Book of D: Hello Ŧexas Ŧech: A Two-day Sabbatical in the Hub City

We are visiting my wife's family in Lubbock (a.k.a. the "Hub City"). There was a death in the family, so we left Midland Friday evening to come to Lubbock to be supportive of her family. There is a "red flag warning" in effect back home, so we left early to avoid the high winds that are routine around West Texas. The "red flag warning" is the unconventional part. Anyway, Lubbock has a special place in my heart. Although it is much too conservative for this centrist person's taste, it plays host to my alma mater, Ŧexas Ŧech University. I didn't attend Ŧech for very long, but it was long enough that I am considered alumna and I have the credentials. It's a long, drawn out story to recollect why I did not stay in Lubbock following high school graduation to complete my degree plan at Ŧech, so I will forego that anecdote. I just feel at ease when I am in Lubbock; perhaps more for the camaraderie of the college town and for my family and friends who reside here. To say there is simplicity of living in Lubbock is an oxymoron, though. You see, if you are not white, in the upper financial echelon in society, or part of the republican party, you're probably going to get vexed really quickly if you live here or spend too much time here. I know my wife and I can only muster a couple of days of respite or vacay because the people of Lubbock can be racist, ignorant, and exptremely tribal and individualistic thinking. I have often said that the beautiful campus of my almighty Ŧexas Ŧech would be perfection were it situated smack in the middle of Austin. The beauty of our U rivals the current U in Austin, but the architecture is so much better at Ŧexas Ŧech among a myriad of other things. I do not hate UT, because I am attending one of the 14 UT System (UTS) schools: the University of Texas Permian Basin. It would be kind of contradictory for me to hate anything UTS because it has provided me a valuable education and sublime experience as both a student and employee. I have attended several events, training, and meetings at UT and have even served as a member of the UTS Student Council and been at their beautiful UT System Building and visited with the UTS Board of Regents. I have been offered a few jobs at UT, but my wie and I are not quite ready to move to Austin. Her career with DPS has taken off, and she has a salient position as the Program Supervisor / Field Operations for DPS. She manages a huge district that consists of several towns in West/Central Texas. Anyway, once again, our reason for coming to the "Hub City" this weekend was to be with family; to support them during their loss, but my wife and I also needed to get away for a couple of days. Even though Lubbock is a mere 119 miles away, it is still "out-of-town," and it is always nice to spend time with our uncle and his family. They've always been accepting of my wife and I and our relationship, and they have always been supportive. Their love and generosity have made it easy to reciprocate the support and affection; moreover, it has made it easy for us to help them out whenever the need arises. So, off to enjoy the time here. It turns out, this post is more of a rant. LOL. 

Book of D: Earth to Counselor . . . Do No Harm.

Today's counseling sessions with my three Friday clients proved unusual. Unusual is better than noneventful. ¿N ‘est pas? Each person has underlying issues - as most clients do. I have them in my own case with my own counselor. The main thing is to remember what each client is bringing to the table, per se. Much like my own counselor's approach with me. Our number one rule in the counseling code of ethics and principles of counseling is nonmaleficence: do no harm. That was a difficult concept for me to understand. The reason was that I viewed the term do no harm in a very literal way. After all this time in grad school, and so many hours of practicum and internship where I have counseled many clients, I have come to comprehend that do no harm just means not interfering in the client's progress of success. Moreover, it means honoring the Hippocratic Oath. It means honoring the Ethical Principles of Counseling. Do no harm doesn't mean that we have the power to impose actual harm. It's not MMA, the UFC or the WWE. Counseling is the process of a person (the client) seeking counseling (not answers) from an extensively trained counselor (LPC). And when the process works, it is beautiful.

Ethical Principles in Counseling

·       Autonomy

·       Nonmaleficence

·       Beneficence

·       Justice

·       Fidelity

·       Veracity

Differences between counselling and patient education

• Counseling can encompass advising, educating, and simply listening and

reflecting back on what has been heard while Patient education is the

provision of information on a specific topic to a patient.

• Counselling is not a process of giving advice, but it is a process of helping

your patient who is genuinely in need.

• It aims to help an individual to help himself to overcome his problem.

Goals of Counselling

• Alter maladjusted behaviors.

• Assist clients to move in the direction of fulfilling their potentials.

• Increase clients’ capacity to take rational control over feelings and actions.

• Enable the client’s ability to adapt or cope in a new environment or expectation

Book of D: Work and College

 It's been quite arduous lately, but I do realize how fortunate I am to work in higher education. I remember when I started working at UT Permian Basin (UTPB) in 2017. I was a "peer mentor/SI," which basically means I was tutoring students. My job consisted of helping students in English, history, statisics, government, phsychology, sociology, anthropology, and sometimes biology. Pretty much, I was helping in all aspects with the study of humanities. I did this as well at Midland College. I loved being a tutor. At some point, I even thought about becoming a professor. In 2018, the new Dean of Students (DOS) at UTPB convinced me to leave the "Student Success" division and work with him in the "Division of Student Affairs and Leadership" (DSAL). I love the job. I won't say what I do or which programs I facilitate because all that junk is already plastered in LinkedIn and other social media platforms. Do I brag? Probably. But, I don't do it with bad intentions. I am extremely proud of my hard work and accomplishments. My position with DOS and DSAL affords me to continue my studies in the counseling graduate program. Moreover, my wonderful job makes it so that I can continue my internship in counseling which entails over 300 hours this semester alone working with clients. I love counseling. I cannot imagine pursuing any other career right now, but had anyone told me ten years ago that this is what I would be doing . . . ANY OF THIS . . .  I would have told them they were crazy. 

Book of D: Counseling the UNCOUN'SELABLE

 Last night, I saw four new clients. All presenting with different conditions. Two of them in their teens (sisters) and severely hindered by mental and possible physical maltreatment. Their trust of others has been severely impacted for obvious reasons. I am going to have to approach the way I counsel them in a very different and cautious manner. First, I will establish a sound therapeutic relationship. I will include a lot of validation as I was advised to do during debriefing by my counseling supervisor and colleagues. Perhaps employing more non-talkactive measures like the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) or even Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). The maternal grandmother has custody of the sisters. The sisters are evidently enraged at the world for the bad things that have happened to them, and the girls spare no animosity toward their grandmother - blaming her, too, for their negative life experiences these past five years. I have my hands full with these two, but hey, I did not decide on a career in counseling because it would be easy. Conversely, I have spent much time and beaucoup money on grad school to pursue this passion I have for counseling and helping others. Nowhere in the APA or ACA Code of Ethics or Principles of Counseling did it promise that counseling would be easy. Easy? NO! . . . Rewarding? Heck YES! 

Book of D: Prayers for Ukraine

I am by no means a political pundit or historian, if anything, I am a fan of politics and history. I leave the historian ascription to my spouse who has a master's degree in history. Look, I merely know the outskirts of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. From what I have read, Putin claims he wants to ‘denazify’ Ukraine; moreover, he is adamant to block the Ukraine's attempt to join The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The United States, Canada, and several Western European nations created NATO in 1949 to provide "collective security" against the Soviet Union. Due to the reasoning for the Organization, Putin has a fervent hatred of NATO and to have Ukraine, which was once part of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), try to join western alliances is like a slap to Putin – or at least that is how he views it because he is a narcissistic fool who thinks everything revolves around him. Political pundits say that Putin will never subjugate Ukraine; therefore, he will continue to invade and bomb Ukraine with no endgame for the invasion.

What I further understand from the research I have done is that Ukraine is a currently recognized sovereign state. History shows that right before the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Ukraine did not have sovereignty; however, prior to the February 22nd (2022) invasion of Ukraine, Putin and Russia collectively recognized parts of Ukraine as sovereign states. This contradiction of sovereign recognition has created the tensions to intensify in the region. Whatever the reasons, Putin and his Russia had no real reason to invade independent Ukraine or wreak havoc on millions of innocent people. I include Russian citizens in the realm of "innocents" because millions of them are against the invasion, but they are sure to suffer from the repercussions of the blockades, export control restrictions, and sanctions imposed upon by the United States and its allies. Prayers for the world. Soap box over.