him a CD or DVD that I know will never see the light of day, let alone the disc drawer.
And so I left when they closed with nothing whatsoever. His birthday's tomorrow. Sorry Dad.
I am a crappy daughter :(