A few moments from class last night that really got to me:

* Our new professor, who has much life experience and clinical experience as a psychologist, had asked each of us to talk about our theoretical leanings, ie psychoanalytical a la Freud, behavioral, narrative, family systems, existential, feminist, all types of therapy which are based on certain theories we've been studying. It was his first night teaching us and he was putting a big effort into getting to know each of us a bit.

Quite a few of us answered by saying that we were still learning and in fact have an affinity for several theories. That's good, and realistic, and he encouraged us to combine two or three perspectives and really study those thoroughly.

But later in the evening, we got back to that topic, and he was talking about narrative therapy, which is one of my interests. He said that listening to our clients' stories is how we really get the sense of who they are in their world, and then he went further and said that in terms of finding the theory or theories that best fit us and our clients, he hoped that we would each find our own theory, based on our own life story.

This is so true. Those things in our lives which have shaped and changed us have made us who we are. We'll be better therapists if we can integrate all of that into our practice. It's one reason I want to work in grief counseling. I've spent so much energy and time with grief, and I've learned and grown so much. I would go so far as to say that with the loss of Ethan and the way I processed that, I was forever changed, and it led me to this field of study.

So yes, our life stories will provide the real-life meat of our own theories, informed of course by all of the theories we're studying and by our ongoing learning in the field.

And by the way, my current answer is that I'm drawn to narrative, feminist, and family systems theories.

* The other thing that got to me in class last night was a comment made by one of the young women in our class. She was speaking about kids she's worked with in group homes, and she talked about the necessity of getting to work with the whole family, not just the kid. She said that these kids "carry the burden of the family on their shoulders" and that she wanted to help the kids by working with their families too. It was such an apt metaphor.

* And finally, one of our classmates announced that she is pregnant with her first child and had just come from hearing the heartbeat at the dr.'s office. The whole class celebrated. Very exciting news! And her baby is due on A.J.'s due date of November 19th. A special day. Of course, A.J. chose to wait until the 24th to emerge, but it's still a date I'll always remember. Your baby's due date. A milestone sort of date. So happy.

Some of the students in my class are on the two-year track, which means they'll do practicum/fieldwork in the fall. The rest of us, the three-years, have to wait until fall of 2007. I got so excited hearing the two-years talk about where they'll be working. I want to be at that stage! But I still have a lot to learn and classes to complete before I will get there.