Did you know that individuals respond better to you when you are your authentic self?
As a counsellor or anyone supporting another individual, how important is it to be authentic? What does “being” authentic mean to you? Food for thought as we continue.
When looking at the synonyms that go with “authentic” the words true, reliable, trustworthy, dependable and faithful are shown. Do these words resonate with you or other counsellors you may know?
Authenticity is different for everyone in some ways. How we show up at any given time is observed by others. Our true selves can be masked or hidden, but does this serve a grieving individual well when seeking support?
Our personalities, make us who we are and bringing that part of ourselves into a counselling session shows that we are real to our clients. When this is done, our clients know who is a good fit for them. There is no one person or style of counselling that resonates with every individual seeking supports.
We are not fooling anyone when we are not our authentic selves. You may wonder who cares about this anyway.
For vulnerable individuals, especially those grieving a loss or being traumatized by multiple loss scenarios, past and present; they have little in the form of emotional reserves to pull from to manage the dynamics of someone not being authentic.
Being your authentic self has been described as being “YOU” in all situations. This means when someone meets you professionally and personally, they see the same persona. Yes, there are professional and confidential boundaries that need to be adhered to, but at the same time are you real or fake?
In speaking about authenticity, perhaps this is an area that is part of our self awareness and may not be apparent to all of us.
As counsellors, how much time has been allotted to our own inner soul searching? This is serious, especially when we ask our clients to bare their souls, be vulnerable and open to us…a stranger in some ways to them.
We are all works in progress. Some of us do more work on ourselves than others. There is no right or wrong, as we are all human. We can learn from each other; I include our clients in this.
In our authenticity, we have the ability shine for those who need us the most. We have the ability to lead by example and uplift those around us. Perhaps, they too will show us their authentic selves.
I wish you enough and more.
All my best,
Barbara Gillett Saunders
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