informs. Of course, this began a conversation about struggles in her family relationships, which may not have begun if the ORS hadn’t been used, or used in a creative, generative manner.


… Back to my first session with my 17 year old male client. I am worried that I have done something to make him feel unheard. I ask him if there was something I overlooked, something I may have minimized that he told me in the session that is about to end. He shakes his head and is silent. “Perhaps you could tell me about a time when you felt understood, maybe you had a past teacher or counsellor or family member who re- ally got you and maybe I could learn from your experience,” I gently push. “Um…” he says. “Yes…” I invite. He prepares to say something. “No, that’s not it. See, I don’t even understand myself, so how could you understand me?” he announces. “Oh, I see,” I reflect for a moment; the self-conscious thoughts go away. “What if we could spend some time finding out who you are and what that means?” I propose. He agrees and we now have a little direction in our treatment plan, far from some of the ideas I assumed he needed.


And with that, I confirmed my commitment WWW.CCPA-ACCP.CA


to using these tools. How could I not if they were providing such unique opportunities for the conversations I was engaging in with my clients? Soon after, I oddly liked the experience of receiving feedback – the more critique the better. How else was I supposed to improve my connection? How else was I to incorporate such highly contextualized client information into the way I connected with them? The courage to seek and inte- grate feedback has payoffs, not only in client outcomes, but also for us as practitioners. How else will we improve?


End note:


* Identifying information altered to maintain confidentiality.


Carys Cragg, MA, RCC, works as a Child & Youth Care Practice Consultant in the Lower Mainland along with instructing in Doulgas College and the University of Victoria Schools of Child & Youth Care. Her professional in- terests include Child & Youth Care practice in the therapeutic world and performative & ethnographic creative writing. Her work has appeared in the International Journal of Chil- dren’s Spirituality and Insights into Clinical Counselling. She can be contacted at Carys.Cragg@gmail.com.


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