CCC 27-1_LR

INNOVATIVE THOUGHT & PRACTICE

Sitting across from this therapist, I realized something was not quite right. He seemed tired, a bit agitated over having to take this meeting, and gen erally unenthused with the prospect of having a 45-minute conversation with me. I wondered if there was some polite way of backing out of this men torship “blind date” with my dignity intact. After the obligatory introductions and background information, there was an uncomfortable moment of silence. Afterward, he said to me, “I apologize. I’m not myself right now. I’m super burned out. Actually, I’m thinking about leaving the conference early. Usually, I love being here, but right now, I wish I could be somewhere else. Life has been too much for me lately. Counseling has been too much. I’m thinking about taking a break.” He sipped his coffee and then looked up at me—he seemed just as surprised as I was that he had just shared that unso licited information. At the time, I had recently returned to school to study psychology and learned some rudimentary skills in reflective listening. I did not know what else to do, so I tried that skill. “I can tell you’re feeling really terrible right now.” He answered, almost angrily, “You’ve got that right!” Although I do not remember much more about that conversation, I do recall managing a graceful exit long before the scheduled end time for our meeting. What really struck me as I walked back to my room in the Opry land Hotel was that the guy I had just met was not as advertised. He was not the icon of a great Christian counselor. Instead of a model of what I wanted to be, he was a model of what I did not want to be. My mental picture of a great Christian therapist or counselor was that of an enthusiastic, empathetic individual strongly motivated by the desire to help others and support them as they navigated life’s paths. I had to believe this guy was once that way—he must have been. However, when our paths crossed, he looked more like a shell of a man than a motivated and energized soul-care provider.

Christian Counseling Connection 19