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From: Rebecca S.
Date: 17 Oct 2006
Time: 09:23:51 -0500
Remote Name: 66.195.10.15
Hello Ms. Silverman, it has been a privalege to read your paper this week, as well as all the thoughtful replies you have made. I appreciate you taking the time to so carefully listen in this conference forum. The question that strikes me concerns your reference to Einstein's thoughts. You wrote, "[He] asserted we experience what we believe, reportedly stressed that the most important question each of us has to answer for ourselves is whether we live in a friendly or a hostile environment. He invited us to consider whether we believe we live in supportive circumstances where our needs are fully met or a culture of scarcity that creates "Have's" and "Have-Not's" and requires us to struggle to attain what we feel is rightfully ours." From what I have learned thus far, emotions can complicate one's desires and ability to change. Be it depression, grief, anger, or even hostility people feel others have for them (one view PWS have expressed about people with normal disfluencies), it seems these beliefs would have to be dealt with first in therapy. I have not yet begun my clinical practicums, but wonder, if I can create a friendly, supportive environment conducive to change, but a client does not see it as such or may even view the position I have as part of a culture of "have and have nots", how do I meet that person's needs? I am currently taking a counseling class and understand it is essential to be aware of my own power and privalege as an educator/clinician, how that can effect the client-clinician relationship, and be willing to address that with a client. I also know one person cannot meet all of a client's needs. Still, I feel young, inexperienced and may or may not be further along the continuum of being able to make positive self-change than a client. I admire the time you have obviously devoted to your personal cultivation and practice, but how do I help others help themselves without that wealth of experiential knowledge? If "we experience what we believe" what tools do you give clients to empower them to become ready for a new way of experiencing or to help prepare them for the "struggle" to change?