client or trainee
Ann Hale
annehale at swva.net
Mon Sep 11 13:53:57 CDT 2006
I so appreciate the candor and descriptive nature of your post on this
important issue. The learning, however stressful and hurtful, is the way we
grow into clarity and humility as professionals. I remember in my early
days as a trainer (1975 or thereabouts) I was so frustrated looking about
for how to be a trainer. I realized that I was looking up at mentors, and
had the sudden realization that the best people to teach me about being a
trainer were students who were experts on how they learn. Still, the
complexity of the relationships can be weighty without counsel and admitting
to oneself errors in judgment and self correction.
One reason Grouptalk is so important is it helps to dilute the isolation we
experience in those areas of the country and the world where colleagues are
not readily available for face to face consultation. Thank you again for
writing.
.----- Original Message -----
From: "Melissa Monahan" <melissa_erin_monahan at hotmail.com>
To: <list at grouptalkweb.org>
Sent: Monday, September 11, 2006 2:35 PM
Subject: Re: client or trainee
> This dialogue is so important.
> As a student of Drama Therapy, as well as a Psychodrama trainee, I can
> appreciate the fine and delicate line that MUST be drawn between the
> therapist/trainer and client/trainee.
> As a creative therapeutic novice, I had chosen to extend my trainer's role
> to include that of individual therapist. At that time, she was more than
> happy to expand her professional repertoire and make a monetary deal.
> This
> maneuver, however, eventually proved disastrous, as the boundaries became
> increasingly vague.
> For example:
>
> *Her asking permission to eat salad during a one-on-one session.
> *Delegating duties, that included phone calling and drumming up business
> for
> her group/workshops.
> *Assuming I'd drive her home following a back-to-back individual session
> and
> training evening.
> *Explicitly suggesting, during one-on-one psychodramatic work that, one
> day,
> we'd have an office together and she would send me child clients because,
> after all, sometimes being a solo practitioner gets "lonely."
>
> While I acknowledge that reality is subjective, I do believe that some of
> the boundary issues stemmed from my trainer/therapist's insecure and egoic
> need to be regarded as someone with a "gift" for psychodrama, or "one of
> the
> best psychodramatists around" and "a role model of honesty for my
> clients."
> Conversely, I am a newcomer, and instinctively welcomed any/all guidance
> as
> well as professional mentoring.
> After emerging from a profound crisis, I realized how informal and skewed
> the relationship was; how compromised MY therapeutic process had become
> (and
> at some pricey hourly rates). While such nuances certainly don't CAUSE
> one's
> crisis, they're not of much HELP either.
> Eventually, I suggested she continue to be my psychodrama trainer, but
> divulged my decision to work one-on-one with someone else.
> This was, naturally, met with bewildered criticism and, then, an ultimatum
> to either work with her in individual therapy or leave her psychodrama
> group. While I understand her motivations
> were---always---well-intentioned,
> that kind of strong-arming hammered the proverbial nail into the
> psychodramtic coffin, and I chose to abort the relationship.
>>From this experience, I learned so much about the boundaries necessary to
> distinguish a client from trainee, and I thank my former therapist/trainer
> for that.
>
>
> ~Melissa Erin Monahan
> New York City
>
>
>
>>From: Carole Oliver <caroleolivernj at optonline.net>
>>Reply-To: list at grouptalkweb.org
>>To: list at grouptalkweb.org
>>Subject: Re: client or trainee
>>Date: Mon, 11 Sep 2006 08:41:18 -0700
>>
>>Peter, everyone has their strengths and weaknesses as clinicians. Working
>>on one's boundaries issues are important, however, it is also equally
>>important to know your self enough to set strong boundaries with some
>>pretty explicit rules, no dual relationships. Kudos to you to be able to
>>maintain all those dual roles, I know I wouldn't want so therefore
>>probably
>>would not be good at it----- Original Message -----
>> From: Peter Parkinson
>> To: list at grouptalkweb.org ; grace at graceworks.co.nz
>> Sent: Sunday, September 10, 2006 12:22 PM
>> Subject: RE: client or trainee
>>
>>
>> I practiced psychodrama for 15 years in a community of 800 people.
>> About
>>500 of these were utilizing psychodrama for their development. As a result
>>my boundaries and that of my staff had to be both clear and powerful. It
>>was inevitable I would share the role of Director, doctor, colleague,
>>committee member, fellow sportsperson etc. with one individual. There was
>>no way of escaping this scenario, in fact it was the norm rather than the
>>exception. Every psycho-dramatist goes through the progression of
>>client/group member, auxiliary, trainee and then colleague.
>>Professionalism
>>and personal development is about clarity of boundaries, and I believe
>>that
>>is not good enough to be saying "my boundaries are not very good' and
>>thereby justifying evading the issue. Life is for living fully, and
>>therapy
>>does not end at the consulting room door. Boundaries and fine tuning them
>>is our work, let's get on with it. A person s not a "trainee" or a
>>''client', they, like all of us, at times, assume these roles, the role of
>>client lasts about an hour, then its time for a change of role on both
>>sides.
>>
>>
>>
>> At times I would be in the main street of this country town and someone
>>would assume, erroneously, that I was in the role of their doctor and ask
>>me about a lab result. At that particular moment I was embedded in the
>>role
>>of the window shopper, and I would respond that they would not want me to
>>be thinking of them as a disease or an illness every time that I saw them.
>>To this comment I usually got a laugh of awareness and a spontaneous
>>agreement to see me or a staff member about the requirement IN THE
>>SURGERY.
>>And not on he street.
>>
>>
>>
>> Cheers
>>
>>
>>
>> Peter Parkinson from New Zealand
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>> From: list-bounces at grouptalkweb.org
>>[mailto:list-bounces at grouptalkweb.org] On Behalf Of Carole Oliver
>> Sent: Monday, 11 September 2006 6:35 a.m.
>> To: grace at graceworks.co.nz; list at grouptalkweb.org
>> Subject: Re: client or trainee
>>
>>
>>
>> grace, I agree that the psychodrama community is small and we know many
>>people, first as clients and then maybe in a psychodrama/training group.
>>The roles can get murky. I think it requires a therapist who can be very
>>strong with boundaries. I am a pretty friendly accessible therapist and so
>>I find it harder to keep very strong boundaries between training,
>>supervision, group[p member, client.
>>
>> It is difficult to sort it all out. As for me, I wont see a person in
>>individual and be their trainer. If they are in my group which is a
>>therapy/psychodrama group, they can log hours but if they are indivual
>>clients, I wont do just a training group or supervision group with them.
>>Does that make sense?
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>>
>> From: Grace
>>
>> To: list at grouptalkweb.org
>>
>> Sent: Tuesday, September 05, 2006 3:14 PM
>>
>> Subject: RE: client or trainee
>>
>>
>>
>> Kia ora Peter,
>>
>> Yes, I like your view of your work as education or adult education
>> (we
>>sometimes refer to what we do as psycho-education), although I do believe
>>it is deep learning that we facilitate in the group of people we work with
>>people, so I have a new descriptor to use. Thank you!
>>
>>
>>
>> I have also been pondering on the reality of dual relationships
>>especially living in a small country where the degrees of separation are
>>few. It's pretty difficult here in Aotearoa/NZ to meet people in either
>>work or social situations who don't have an acquaintance in common. I
>>think Moreno gives us a great tool in Role Theory, enabling us to become
>>conscious, to identify and warm up deliberately to the roles necessary to
>>respond adequately in situations where dual relationships such as Client /
>>Trainee exist. One such role might be something like a 'responsible
>>professional' who is able to bring a wealth of technical and ethical
>>expertise into practice when making decisions, when in doubt consulting
>>with supervisors and networks. I really like that this approach engages
>>the professional in the 'deep learning process' also, giving us the
>>opportunity to continue growing our ability to be creative and spontaneous
>>rather than referring to entrenched and conserved rules that squash
>>vitality and imply that there an end to what is really an infinite
>>process.
>> This is NOT the easy road however! And we won't always get it right-
>>can we live with that?
>>
>>
>>
>> Cheers
>>
>> Grace
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>----------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>> From: list-bounces at grouptalkweb.org
>>[mailto:list-bounces at grouptalkweb.org] On Behalf Of Peter Howie
>> Sent: Tuesday, 5 September 2006 2:10 p.m.
>> To: Adam Blatner; list at grouptalkweb.org
>> Subject: Re: client or trainee
>>
>>
>>
>> Dear Adam,
>>
>> Sorry Adam but I can't help myself.
>>
>> "So there's a cultural lag-- a need to recognize this sub-field, but
>>still the main field of psychodrama is based on the conventional model of
>>psychotherapy-- and training certification is also geared to this, albeit
>>loosely. "
>>
>> I came across this quote as I was perusing some early ANZPA thesis.
>>
>> "I have always tried to show that my approach was meant as much more
>>than a psychotherapeutic method--my ideas have emphasized that creativity
>>and spontaneity affect the very roots of vitality and spiritual
>>development, and thus affect our involvements in every sphere of our
>>lives.
>>Furthermore, I have always wanted to have people attend to the processes
>>of
>>health, as well as to the problems of illness; thus I am glad that Dr
>>Blatenr has noted the applications of psychodrama in the home, school and
>>world of business" J L Moreno, M.D., 1973 in Forward to "Acting In" by
>>Adam
>>Blatner.
>>
>> Part of our discussion involves, at an underlying level, how the
>>conserves of the psychotherapeutic communities/world (Psychology,
>>Psychoiatry, Counselling etc) have dominated some of this discussion. It
>>may not be so much about the dilemmas that arise from boundary issues with
>>clients/patients/trainees but more about how this work is conceptualised.
>>Personally and professionally I think viewing most of our work as that of
>>education or adult education works for me. Deep learning is deep therapy.
>>Still working on this idea.
>>
>> Cheers
>>
>> Peter Howie
>> Brisbanew, Australia
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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