This week Shelley and I have travelled to a different city to attend a counseling class that is offered by a school in the US. I take these classes whenever possible to work on my masters. Most of you did not know that I was working towards a masters, but I am. I am not officially enrolled in a masters program, but the classes count towards a degree when I do officially enroll, which will probably sometime in the next 10 years of my life.
So anyways, I decided to take this class because the timing worked out for us to travel for a week and I heard the professor speak this summer while in CO, and he was an incredible speaker. He has not disappointed this week. The class has been great. I have learned a lot, and dealt with a lot, and listened to others in the class deal with a lot. So by great, more great in the way that it is really great that I am learning this stuff, but I know that I never want to be a counselor. 3 hours of lecture, 3 hours of breakout groups, and I am exhausted. The topics so far: Depression, personality disorders, and anxiety disorders. We still have addiction to go! We are staying at this awesome hotel that is in the middle of nowhere, but conveniently has a Starbucks, DQ, TCBY, KFC, Pizza Hut, and McDonald's all practically attached to the hotel so I can go eat away the dark cloud that hangs after a lecture... wait... I think there will be a lecture on that tomorrow. And keep in mind this is like counseling 101 in a week. I can't imagine what it is like to study this stuff full time in more depth.
For those of you who are counselors and psychologists full time out there, I have a new respect for you. I also realize what a need there is for you, and how valuable you are. I always hear people tell me "I couldn't do what you do, living in a foreign country." Well, I now understand what they mean. Thank goodness we have counselors.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
