TPC-Journal-V5-Issue4

The Professional Counselor /Volume 5, Issue 4 536 of trauma related to their combat service. As a result, Richard attended several trainings on combat- related psychological trauma and was also familiar with military culture based on his experiences growing up in a family connected to the military. Sarah, Richard’s clinical supervisor, was tasked with assigning the military referrals to various counselors. An unintended trend developed in which clients who endorsed trauma symptoms were assigned to Richard due to his interest in this area. Richard’s caseload began with two or three new referrals a month related to the return of a military division from deployment. As time passed, the frequency of referrals increased significantly to eight to nine new referrals per month. Thus, an informal protocol was established in which Richard was designated as the primary counselor for those reporting trauma issues, mostly combat-related PTSD, sleep disturbance and interpersonal difficulties. Richard initially indicated his appreciation for the opportunity to work with this population as he was honored to serve them in this capacity. Initially excited to assist these clients, Richard started exhibiting changes in his personal and professional perspectives. In his conversations with his colleagues, Richard expressed he had been ruminating about some of the gruesome details that his clients described in trauma counseling sessions. He also expressed feeling generally overwhelmed in relation to his work in the agency. Richard stated that a majority of his clients seemed to have significant traumatic experiences and that he felt emotionally drained at the end of his time with them due to the intensive nature of his clinical work. In a group supervision meeting, Richard shared that he found himself thinking more about his clients’ issues while away from work, often contributing to difficulty being psychologically present with his family and friends. Structure of Supervision As his supervisor, Sarah followed an integrated wellness approach to address the counseling and professional issues discussed with supervisees. Her approach to supervision involved working collaboratively with supervisees and educating them about wellness throughout the supervision process. Using informal and formal assessments, Sarah assisted supervisees in evaluating their personal wellness. She then worked with her supervisees to co-construct a holistic wellness plan. She used the IS-Wel model of wellness (Myers & Sweeney, 2004, 2005) to address specific aspects of wellness including Coping Self (e.g., stress and burnout), Essential Self (e.g., identity and self-care), Creative Self (e.g., professional/work well-being and emotions), Physical Self (e.g., physical health and eating habits), and Social Self (e.g., interpersonal relationships and expressions of love). Sarah often administered the 5F-Wel (Myers & Sweeney, 2005). She would discuss elements of the wellness approach both in individual and group supervision meetings, ensuring congruence and consistency of her approach across the different methods of supervision. The information gathered from this assessment would be used to determine areas of focus in Sarah’s work with her supervisees. Assessment In Sarah’s subjective assessment of Richard, she noticed changes in his disposition from his previous affable state to a more pessimistic outlook on his personal and professional life. In a subsequent supervision meeting, Richard discussed the trauma experiences of his clients in depth and became tearful when discussing a client who had witnessed the death of his unit members due to an improvised explosive device. Sarah further assessed how Richard’s counseling experiences were affecting his perceptions of his clients in relation to the context of their clinical work. Additionally, she inquired about how clients’ trauma recollections were affecting Richard’s professional life, personal relationships and level of self-care.