Counseling
is a topic that appealed to me from my speech and language undergrad courses. I
cannot agree it isn’t a large topic at the graduate level in Western Kentucky
University’s program. Even if only for half a lesson, I recall the topic of
“counseling” being brought up in almost every class. From an Individualized
Family Service Plan to Aphasia, TBI, and phonology, I recall something about
talking to the patient and/or the family, significant other, children, etc. We
discussed talking to teenagers about not wanting to attend therapy for several
different reasons. The topic was also addressed in our externship class discussions.
In my
opinion what could help grow this area is to actually practice counseling. As
much as I learn about any topic in any field, a person like me needs to
actually practice to learn. When it comes to counseling it seems that in the “real”
world there isn’t a lot of focus on counseling, or time, or interests. I am not
sure if it is solely my experience or if it is often the experience but I
rarely saw opportunities to “counsel” families. I did observe SLPs talking to
parents/caregivers after and/or during an evaluation and I was aware of parent
teacher-conferences at schools; what I rarely had the opportunity to see were
follow-up conversations or participate in the counseling as a “clinical student”.
I
anticipate doing my best to reach out to family and caregivers. Even if at the
end of each session I spend 2-3 minutes discussing the session and outcome,
giving homework, or touching to test for water temperature. I also anticipate
integrating counseling into my sessions and when working with future SLP interns.
I believe it is possible that because I was a student I was not involved in “counseling”
sessions. Instead I was asked to focus on the actual therapy. I also believe
that everyone is different. From the therapist to the family each combination
of people involved is different in addition to the case and specifics of the
case itself. Each situation will be handled different and will need and require
different counseling techniques. This is another reason I will only learn after
practicing. Through my own experience I believe I will develop “best practices”.
