Confessions

So I was in a meeting today with the management, and the topic was on knowing how to take care of your emotional health while working in the social services sector. Someone mentioned something about writing all your frustrations down, and then keeping it away. Instantaneously, my mind flew to my much-neglected blog, and it finally dawned on me that I was not getting enough "written therapy", and that's probably why I feel down in the dumps. The last post hardly counts, cos it was too short to be therapeutic. After all, no use ranting about holidays when you can't have them.

I have to confess that I felt terrible today, cos I behaved rather unprofessionally while talking to my kid. I uttered a bad word--"rubbish"--in response to his explanation about why he wasn't turning up for some of his compulsory sessions. Well, it ain't exactly a bad word, but it just doesn't seem like the "unconditional-positive-regard-reflecting-feelings" kind of thing to say to your client (though I still stand by my belief that his reason is REALLY quite lame). I tried to make up for it by being less harsh on him later on in the session, but what's done cannot be undone. It wasn't intentional, it just slipped out somehow. He did appear genuinely remorseful at the end of the session though, so I'm hoping he'd be a good boy from now on.

You know, I went into the job thinking that maybe whatever I've learnt in Counselling classes would come in handy. But seriously, when it comes to handling kids with issues, it takes a hell more than theoretical microskills to handle them. Right now, it's a whole confused gingam of methods and ways--counselling microskills, chiding, nagging, scolding, chatting + a dash of common sense. You know, I tried out one of those cognitive-behavioural therapy methods, but it didn't quite work out. I always try to have a whole masterplan for my kids, but somehow, something always manages to sabotage my well-intentioned efforts and I'll have to do firefighting, which makes me forget what I set out to do in the first place. Man, I need more than 24 hours in a day.