On 13 Jan 2010, the first session of the Practicum began at The Relational. There were a total of 7 of us. Andrea is the facilitator of the group. The rest of the members were Sindhoo, Matthias, Maithilii, Thana, Brenda and myself.
Andrea began with asking the group what their goals and expectations for the module would be. Among the goals and expectations discussed were the following:
1) How to uncover different layers of problem 2) How to deal with silence 3) How to deal with conflict 4) Dos and don'ts
On one hand, I thought the discussion of goals and expectations are irrelevant, since in most modules I have taken before, when each of the module ended, there were no closure on the goals and expectations raised. On the other hand, Andrea could be asking for the members' expectations so as to structure future sessions to maximize learning for the members.
Andrea then started the session asking us what we thought of the Common Factors chapter we had to read before coming to the practicum. We began with a discussion of the Common Factors article that we read before coming to the session today. I am confident and self-assured in a group. There were 7 of us in the group. Andrea, Brenda, Maithilii, Matthias, Sindhoo, Thana and myself. Two persons were role-playing a counselling session. Matthias was selected as the counsellor and myself as client.
Matthias is supposed to brief me on the confidentiality agreement and I can see my past self in him. He was not confident and seeking approval, as he sought approval from Andrea on how to ask certain questions or how to respond. For me, I was focused on Matthias, looking at him and I am confident.
The Parallel World approach worked. I had gone to the Parallel World and brought back the characteristics and personality of my other self. I believe that in the days, months and years ahead, I will integrate more and more characteristics of my other self into myself.