What?

This year’s counselling assignment had a bit of an added challenge compared to last year, in that we were given one session only in which to assess and advise our clients. I was paired with a client whose assessment form said she was seeking advice for losing weight and consuming a more balanced diet, and although I felt fairly confident about being able to speak to those topics, my concern was that she might come into the session with new, unexpected issues and I wouldn’t have time to do my research before responding to them. All the same, since she seemed like a very busy person, I didn’t ask her to fill out any dietary recalls or give me more information before coming into the session. In the end, it all worked out because her needs were within the range of what I was expecting going into our session.

I had made a couple of personal improvement goals for this year’s assignment; they were focused mostly around the type of language I use during the session. My goals were (1) to avoid giving advice in terms of my own habits (i.e. “I like to have salad mix on hand” or “I like hummus and veggies for a snack”), since I don’t feel like this is necessarily motivational and sometimes can come across as ‘holier-than-thou’ in the wrong situations; and (2) to avoid using ‘filler words’ such as ‘like’, ‘um’, and ‘uh’.

So What?

My counselling experience was overall a very positive one. My client had a clear idea of what she wanted, was motivated by improving overall health so already valued the idea of a balanced diet, and was very open to suggestions. I found a lot of success with the two of us talking through an average day of how she eats, and teasing out different areas where she may be able to make improvements. The biggest difficulty I had this year was coming up with ideas on the spot during the session; for example, I made a point of letting her know that we don’t want to take away foods that fit the texture cravings she has, but then I had a tough time coming up with nutritious foods that fit that need. The way that I attempted to solve that problem was by offering a follow-up e-mail with resources and ideas, such as online meal planning tools as well as lists of recipes. My client seemed to respond really well to that offer.

In terms of my personal goals, I had a hard time completely avoiding the phrases that I was trying not to use. Despite my best efforts, I couldn’t get rid of ‘like’ in my vocabulary, and I found myself once or twice offering up some of my own habits as part of my advice. However, I think that having the goal in mind helped me to keep the habits to a minimum, and also led me to put some more consideration into how these habits might impact the experience for my client.

Now What?

Overall, I think that I have improved as a counsellor over the past year in a few areas. I came into the experience with much more confidence in my knowledge base, ability to adapt, and capacity for applying the counselling skills that we have discussed in class. This confidence allowed me to be more relaxed and take the necessary time to listen to my client, rather than trying to stick to a script. I find that when we discuss counselling in class with guest RDs, I feel excited about taking on more counselling experiences in the near future, and locking in to my own personal style. I found that the goal-setting portion of the assignment was helpful not just for this assignment, but also for considering how I will continue to set goals for myself throughout internship and beyond. Areas where I’m looking forward to improving include choosing my words and phrases better, reading and responding to the body language and facial cues of my client, and learning more about when to offer advice and when to sit back and listen. Counselling is a big part of what I look forward to in my dietetics career!