Ripple Reflective Report

A quote attributed to Mother Teresa says “I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the water to create many ripples”, this statement speaks to my passion for pursuing a counseling doctoral degree. My goal is to change the stigma both externally and internally in the mental health profession. As it takes only one stone to make multiple ripples to create a beautiful change in a body of water, I plan to be another stone for change in the mental health community. Just as a stone has to possess specific qualities to create these ripples, there are specific characteristics that a doctoral student must possess to be an effective catalyst for change in the counseling profession. The first characteristic of a doctoral student is …show more content…
As an Admissions Clinician at Cedar Ridge Psychiatric Hospital and Residential Treatment Facility, I have the privilege of assessing adults and children from various cultures that are experiencing a mental health crisis. Many of my colleagues do not understand the impact of culture in crisis situations. A specific case comes to mind when I think about the need to educate counselors about cultural awareness. One evening a Latino family came in for an emergency evaluation for a child. Present for the assessment was an older brother, and the patient’s mother. During assessments we often separate family members from the patient to gain additional information; however, in this case I advised the clinician to do so after building a rapport with the brother due to the brother being the family representative since the father was absent. Upon building a quick relationship with the brother by acknowledging him as the patriarch, I was able to obtain details that had not been disclosed with the patient’s outpatient provider. Counselors have to practice placing culture first while being present with clients, otherwise a true counseling relationship may never