The Benefit of Being an Active Listener
Did you know that there are levels of listening? Listening should be a whole body experience. When I worked in an elementary school I taught social and emotional classroom lessons to kindergarteners. Is your whole body showing me that you are listening? Your eyes? Ears? Hands? Brain? Heart? While this might sound juvenile and […]
Difficult Conversations: Balancing Truth & Love
One of my favorite commercials is for car insurance. The scene opens with three elderly women facing a wall covered with pictures. While one woman explains that she’s posted all of her vacation photos to the wall in front of them, another says, “I like that one!” And the other tells them both, “That’s not […]
Jon’s Rules for Being Miserable
[Sarcasm font on] I’ve worked in the mental health field for 16 years. I’ve been a triage counselor at a psychiatric hospital, a school counselor and the past several years I’ve spent as a counselor and director of Peace Partnership. I’ve seen a lot of, ahem, stuff. I’ve been spit on, hit, kicked, and […]
Somewhere Between Always and Never
In counseling coursework, clinicians are charged with setting up ground rules and expectations for clients in our office. The purpose is to promote safety, calm nerves, and provide a structure to our sessions. Several principles run through my mind as I think of these classroom exercises—do not harm clients, keep clients safe, ensure that the […]
Grandma & The Meaning Of Life
In my younger years, my grandmother would tell me how hard it was growing up during the Great Depression. I half-listened to her stories, mostly because I was in trouble when she was telling them. Like many boys, I could be lazy and my laziness really bothered my grandma. When she was young, she didn’t […]