Theoretical Orientation Reflection Paper

655 Words3 Pages

Research found that clinical experience was considered by 98% of Swedish psychotherapists as a very important for their professional development (Heffner and Sandall, 2009). I thought this post was a good example of how to help in the development of theoretical orientation. I thought to myself, I could never live in Alaska. It really seems like an isolated place but it seemed to have helped in your development as a counselor. The story stated that you were able to be kept abreast on lot of theoretical approaches and it seemed that it would be helpful in determining what would work for different clients. It seemed you were able to think about what the client wanted from you as well as how empathetic you were. I see that you had challenges because of the anxiety that you experienced and the distance of you supervisor. I also imagined how hard it could be to counsel those who seemed to live such a different life style than you were accustomed to. The thing that resonated the most is knowing that you can be flexible with the techniques that you use. It is what I want to do and I have to ensure that I am comfortable doing so. I would like to know what you did for fun because I understand the importance wellness. I …show more content…

In watching the video, it was comforting to know that other people also believe that it takes some time to develop a theoretical orientation. I understand that you can choose a theoretical orientation but still get techniques from other theories. I also learned that it was ok to change and even in choosing a theory you are not stuck to that particular one. It is a process that takes, I think, a professional lifetime to continue to fine tune and refine your theoretical orientation (Laureate Education, 2013). What resonated with me the most is once I chose a theory I should educate myself on that theory and not be afraid to change