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Thursday 26 September 2013

The Counselling Side of the Course

Hello Hello Hello Lovelies!

I hope you are all happy and enjoying your programmes now we are back in business. I have had one lecture so far and it has been on counselling theory, as an aspiring counsellor I’m very happy that we now have the counselling modules back in the third year as in the second year we don’t do any counselling because of the BPS (The British Psychological Society) requirements for all of us students getting our accreditation  Anyways so far so good as far as the course goes it seems like it is going to be quite an intensive one as we have so much to learn in so little time – eek- but I’m sure it’s all going to be worth it.

My main set back is going to be the role playing which is involved in the counselling skills module that I am taking in term 2, which obviously we have to do a lot of as both the therapist and the client, to prepare my incredible acting skills I volunteered myself to read a transcript out in front of the seminar which I was slightly nervous about because as much as I am loud socially I don’t tend to be in front of big crowds, however I did it as I know next term will be a challenge as we won’t have a script to read from. It is embarrassing but the key thing is to remember we are all in it together and have to do it as part of the module, so I decided to launch myself into it (but I didn't pretend to cry or anything like that, as much as I am a drama queen I’m definitely not ready to do that just yet.)


The counselling side is really interesting and has lots of different approaches which are good to get an idea of because then I can get an idea for what approach I want to train in to become a counsellor. What I didn't know was how there is no set criteria as to what is needed to become a counsellor. I myself do want the BACP accreditation which would mean me taking a masters recognised by the organisation, which our university does have which is the MSc Therapeutic Counselling course.


The only thing with the masters’ programmes is they require voluntary experience in the field which I sadly at the moment am lacking; I've tried quite a few places such as Place2Be, Mind and Childline but unfortunately although I have done well in the interviews I haven’t been able to commit the time they need on a weekly basis. But hopefully soon that will all change and I can apply again as all of them are great places to volunteer for and really do make a difference.

So the road to becoming a counsellor isn't the easiest but I know it will all be worth it in the end, so for those of you also wishing to pursue careers in counselling I would say stick at it because it will be rewarding and we will all get there :)


Anyways how are all you lovely fresher’s doing? I went to the Fresher’s fair on Avery Hill campus which was so busy but also really fun, I hope you all enjoyed yourselves and joined some societies. Every year I sign up for at least one even though I’m not a Fresher, my problem is I can’t say no to people so I sign up for loads, if I’m being honest this year I went for the freebies ha-ha. And BIG NEWS s-club 7 are going to be at the fresher’s ball! As a 90’s kid I can’t even begin to express how excited I am about that ha-ha I really want to go!

That’s it from me today guys and gals I will chat to you soon. Speak to you soon.

Xoxo
L
P.S. Avoid Fresher’s flu!!!

Friday 13 September 2013

WELCOME FRESHERS of 2013! :)




Hey lovelies, I hope you are all well and ready for this academic year which is almost underway. A big welcome to all of University of Greenwich’s new students, I hope you are all excited to be starting your courses and that you enjoy your time here. I look forward to hopefully meeting some of you soon. In fact I know I will meet some of you because the Fresher’s events are coming up from next week and I am totally planning on gate crashing them even though I know they are meant for first years only!  For all of the events planned by the SUUG just for you check out the following link:


I look forward to seeing you at some of them. Also if you are a new student on psychology/psychology with counselling – be sure to join the society and check out the Facebook page setup, as lots of updates on the course will be posted J

During my summer I have been working full time at the Clearing reception in Avery Hill and also at  Greenwich which I have loved and has meant I have got to meet lots of our new students, which has been really good. For those of you experiencing those first day nerves – don’t panic, trust me when I say we have all been there and you’ll be surprised just how quickly you can get settled. Clearing has been a lot of fun this year we had an annual Theme Your Team competition and this year it was ‘Going to the Movies’ so me and the others on the team dressed up as T-birds and the pink ladies from Grease and performed a whole musical medley for the judges, which was hilarious. We also had a bake off which I got pretty competitive in and went all out and made a topsy turvy cake with lollies in and everything – it was so OTT haha. Unfortunately I didn't win either of those contests but came a respectable second place both times lol.


I am a mixture of nerves and excitement at the moment because of the dreaded dissertation dun dun durrrn but it should be fine, I've started work on getting it prepared to be sent to ethics for approval which is what is needed for the psychology projects so soon it may well be underway. I won’t go into too much detail as to what I’m going to be doing for my project as I may well be asking you guys to help me out and take part in my study, but it is basically on body modification (tattoos & piercings) and has a few other variables alongside it. But that’s all that’s being revealed – for now- as it may change ;).

Right Boys and Girls that’s all from me for today I will talk to you soon and watch out sometime very soon you may be forced to take part in a study of mine, alright I won’t force you but I may beg. Haha.

Take Care,

Xoxo


Laura