Business moving forward

Well things are moving on and the risk off resigning from my PAYE counselling job is paying off.

I am now a self employed....Counsellor. Its amazing to see what can happen when I am given the power and control over my future.

I guess its like being in a bad relationship with my last job, going in to work, it was easy I don't have to work to hard, its convenient and to be honest it was a bit boring! I have been in relationships like that before.

So now with a fresh start and with me having control over my future and my business will only grow by as much as I put in to it.

I have produced new business cards, leaflets and a brand new web site www.covecounselling.co.uk (it should be up and running in the next 24 hours) which was produced by little fish design who have done an amazing job.

I have had meetings with 2 organizations and I am going to be doing work for both of them on a self employed bases, so thats a great start. I need to write to the local EAP's to get more work.

I move to my new house on Friday with its own separate office which I will be working from so really looking forward to the future!

I have my enthusiasm back! so bring it on!

Another interview completed

I had a meeting with an EAP today to work for them as self employed. They seemed to have a great team and seem really well organised offering support on the front line. By this I mean taking calls and referral to external agencies for further support.

My job would be to take calls and offer emotional support if needed and to asses the risk of that client.

There is no expectations of me to see loads of calls, I would just deal with one call and follow it right through including admin to completion. There is a busy button on the phone that you can push which allows you to take a break between calls if you need one.

There are people available to support me if I take a difficult call and they wouldn't expect me to take another until I am ready. They offer training to 4 times a year. All sounds great.

The interview was really easy for me after 9 years of experience of counselling and it all felt very comfortable.

If I get invited to a second interview there is a role play on the phone to do, that will be fun...lol. I have done telephone work before but not for an EAP.

so lets see what happen next!

Supervision costs!

I know of a counsellor/ supervision how has is offering 60 minute supervision session for £20.00.

So what is the reason for me blogging about it then? well it pisses me off…. then I go to a place of its up to them if they want to charge that. I also go to a place of self value and self believe of the supervisor.

I am worth every penny as a counsellor and a supervisor, I'm not worried that my supervisees will all leave and head off to them for supervision, yet again their choice though.

So what pisses me off about it? I know for me there is a bigger picture, and that picture is about volunteering in the counselling world. Counsellors are expected to volunteer and offer themselves for free. This would not happen if I was a plumber, builder or carpenter you serve your time and get paid, then you get a job and get paid easy.

I will one day build my practice into a service that offers counselling work and everyone will get paid for what they do.

It's all change at cove counselling

Things are changing for me. I am now going to just concentrate on my private practice 'cove counselling'

I have resigned from my University counsellor role, as I feel this has been holding me back some what. I want to spend more time working for me and regain the power back.

What I mean by that is while i have been working at the uni there are certain things that I do not agree with and I don't have the power to change them. I am sick to the back teeth of being told there is no money for this no money for that the university is about 5 years behind other universities when it comes to online counselling and text messaging. They do however waste time and to much effort on group work and workshops which in my experience at the uni has never been that successful. In the past we have worked hard booking rooms writing the content for the workshops which takes valuable time away from an already busy day. And 2 people turn up for the workshop.

So now I have put all my moan and grones to bed now! And left. I had been there 8 years, in the past couple of years things changed for the worse, to much other work and not enough client time. When I join the uni in 2002 the counsellors only saw clients in their day. Just before I left I have a shed load of other work to do and see clients. I'm a counsellor not an administrator or a promotion person.

So what next for me? Well I am moving house in about 3 to 4 weeks. It's a risk and worth it. The house has a separate office for me to work in so that's a bonus. Now I need to promote myself which I will be good at, I'm not to bad at networking. I also have a meeting tomorrow with an organisation to do some work for them and the pertential of some other work in the pipeline. That all came about by making a couple of phone calls. So I'm up and running. Well I have been running cove counselling for the past couple of years with a couple of clients and supervisees and now it's time to make it bigger.

So I hope to blog from time to time to update my progress. The only way is up and that it is all controlled by me now! So bring it on.

Dyslexia

Dyslexia.

I want to right something about this learning difficulty I have. As it is really starting to standout to me now. I work as a counsellor in a university and have done for the past 8 years. I am a fantastic counsellor! Well a few people have told me that....lol 

Now my dyslexia has not been a problem in the past I can cope in my own funny little ways. I will blog about them later. My job has now changed so much my writing and reading sills are in the spot light. 

When I joined the university I saw 4 clients a day and wrote up my notes which to be honest were never that great.... I understood them, and that's about it not much work invalid in my day to day role. 

Now it's a lot different I take the lead in certain areas of the counselling service, I update the uni counselling service web pages, which is a bit of a trauma for me as my spelling isn't good and my grammar not much better. So I find that part of the job a challenge. Another job that I have to do for the service is publicity and promotion, again this involves posters promoting the service leaflets etc something else that is not easy for me. I am also surrounded by other counsellors that can just bang out the academic work liken reports and research without thinking about it. So I feel that I lack in that area too. My manager is very impressive, with the amount of work that they do, I think there is some expectations of me to be able to do the same.

The People that I work with and my manager are aware of my dyslexia and they sort of understand but I have had some comments that I am lazy.... This is something I use to hear at school a lot from my teachers, I'm not lazy I just find writing, reading and spelling hard so it takes me longer to finish one piece of work before I move on to the next.

Time to stop typing now. As I need to read through this a few times before I publish it to my blog. Things just take me a little longer. 

Lots happening to me.

Yahoo, I can believe I remembered my password. I have been writing a another blog and forgot to update this one.

I am just starting my 9th year as a counsellor. So what I would like to do over the next few weeks is have a bit of a review
Of my work. Starting with the first client I saw and how it was and work through the years to the present, which to say the least is very interesting right now. There is lots going on in my counselling world right now which I will write about it when everything is finished.

There is also other things going on in my own life too, had a baby in April, well not me my wife called Ethan, the baby not my wife....! So that has been a challenge at times and fun.

I am also in the process of moving house to a new house with it's own separate office so I can concentrate on my private practise more. Really looking forward to getting stuck into net working and building my portfolio of clients. Hope the move should happens in the next few weeks, so we can be in before Christmas.

Don't know if I have blogged about it before? And again I want to blog about it, is the fact that I am dyslexic This learning difficulty impacts me everyday in my role as a counsellor and supervision. Not so much when working in the moment with the client but writing notes and reports can be difficult. Even writing this blog can take sometime. It looks fine to me when I read back over it but sometimes to others that's not the case. So I hope you can read this with an open mind to my dyslexia and fill in some of the gaps there may be. Ok real life is calling time to go back to the world of bottles and nappies.

Counselling tool?

Well I spend a lot of time drinking coffee and hot chocolate with friends and find myself having some great conversations and its one time that I can sit with people without the distractions of TV and laptop’s but can’t get away from mobile phones going of sometimes.

Mobile phones play a part in the coffee experience too, with the exchange of pictures and FB status reports great gossip.

So don’t forget how powerful a cup of coffee can be in the relationships in your life, I know they have an impact on my relationships with people.

I have friends that will call me and sat do you want to meet for coffee, I know what that means most of the time...they want to talk about them and their problems, they know I’m a counsellor. I don’t mind doing it and I put boundaries in place they are.... I have an hour and you are buying!!!

Is a cup of coffee or any hot drink a great Counselling tool?

Breakfast on first day of project 365 13/02/10

Breakfast on first day of project 365 13/02/10
Originally uploaded by richcovephotography

Baby Duckling

Duckling
Originally uploaded by richcovephotography

Why a Duckling?

Well I'm going to be a dad real soon!!!! ahhhhhhh!

Dont get me wrong its all planed, just woundering what is going to be like.... and will it effect me as a counsellor and as I am thinking about it, It will. If its going to change me as a person its going to Change me as a counsellor.

Whats it going to be like having that parent responability and to be honest I see clients everyday that have been messed up by thier parents.

Oh well I guess I will learn as I go along.

One last thing a question you may or may not be able to answer....Why is child birth so painful??????

Sunset on Hamble River

Sunset on Hamble River
Originally uploaded by richcovephotography

This is the first picture I have taken outside for 3 weeks. I have been signed off work with a back problem, 5 discs are busted. Anyway I’m not here to take about the back.

What this does mean is that I have been away from work and my clients for 3 weeks now, I know they are all being well looked after by the service I work for as I have been in contact to give them an update on my condition.

I have asked myself what’s it like not to have contact with my client’s?
I think I have answered this question above really, that I know they are being looked after.

I think my worry is about the rest of the Counsellors in the team because we are short staffed and when one person is off the pressure is on an already pressured team.
Its sometimes hard to let go of the worry about the rest of the team.

Seagulls looking at his own reflection

Seagulls looking at his onw reflection
Originally uploaded by richcovephotography

Is this little chap reflecting on self?

I guess this is something I do most days being a Counsellor. I have been reflecting alot on self over the past week. I have been off work with a bad back which is something I have suffered from most of my adult life.

I have been taking care of self this past week with heat pads and Hydrotherapy.. and reflecting on how I deal with pain, and I have come to a place where Im not sure if I have control over my body that much. What I mean by that is that my body reacts to its pain by stiffening up I can control that. I have noticed aswell that when I feel sick or ill my body starts to close down, its like it wants to sleep.

These are things that I have noticed over the past couple of years and getting to a place where I tuen my mind and body together.

Frosty house on the river inchen

Frosty house on the river inchen
Originally uploaded by richcovephotography

Just wanted to add this to my blog.

I take 1000's of pictures and I guess this is part of my own process, I find it very relaxing and it means I get to spend sometime on my own away from everyone in including clients.

Photo Counselling there must be a market? lol

Seagull in action

Seagull in action
Originally uploaded by richcovephotography

Seagull in action

Seagull in action
Originally uploaded by richcovephotography

Seagull in action

Seagull in action
Originally uploaded by richcovephotography

Seagull in action

Seagull in action
Originally uploaded by richcovephotography

Seagull in action

Seagull in action
Originally uploaded by richcovephotography

I really enjoy taking pictures of seagulls in action.

Using this again!!!!

The process of my thinkging!!!

Why have I not blogged for a while? thats a good question!

What stops me? well the answer to that is easy. "its me" so what is it about me that stops me?

lazy? cant be assed? mmmmmmmmmmmm thats a good point. Any way thats something to process another time, I'm here now so lets see what happens.

I have just had a great week end with John founder of www.onlinevents.co.uk always really enjoy him company when he takes time to visit me down here on the south coast.

Not only is he a great person he is also a great counsellor www.wilsoncounselling.co.uk The week end for me was full, full of process and discussion around the counselling world and the theory of it. We both have some great ideas about the counselling process and the impact we have on it as therapists. This is something I am going to blog about over the coming weeks.

So my head was full as was my stomach after a trip to www.nandos.co.uk 2 whole chicks later 5 sides and starters I was ready to pop!!!! I couldn't do dessert (john did) I think the car was leaning to one side when I drove home. It was a great meal and great conversation.

Me and John have some plans for 2010 to work together in the training field lets hope we can pull this off. 2010 could be a big year.