Post 5

The study done by Greason and Cashwell (2009) really struck home with me about effective counseling. How can an individual be truly helpful as a counselor if they are not mindful, and truly living in the here and now? I think living in this society has really taught many of us to constantly look to the future for new goals or look to the past to see where we have made mistakes. Very rarely are we ever asked to evaluate the present. Essay questions on standardized tests are always asking for us to write about a time in the past when we were successful or they want us to write about our future and where we see ourselves in 20 years. I have yet to receive a question that asks me what I am enjoying in this present moment. I think this will really be a skill that I need to work on. I am always planning for the future or quickly judging scenarios as bad or good so I can move on to the next thing. I really do not take time to just sit and relish in the present moment. But after reading this article I can really see how important mindfulness is for my development as an effective counselor, so this is something that I really need to start focusing on now.

This week’s chapter reading about stress management was very applicable to my life currently. I have recently gone through a lot of personal changes. I moved away from home from my home town for the first time, I am getting married in the fall, and I have ventured into graduate school. I find myself feeling very overwhelmed sometimes and very helpless. But after reading this chapter it reminded me that I have control over my stress, and that really is an important tool in overcoming stress. Just knowing that I am not a victim of my stress helps relieve some of it right away. Knowing that I am not a victim of stress can be very useful for clients in the future, helping them to see that they are in control can help to make the stress seem a little bit smaller. I know that there are steps that I can be taking and I really want to start using progressive muscular relaxation again. During my undergrad I took a class in stress management and we used progressive muscular relaxation for about a month in class. I found that when I was using this on a regular basis small stressful things didn’t seem to bother me as much and I also felt like I could think more clearly about choices that I needed to make. I would really like to get back into the habit of using this and see if it helps alleviate some of the stress going on in my life right now. I know right now a lot of my stress is eustress so it is positive but it is still very hard to deal with and can become very overwhelming.

Corey, G. & Corey, M. S. (2010). Your Body and Wellness. In Brooks/Cole (9^th edition), I Never Knew I Had a Choice (106-131). Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole, Cengage Learning.

Greason, P.B. & Cashwell, C.S. (2009). Mindfulness and counseling self-efficacy: The mediating role of attention and empathy. Counselor education & supervison, 49, 2-18.