GiGi Katuala

Callahan

CMHP 117

December 2018

Journal 1

Things have been running pretty smoothly this semester. I feel that I have taken on my

responsibilities as an RA pretty seamlessly. I think that’s mostly due to the fact that I have so

much support from my staff, my friends, resources on campus, and my family. Also, the building

I live in rarely has any incidents. I find myself lucky in this instance.

Even though I haven’t dealt with a lot of issues, I have counseled one of my residents and

have received counseling. I feel that I better understand how to deal with issues, whether they are

my own or my residents’ now after having studied various methods of counseling and

experiencing it firsthand. Before, the only experience I had with counseling was school

counselors in high school and a therapy unit from a psychology course. I had never attended

counseling and felt that I didn’t really have anything to gain from it. Now, having experienced

counseling, I feel better equipped to not only recommend it, but carry it out.

I counseled one of my residents a few weeks ago and I applied some of the methods in

order to help her solve her problem. Basically, what she told me was that she was just feeling

generally down in the dumps. A lot of people were either coming to her with issues or simply

ranting, and she was already feeling overwhelmed with work. As she explained to me what was
going on with her, I did my best to keep my posture relaxed, make eye contact, and take in what

she was saying and respond in such a way that reflected back what she said to me. I feel like I

was really imitating the way my counselor talks to me whenever I bring up an issue in my life.

My counselor is always relaxed which puts me at ease and when she makes eye contact, I feel

like she is really listening to me. When she restates back to me what I’ve said, it makes it easier

to work out exactly what I mean and make sense of it.

Back to my resident, I used what I experienced as someone being counseled to help my

resident make sense of her feelings. We came to the conclusion that she needed to take time for

herself and make sure not to take on other people’s problems. Overall, I have really enjoyed

counseling and being counseled.

 Journal 2

As the weeks have gone by, I have not encountered anything too crazy. Duties are usually

pretty tame and I have yet to encounter any incidents. I have a good balance between work, my

studies, and still seeing my friends outside of my responsibilities. Even though things are running

smoothly, I still get anxious from time to time. Something that I’ve noticed is that people talk a

lot about their anxiety disorders and how that affects their work, whether they are an RA or just

another resident. Personally, I don’t suffer from anxiety that often but it still happens.

When I’m feeling anxious, I usually try to distract myself or find something productive to

do that might ease some of that anxiety. Stress management, like exercise, really helps me to

overcome my anxiety. When it comes to anxiety disorders, I know that it isn’t always as simple

as that. Anxiety disorders can be varied and can cause panic attacks, which I have experienced. I

know that many people have prescribed medications to help them deal with their anxiety. Other

than medication, in order to combat anxiety disorders, people can try counseling. I have spoken

to my counselor about my various anxieties regarding making friends with people and opening

myself up to them. Counseling has helped me to start overcoming my anxieties in social

situations. Something funny that I’ve noticed on campus is the Social Anxiety Disorder support

group. It’s funny to me because I feel that if you suffer from social anxiety, a support group

literally makes you have to do the things that cause you all this stress, like public speaking and

being in a large group.

Anxiety can be a real problem but that doesn’t necessarily mean that you can’t overcome

it. I have anxieties about the job, the people I surround myself with, and the future, but

I try not to dwell too much on these things. Anxiety is just a part of life and there are many ways

to deal with it in a healthy way. After having learned about anxiety and anxiety disorders, I feel
better equipped to lead my residents who suffer from anxiety towards the healthy methods of

dealing with it. There are always ways to ease some of the stress and after having been counseled

myself, I know that I can counsel others towards a less stressful way of living.