Fishbowl Reflection

At the beginning of this semester as I started the MFCC program I felt scared and intimidated. I felt intimidated because I had no idea what to expect from the program. Once I learned what fishbowl was the thought of doing fish bowl frightened me. Just thinking of how I would get criticized and having people looking at me gives me anxiety. Then I realized that I wasn’t the only person who felt that way and many of my classmates did as well. Even though fishbowl was intimidating I volunteered once as a client and a counselor. During class every time in fishbowl I payed close attention to the feedback and suggestions the teacher made. Since I learn from observing, I examined how other students practiced the criteria being learned in fishbowl

In the beginning I had trouble remembering to examine a client’s behavior. I was so focused on obtaining the details and asking the proper question, that examining client’s behavior bypassed me. By the end of the semester I improved. I looked for behavior reactions matching what the client was saying. For example a client might express feeling happy. Therefore I would look for them to be smiling or laughing, because that behavior matches the feeling. If observed the opposite I would point it out to the client and say. “I hearing you saying you are happy but you are crying, is there a reason why? By doing so I point out the discrepancy.

In order to be an affective counselor you must have empathy, show that you caring and concern by your behavior. Having good body positions, building rapport, eye contact and great attending skills inspires affective counseling. Failing to doing so can cause the client to feel uncomfortable and not progress. A counselor should try and meet the client in their shoes. That includes understanding client’s background, religion, culture etc. As a counselor one must demonstrate such things to establish conform for the client. I have long way to go but I am learning and bettering