Tate - Week 2 - Dept of Counseling & Ed Psych

Hi folks - I hope your weeks are going well. My group counseling sessions are going great. The two this week were probably my most outstandingly memorable ones yet. I'm always surprised and pleased at how the group members take charge of the session and really direct it themselves to be what they need it to be for that day. At the same time, at various points in each session I find that I'm getting to work on my leadership skills - directing the discussion here and there, encouraging members to link their thoughts and ideas with others', helping things along when they get a little slow, and more.

I am also constantly thinking of the application of this group experience to student affairs work. Sure, not every group with which I eventually work will have the time or ease of opportunity to sit together once or twice per week to talk/decompress/share/etc. But there will most certainly be times I can encourage a co-worker to share an idea on which he or she has been working. I may have some conflict mediation in which I will play a role. There will certainly be (as there are now) people with whom I work that I don't necessarily see eye to eye. Being able to compromise, really to do my best to see that person's point of view... that will certainly be useful.

We had a situation in our group earlier this week in which we were talking very seriously about a subject or two, and I could clearly see that the weather was getting UGLY. The clouds were moving in; the lightning was flashing; thunder was rolling. And, accordingly, a couple members of my group were getting a little nervous. The thunder alone rattled the windows in our room and was just pretty unnerving. However, we were not in a lighthearted, easy place in which we could stop and get out before the storm hit. We needed to keep sharing and discussing in order to do our best to allow the members sharing to get what they needed out onto the table. I felt the responsibility to balance both our discussion needs and the need to end the session appropriately enough so as not to get blown away by the storm coming in. That was the first situation I can remember in which I was the responsible party who needed to keep my group members' safety - physical and emotional - in mind.

I feel like we, as a group, effectively ended the session and got out of the building (albeit during the torrential downpour) all right. But I can definitely see situations in the future where I'll be responsible for student groups on a continual basis, and I will be charged with keeping all these sort of things in mind.