PROFESSIONAL COUNSELLOR - Mental Health Academy

THE PROFESSIONAL COUNSELLOR03 2007Lyn HoltI would like to explain thejourney of my studies withthe A.I.P.C. From the firstunit I started I was unsure ofmy ability in completing the22 Units of my Diploma. AsI was at the time 55 yearsold and had only completedcourses that were no longerthan 6 to 8 weeks long, onenight a week for about 2hours.When I started the course it was for myself mainly,as I had very low self-esteem, and had many issuesthat on a personal level needed to be addressed. Theresult of the experience I gained from the course isbetter self-esteem, I’m now a more confident personthat is now able to tackle tasks without a secondthought.All my family and friends have noticed a hugechange in me over the time. To me this was not aneasy journey as I was never good at school orstudying, so for me to achieve my goal took a lot oftime and hard work. The most important thing for mewas setting small goals for each unit, and not thinkingtoo far ahead. This is something I also learnt as I wentfurther with my studies. If you look too far ahead weall get distracted from our goals.At times you really have to just push yourself andsay: I will get this much done by this time. It issometimes good to take a very short break and thenreset your goals for the next stage. If you take toomuch time away from study you will find it harder toget back into the study mode.The seminars increased my confidence to speak andparticipate in group situations, which helped my selfesteem.I have learnt many skills during the courseand now feel confident to plan my life to be able tohelp other people orchildren in many wayswith the problems theymay have.This would not havehappened without thesupport and help ofothers, such as the staffat both Carina and theValley, who havealways been there tohelp, with their friendlysupport. In closing Iwould like to thankagain all at AIPC for“The seminarsincreased myconfidence tospeak andparticipate ingroup situations,which helpedmy self-esteem.”their help by phone, seminars, or tutorials. I wouldalso like to wish all current students the very best, andto say: stay with it, the rewards for yourself and thehelp you can give others is without a doubt thefeeling that you can experience.Lyn HoltSTAFF PROFILESARAH GARRETTHead OfficeProject OfficerSarah is employed by theInstitute on our educationteam. She is heavilyinvolved in the developmentand review of the programsrun by the Institute andenjoys contributing to theintegrity of our programs.Sarah likes to keep up-to-date with current researchand applies this to the educational programs run bythe Institute to ensure industry relevance.Before joining the education team in October 2006,she was employed by the Department of Child Safetywhere she completed risk assessments; interviewedand worked with children, young people and theirfamilies; developed court material as well as beinginvolved in litigation issues within the court process,and dealt with conflict on a daily basis. Along with herexperience at Child Safety, she has had theopportunity of working in volunteer programs such astelephone counselling, working with people withpsychological disorders, and research. Theseopportunities allowed her to develop and maintain herown counselling and research skills.Sarah’s experience in training has been throughmuch of her professional working life in environmentswhich have allowed her to supervise and train staffmembers. Her tertiary qualifications have very muchallowed her to focus on training and development aswell as her counselling skills. Sarah has a Bachelor ofArts in Psychology, Postgraduate Diploma inPsychology and a Diploma in Life Coaching.17