Whether we counsel alcholoics, drug addicts, broken marriages, youth or children we must, if we are to be ethically sound, take into consideration the world view of the client as equal and valid to ours. To approach a client from our perspective alone is to miss the opportunity for gestalt. The coming together of answers and questions. TJS
"Quite simply, a postcolonial paradigm would accept knowledge from differing cosmologises as valid in their won right, without their having to adhere to a separate cultural body for legitimacy."
(Eduardo Duran, 1995)
Todd,
ReplyDeleteI'm new to the whole blogging phenomenon so I'm not sure how or where I'm supposed to leave this message. You had asked me to write a blurb about my job and why it's important, so here goes. I am a correctional worker and I firmly believe that it is my responsibility to help my clients address their criminogenic needs while they are incarcerated. If their time in jail is not utilized to aid in their reintegration back into mainstream society then half of the reason they are incarcerated is for not. I am a humanitarian and see the good in most people, I work with many individuals with severe addictions problems but that's not what I see when I look at them. I do a lot of counselling with inmates, some of which is a lost cause but the vast majority of them are responsive to our conversations. It's a very interesting environment.
You also asked me to leave a list of some books that I've read and would recommend: Leaving Dirty Jersey by James Salant, Tweak by Nic Sheff, Beautiful Boy by David Sheff and Smashed by Koren Zailckas. Hope this is what you were looking for.
Ciara (SW 417 student)
Thank you Ciara. Your work is important and the books are excellent resources. Do you ever feel discouraged working with a client base that may not have an ideal level of intrinsic motivation? Peace. Todd
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