One of the gifts that injury gave me was a path toward Tai Chi and Qi Gong!
It is very unlikely that I would have stumbled upon it, if I had not been seeking relief from chronic pain.
I also wanted to defy the promise from my doctors that I would need at least two knee replacements in my lifetime.
Little did I know that I would not only be learning this gentle, yet powerful practice. But I would also be learning principles and truisms that are guideposts in my life.
So far my favorite one is a salutation that my teachers say at the end of each class “Every Teacher is a Student and Every Student is a Teacher.” It is followed by expressions of gratitude to one another.
It is a principle that I carry with me in my practice of clinical supervision with those seeking their counseling license.
Every time I meet with a supervisee, I learn from them and they learn from me. It only works as an exchange.
They must bring themselves to the agenda to help form purpose within the meeting and I must respond.
Facilitating from this space allows me to be respectful of the process that is “Becoming a Psychotherapist.”
A process rife with:
- self exploration,
- self doubt,
- discovery,
- disappointment,
- healing,
- and transformation.
In addition, to all of that… counselors must:
- learn how to treat a variety of mental health concerns,
- learn best practices,
- put ethics into practice,
- and form their own unique identity as therapists based on theory and research.
At times it is like running a gauntlet. Only those determined to get to the finish line make it. I spend a fair amount of time patching them up and sending them back out into the field.
There are injuries inherent in the work (being exposed to others’ psychological pain) and injuries that we bring into the field based on:
- our family background,
- current circumstances,
- and life experiences.
Based on my own experiences with injury (be it physical or emotional), I know that the supervisee who has no “expressed” pain is not the ideal counselor.
A person without pain awareness, is a person who is likely not growing.
A therapist’s highest value must be personal growth. How can we expect others to do what we are not willing to do ourselves?
Pain and injury allow us to go where we need to go… to learn what we must learn... the gift of injury is that if we allow it, we will be transformed by what it requires of us to heal.
Be it:
- psychotherapy,
- physical therapy,
- journal-ling,
- journeying,
- walking,
- meditation,
- Tai Chi or Qigong … let injury lead you to what you must learn…it is the best “injury” prevention I know!
Have you let injury transform you for the better? What did you learn?
Copyright © 2015 Ruby Blow. All rights reserved.
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