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Counseling Reflections
Counseling Reflections
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Institution
Introduction
The importance of counseling cannot be gainsaid as far as the psychological health of individuals is concerned. Indeed, this may be tied to the economic wellbeing of individual and the country at large, especially considering that only healthy individuals have the capacity to create wealth. Counseling sessions may be individually held or in group sessions, both of which I have attended (Nelson-Jones, 2008). Group counseling revolves around a therapy format that approaches issues pertaining to personal growth using interpersonal interaction. In this case, individuals would interact with each other in an effort to identify, as well as comprehend their maladaptive patterns, as well as how they can modify them (Nelson-Jones, 2008). These interactions come with a chance to build relationships, as well as receive interpersonal feedback pertaining to the manner in which individuals experience one another. Individual counseling, on the other hand, would involve individual interaction with the counselor on an individual basis.
Feeling about the individual versus group counseling process
I feel extremely happy about both the individual and the group counseling sessions. Both of them allowed for immense interactions between the individuals, sharing the thoughts and issues that are deep-seated in the heart of an individual. Individual counseling sessions triggered feelings of security and trust especially in instances where the counselor would encourage me to talk about issues that I considered as relatively embarrassing. This, was undoubtedly, bound to increase feelings of trust and prompted me to explore feelings that I have always been afraid of exploring, as well as realizing and feelings issues that I have never thought existed in me.
However, I felt more excited about the group counseling sessions as they allowed for more openness and increased interactions than the individual counseling processes. Indeed, the individual counseling sessions brought out feelings of burn out, which may have emanated from the hectic nature of my life, as I have to juggle from terrific work to studies. Individual counseling sessions brought out feelings of burn out as it is often difficult to get a rapport with the counselor. Strong feelings especially emanated from the openness that the group sessions came with, as well as the fact that individuals could always discuss issues even when they did not particularly concern them.
As much as group sessions made me feel more relaxed, I would feel happy to attend individual sessions more than the group sessions in the future. This is especially considering the intricacies surrounding future life, especially with regard to family, spouses, marriage life and others. These issues would be better discussed in private with individual counselors rather than I group sessions.
What I have learnt about myself
As much as the sessions may have been extremely different, they brought out incredible lessons about my own nature. First, I learnt that I am incredibly impatient with other people especially in instances where I hold a relatively higher position than them. This can always trigger feelings of exasperation and frustration especially in instances where the people do not seem to catch up with me or get in line with my thinking as fast as I would want them to.
In addition, I learnt that that I cannot afford to be alone. Indeed, I like it when I am surrounded by people. Somehow, having people around me triggers feelings of happiness. From this, I learnt that I am always willing to listen to the feelings and opinions of other people and may, in fact, feel inclined to strive to meet the expectations of other people. As much as this may seem to conflict with or contradict the aspect of being impatient with people, it could explain why I never give up on people easily despite my frustrations with them. Indeed, I seem to derive immense happiness striving to meet the expectations of others and following their likes and preferences.
While all this may be true, I learnt that I usually question myself as to whether I derive as much happiness from doing things that please other people, or rather doing things for other people. However, this does not negate the fact that I never reject other people and I usually go an extra mile in an effort to assist people or save them from their problems. Unfortunately, this often leads people to take advantage of my kindness, facts that I realize much too late into helping them.
Theses lessons would come in handy in my interpersonal interactions. It is evident that being impatient almost always makes other people less comfortable with me, which may affects their capacity to open up to me. On the other hand, being always willing to do things for other people even when I am not comfortable with them is likely to hurt me as it makes me vulnerable to having my generosity exploited. To salvage my sociability, it would be imperative that I take my time to evaluate my reaction to issues and determine the best way to assist individuals without giving people a leeway to exploit my generosity.
What my individual and group counselors do that was helpful or not so helpful for me
While there may be some reservations about the techniques that the counselors used, I deemed a lot of the things that they did as helpful. The individual counselors clearly went out of the way to ensure that they allowed me to express myself and delve into my feelings as much as possible. They went out of the way to listen to every issue and probe it as much as they could irrespective of how minute an issue seemed to be. While the group counselors were applying their listening skills as well, they excelled more in allowing for the exploration of every issue and trying to apply it in the life of every person irrespective of the individual that raised the issue (Nelson-Jones, 2008). Nevertheless, group counseling allowed for easier flow as other people could always chip in when I had no comment to make. Indeed, other people could always bring out issues and incorporate another dimension of looking at issues, which allowed for comprehensiveness in the discussions.
In addition, the discussions and interactions allowed by the group counselors enhanced interpersonal skills and shored up the confidence of individuals thereby allowing them to open up even on issues that may have tagged at their deepest points. In fact, individuals realized that they did not have to go to the counselors themselves, rather they could open up to other people who they trusted or who were willing to listen. Indeed, counselors in both types of sessions underlined the therapeutic nature of talking or opening up to a friend as soon as one can to avert the possibility of deterioration of psychological and emotional states. Group counseling, therefore, came as more of a discussion rather than self exploration. In addition, group counselors gave every person an opportunity to make a contribution. It is often understood that people have different character traits, with some being more confident than others. In most cases, the more confident and talkative individuals can drive a discussion to a particular direction, sometimes ignoring their less talkative and more reserved counterparts. Indeed, they may tend to bulldoze their counterparts to agree with their points or their opinions. However, the moderating efforts of the counselors came in handy as they underlined the importance of the opinion of each member, as well as the importance of engaging constructively with each other. Indeed, this seemed to allow me to gain specific skills and strategies that would allow me to meet personal goals, gain encouragement and support from other people, as well as explore areas that may present an immense personal challenge to me.
Influence of my PDS sessions on my counseling style in the in-class role plays
The PDS counseling sessions came as extremely helpful to me. Indeed, they instigated immense changes in the ways in which I would approach counseling sessions whether as a counselor or as a subject. Indeed, the PDS counselor identified the weaknesses that I had with regard to relating with other people and assisted me to become more firm and speaking my mind in simply, respectful but firm manner. In addition, the PDS sessions enhanced my time management skills and emphasized on the importance of undertaking a critical analysis of every course of action that I took. This would allow me to make decisions not to please other people or to meet their expectations or according to their likes and preferences rather because I felt they were right. As much as she did not make an express statement on what I am supposed to do, she took me through a step-by-step process that allowed me to sort out my thoughts and feelings pertaining to the issues that troubled me, the things or course of action that I wanted, as well as the things that I should expect from the issue, thereby coming to a conclusion on the most appropriate course of action. In addition, the PDS counseling sessions enhanced my listening skills, which essentially involved enhancing my patience with people even in instances where they seemed to lag behind in their comprehension of issues or in agreeing to my line of thinking. Indeed, I could as well examine the positive aspects pertaining to their line of thinking and take them up. In fact, I am more willing to reach a compromise by incorporating the best of their ideas and combining them with mine, thereby coming with a mix that would satisfy all individuals.
References
Nelson-Jones, R. (2008). Basic counselling skills: A helper’s manual. Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publications.
Could work be made more satisfying and participatory
Work Satisfaction and Participation
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Professor
Institution
Course
Date
Could work be made more satisfying and participatory?
For a long time now, work has been viewed as an important aspect in life. Everybody across the globe is longing for work, with people doing their best to secure an employment. However, it is evident that many people are doing different jobs, but are not satisfied with them. Others do certain work without much conviction, because they cannot secure the right job, while others work because they were forced to. Different factors have proved to be behind this situation. A lot of research has been done concerning this matter, but no direct answer has ever been found to explain this phenomenon. The relationship between employees and employers has been the main factor determining satisfaction and participation at work and also at the workplace (Mahalingam, 1993). There is supposed to be a good relationship cultivated between employers and employees, because this will create a healthy working environment. In addition, employees are supposed to participate fully in decision making, implementing rules and regulations, and also, working towards achieving the set goals of the company or organization. It should be known that the latter, hardly takes place as employees have no say or power in the organization affairs. Nevertheless, this has not been the case, since there has been a bad relationship between employees and employers, and the former denied a chance to participate in significant issues affecting their work or organization at large. These factors led to the need to question whether work could be made more satisfying and participatory.
When looking at this question, it is apparent that work can be made more satisfying and participatory. Participative decision making as a managerial policy is ideal as a means of improving both satisfaction and performance of employees in an organization (Reason & Bradbury, 2006). Employees should be made to feel that they are vital to the organization, and their views and concerns are appreciated as well. Due to this fact, employers, employees, have implemented numerous strategies, reforms, and formed labor unions, aimed at ensuring that work is made satisfying and participatory. However, in order to ensure that work is more satisfying and participatory, several works reforms have to be initiated.
Schaff (2001) asserts that, there are different goals and motivations for work reforms. Many studies have found out that motivation makes people work more than it is anticipated, since they are aware of the rewards, which await them. For instance, employers will ensure that all employees have manageable workloads, high quality supervision and time for specialized training. They will also allow employees to raise their views, pay them reasonable salaries and maintain their health. Employees on the other hand, will ensure that they deliver their best by presenting quality work, observe all rules, and stay focused on the objective of the organization. Consequently, these will lead to increased satisfaction and participation in work.
According to Leitner (2010), this is because low wages, huge workloads and communication barriers that keep employees from raising issues, are the main factors that have been contributing to dissatisfaction by employees. An employee being paid a low salary will be less willing to work, as compared to one paid a higher salary. Furthermore, huge workloads leave employees being highly fatigued, hence losing interest to work again. If an employee is not allowed to raise issues affecting him and also to participate in the decision making process, he or she feels as if he/she is not a member of that given organization, hence not offering his best.
This kind of employee is usually not satisfied, since he/she feels that his rights are being violated. However, when an employee is given a chance to express his views and participate in decision making, he is usually eager to work, since he feels that he is actually part of the organization. There are numerous cases where employees are employed not because they are qualified nor have required skills or interest, but because they have not secured job in their fields of specializations (Ciulla, 2004). Others are employed because they are related to the employer or one of the renowned people in the industry. Thus, these kinds of employees, even if they are paid highly, given manageable workloads, and allowed to raise their voice and participate in decision making, would not be satisfied. This is because they feel like they have not attained their objective in life and you will find many of them still searching for employment in their respective fields of specialization.
According to Berg et al. (1978), everybody across the world including management, unions, and the state can play significant roles in shaping workplaces. For instance, they should ensure that the health of the workers is maintained at all costs by implementing rules and regulations and demanding employers to insure their employees. Within increased exploitation across the world, they can set standard salaries that every employees should be paid. Employees should be allowed to form unions through which, they will be able to demand their rights. They should also ensure that employees are included in the decision making process. The State should ensure that all employees are working the same hours, not more than eight hours per day, and that they do not work on the weekends. They should prevent child labor, which has become rampant across the world.
By doing these, management, unions and state, will have created a humble working environment for all employees. They would also have facilitated satisfaction and participation in work. This is because healthy workers are eager and willing to work, since they deliver their best compared to sick or injured employees (Zemsky, 2009). When employee knows that he/she has health cover, he will be willing to take any risk so as to ensure that organization’s objective is attained.
When employees are allowed to form unions, they will be working harder than ever before. This is because employees will be in a good position to demand and enforce their rights when in a group, than as an individual (Hanlon et al., 1985). Hence, this will create a humble working environment because employees will know that by no chance will their rights be violated. Some employers are seeking cheap labor from children and paying low salaries for hard jobs. Hence, prevention of child labor and standardized salaries will help in creating a favorable working place.
Initially, it was believed that it was not easy to reorganize work, so that it becomes more satisfying and participatory. However, this has become an issue of the past with everybody believing that if determined and willing, work can be reorganized, so that it becomes more satisfying and participatory (Gustavsen & Hunnius, 1981). In order to attain this, there are different issues that are supposed to be addressed. For instance, health of the workers should be maintained fully with all employees given health insurance. All workers injured while at work should be treated immediately, given some days off duty, so as to rest and recover, and also be compensated. Employees should form and join unions of their own choice. This will help them to demand their rights and reorganize work in the way they want. Employees should also access better housing, clothing and meals (Pauly, 2010). Employers should ensure that all their employees have at least three meals a day and that they live in good houses. This will not only motivate employees, but will also make them to view work as being satisfying and participating.
McCann (1994) states that any given business organization has got its productivity and profit goals. However, due to increased need for work-reform, humanistic work-reform has also got its own objectives aimed at ensuring that they reorganize work and make it more satisfying and participatory. However, it is possible to reconcile goals of humanistic work-reform with those of productivity and profit. That is, you can use humble working environment, good salaries, maintaining health of employees, which are goals of humanistic work-reform goals to reduce production cost while increasing profits, which are goals of productivity, and profit making.
This is because, when an employee is treated well and he/she is feeling satisfied what he/she is doing, he will usually be willing to work under low supervision and work hard. This will help to reduce production costs especially capital used on supervision (Card, 2002). Since satisfied employees produce high quality products, they will fetch high prices on the markets and compete effectively hence leading to high profit margins.
There are numerous theoretical perspectives that developed to provide the most significant insights on the prospects or thereof, for work-reform. Nevertheless, not all these theoretical perspectives provide similar insights in the prospects or thereof for work. Nevertheless, the perspective that employ satisfaction and participation are they key factors to success is the best theoretical perspective that provide since it attracts attention from employees, employers, unions and states (Hanlon et al., 1985). It forces them to concentrate one goal- making working to be more satisfying and participatory hence facilitating well being of the employees while lowering organization’s cost of production and increasing profit margins.
In general, work can be easily made to be more satisfying and participatory. Nevertheless, in order to ensure this, employers, employees, unions and states are supposed to play their role and contribution fully towards this objective. Employers should hire highly skilled employees with the qualifications needed to undertake that given task. Employees should seek employment in their fields of specialization. They should not go for what they are not comfortable with since this will not satisfy them. Unions should stand up to protect employees’ rights and ensure that all workers are paid well and that they are working in favorable environments. State on the other hand should implement laws preventing child labor and addressing needs of all employees. It should prevent maltreatment of employees and low wages. By doing these, work would be made highly satisfying and participatory. In conclusion, it is extremely vital that employees are in a work environment, which is conducive for their development, as well as career growth. The employer is the one who has the ability of making work to be participatory and satisfactory. This means that they have an upper hand in making sure that the needs of employees are well catered for. Human nature involves ensuring that they can express themselves in any way possible without being restricted.
References
Berg, I., Freedman, M. and Freeman, M. (1978). Managers and work reform: A limited engagement. The University of Wisconsin: The University of Wisconsin – Madison.
Card, D. (2002). Finding jobs: Work and welfare reform. Oxford: Russell Sage Foundation.
Ciulla, J. (2004). Ethics, the heart of leadership. New York: Greenwood Publishing Group.
Gustavsen, B. and Hunnius, G. (1981). New patterns of work reform: The case of Norway. Oxford: Universitetsforlaget.
Hanlon, M., Nadler, D. and Ancona, D. (1985). Attempting work reform: The case of “Parkside” Hospital. New York: Wiley.
Leitner, G. (2010). HCI in Work and Learning, Life and Leisure: 6th Symposium of the Workgroup Human-Computer Interaction and Usability Engineering, USAB 2010, Klagenfurt, Austria, November 4-5, 2010. Proceedings. New York: Springer.
Mahalingam, S. (1993). Labour participatory economy. New York: Mittal Publications.
McCann, M. (1994). Rights at work: Pay equity reform and the politics of legal mobilization. University of Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Pauly, M. (2010). Health Reform Without Side Effects: Making Markets Work for Individual Health Insurance. New York: Hoover Press.
Reason, P. and Bradbury, H. (2006). Handbook of action research: The concise paperback edition. New York: Mittal Publications
Schaff, K. (2001). Philosophy and the problems of work: A reader. New York: Rowman & Littlefield.
Zemsky, R. (2009). Making reform work: The case for transforming American higher education. Rutgers University: Rutgers University Press.
Nutrition analysis
NAME:
UNIVERSITY:
DATE :
PROFESSOR:
Nutrition analysis
Introduction
I noticed abnormal weight at the age of thirteen while I was still in school. My parents used to work with the army, and most were the times I was left with the house help who rarely cooked most of the times. Most were the times I ate junk foods and packed them for lunch in school; little did I know the harm I was causing to myself. Weight gain lowered my self-esteem with my peers as I watched them play during break time; I could not even participate in basketball which was my best despite having a pitch in town. I often got sick, thus missing most of the classes in school, which even made me repeat some classes. When I got admitted to the hospital and explaining to the doctor my feeding habits, he got shocked and recommended some of the foods I should take. I had to change my routine programs such that I had to allocate more time to physical exercises. I was the firstborn in the family. I did not want my small brothers and sisters to through the same situation as I did. I wanted to help such people with the same condition as I wanted to become a nutritionist after school.
Nutrition analysis
It is easy to maintain a well-balanced diet and helps prevent usual health problems, including heart and diabetes. It can be hard to tell if the food you eat meets your diet’s nutrients and standards, and it is essential to be aware of this, especially if you are trying to develop healthier habits. I could calculate my calories, carbohydrates, proteins, fats, minerals, and vitamins consumption in their database. To create a scale for people to measure their eating habits, both sex, age, weight, exercise levels and height were included in the database. The findings of a dietary analysis were studied, and numerous experiments were subsequently correlated with DRI (Dietary Reference Intake). In determining how much food I shall consume one day, this was extremely helpful. Finally, I have planned a regimen to keep my diet balanced. I had to consult my nutritionist, Dr Peter waters, to guide me in this. He discouraged eating junk foods as I used to do; he then advised my parents to employ a home health giver to look after me.
In my diet, Peter Waters emphasized the importance of three macronutrients: proteins, fats, and carbohydrates. Carbohydrates, which include sugars, cellulose, and starches, are primarily organic compounds abundant in food and living tissues. A protein is a nitrogenous organic compound made up of larger molecules that contain one or more long amino acid chains. They are a necessary component for the physical components of the body’s tissues, such as hair, muscles, and collagen. Protein can be consumed at a rate of 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight (kg). Finally, the fat in one’s diet provides a large portion of one’s nutrition. Per gram of dietary fat, nine (9) calories are present. Because of its high caloric content, increased fat consumption increases the risk of obesity value. My intake of carbohydrates is just over half of the minimum recommended amount.
With the database modified to my information, I should take between 1,100 carb calories a day. These results show I intake approximately 550 carb calories. Suppose you don’t have enough carbohydrates in your diet. In that case, it can cause an energy deficit, resulting in your body breaking down the stored energy, and your body will try to obtain energy from a less good food source, which could produce unwanted side effects. Carbohydrates are the body’s primary source of glucose, which offers the required fuel for every cell in your body. Recommended protein levels show a minimum of about 240 protein calories a day and a maximum of about 875 calories ( Alexon). My intake averaged to be about 300 protein calories. This is within my range, but it is at the lower level. There are two main categories of protein deficiencies when one consumes enough calories but not enough protein calories; one will suffer from kwashiorkor. When one doesn’t consume enough calories or enough protein calories, one will suffer from marasmus. Reduction in protein synthesis inside the cells is one of the primary outcomes of protein deficiencies. Your body wouldn’t access essential compounds needed to create new protein molecules if you fail to consume critical amino acids, which eventually decelerates the production of new proteins. My recommended fat intake was between 490 fat calories and 850 fat calories per day. I averaged roughly 460 fat calories, which is just under the recommended daily intake. When someone doesn’t get enough fat in their diet, they could suffer from depression, an increased risk of blood pressure and cholesterol and poor vitamin absorption.
Micronutrients are frequently addressed as vitamins and minerals and are huge dietary components. Although they are usually only needed for the body in small amounts, they are essential in the development, prevention of diseases, and overall well-being (Kinstler et al.). The body can’t produce them, so your diet is where they are derived from. According to the results, my average caloric intake throughout the 3-day analysis was 1287kcal, expending an average of 2664kcal each day. This is a net loss of -1377kcal/day. The database concluded my recommended daily calorie intake is 2429kcal, which is just under double my actual average intake. A full data-sheet can be found in appendix C, Energy Balance. The predesigned equation to calculate estimated energy requirements (EER) left only weight, height, age and physical activity levels. My EER was calculated as 2438.12kcal/day. This is very close to the databases calculation, with just a difference of -9.12kcal. I am not getting nearly as many calories as I should be. To help this issue, I can eat regularly and according to my DRI. This analysis indeed indicates my personal nutrient ingesting isn’t as healthy as I initially thought it was. Consuming foods from primary groups, such as fats, carbohydrates, or fibres, is not generous in other essential nutrients.
Conclusion
In a nutshell, understanding foods are critical to ensure a healthy amount is going into your body each day. Some nutrients are only needed in small amounts, and this range varies based on what it is, but that doesn’t go to say a small amount of a nutrient is unimportant. Although people think you can have a deficiency for a particular nutrient, you can consume too much of something, which causes issues within the body. Since many people are so naïve to a lot of generic information, using this database will make people think about what they’re eating before eating it. This type of analysis can help people who have unhealthy lifestyles and diets to change with nothing more than statistics and personal motivation. This can be extremely rewarding and inspire the individual to keep going and change their diets and lifestyles and others as well. Parents should play a role in ensuring that their children are fed in an appropriate way by the care givers whom they leave with their children. Lack of proper diet can lead to diseases such a kwashiorkor as well as marasmus. Poor nutrition in children can lead to brain damage in thus the child becomes a poor performer in school.
Work cited
Axelson, Marta L., Terri L. Federline, and David Brinberg. “A meta-analysis of food-and nutrition-related research.” Journal of Nutrition Education 17.2 (1985): 51-54.
Kinstler, Angela et al. “Frequent Emesis With Enternal Nutition: Are Formula Hang Times A Factor? An Evidence Synthesis”. Journal Of Pediatric Nursing, vol 26, no. 4, 2011, p. e25. Elsevier BV, doi:10.1016/j.pedn.2011.01.277.
Krause, Marie V. Food, nutrition and diet therapy. Saunders, 1979.