another internship one.

I have seen a lot of growth in myself over this past semester. I am noticing that I am getting a lot better at confronting clients when they are being incongruent. This was particularly difficult for me at the beginning of the program and something I have worked hard to change about myself. This skill has come in handy a lot with my current client population because so many of them lie, manipulate, and say things that are contradictory. Getting more comfortable utilizing this skill has made me a lot more at ease working with this population. I take a much more direct approach to topics than I originally started off doing with my clients. I am certainly still able to be soft and supportive, but have added the additional layer of ability to confidently confront the client. I think this shows to my clients because that appear more likely now to be honest with me when I do confront them.

Another thing I have noticed about myself throughout this semester is my ability to integrate multiple approaches into my sessions. I am finding it increasingly easier to add in various techniques that might work well for my clients. I have always been adaptable in my sessions but since incorporating techniques from a variety of theories I have found my ability to stay on topic or relate a client’s sidebar to the topic of discussion has increased. This has also allowed me to better tailor the session to the client’s needs at the time rather than attempting to plan ahead and squeeze in the planned technique around the direction the session followed.

Additionally, I have been able to observe a wide variety of technique and theory through my site supervisor and other therapists. It has been interesting to watch and interact with other therapists to get their opinions on client cases. I have enjoyed the input of the therapists because they have been able to educate me on a lot of the covert rules of the academy. This has helped to raise my awareness for things like gang related behavior, run preparation, common insults, and drug related terms that live exclusively in the ECA culture. This knowledge has helped me to detect manipulation and subtle defiant behaviors more quickly than before.