Debrief

Hello. Remember me? It's been a little quiet over here on this little blog but not for a lack of activity but rather, the opposite. I've been busy with school and life, really.

Last week, I finished up the component on group counselling. Oh, boy - talk about heavy and intense! There were some serious emotions and challenges presented throughout the class but in the end, I have to say, it was one of my favorite classes of this program, thus far!

And what a wonderful surprise! I honestly thought that facilitating groups would be something I would hate since speaking in front of groups (especially large ones!) is not my forte. If you don't know me personally (or even if you do), you may not be aware of my intense fear of public speaking or even being the focus of attention. I clam up. My voice quivers. I shake (though invisible to the untrained eye). My heart palpitates. It's really not a pleasant sight. I was so nervous and was sure I would make a complete fool of myself but...things turned out to be just fine.

Once I stopped beating myself up after facilitating my first group workshop (initiations are never fun - unless it's sushi, of course!), I began preparing myself for the second. I thought I would be clever and try to shake things up and create a whole new workshop based on an outline received in class. I revised the original and rehearsed it the night before I was to present. When I got to class, the instructor advised me to follow the original outline since my revised workshop might infringe on the workshop of a fellow classmate. I panicked for a moment, took a deep breath, laughed a bit (this is my coping mechanism for most things), looked over the original outline and then, just dove right in. The combination of added pressure and having to improvise turned out to be a good formula for me as I was able to follow the outline given in class but also think on my feet and be creative in my responses and questions (making it more genuine and sincere instead of robotic).

[Would you believe me if I told you I found it thrilling? Seriously!]

It was a great feeling to know that I could actually facilitate a group successfully and enjoy it. Of course, this was done under very favorable conditions with ideal clients and with excellent instruction and guidance from our instructor. The 'real world' is certainly not this forgiving but still, it gave me a sense of hope, as well as accomplishment that I hope to draw from in the future (especially when I feel like I'm on the verge of fainting).

And you? How was your week? Care to debrief?