Mondays Fun Days

I had a good time at my internship today! I had a major breakthrough with one of my clients today, which left me feeling very proud of myself. For the past couple of weeks, one of my clients, an older gentleman, had been struggling to accept my position as his social worker. Everytime I talked to him, he would ask me when he was getting my picture, or when we'd go out to dinner, or something along those lines...all of which were inappropriate and not alligned with the client/helper relationship. Many times, I'd find myself repeating my role to him. "I'm sorry, but my role here is to be your social worker. Nothing can happen outside of our time here, and I will not allow that to happen. As a social worker, I'm bound to certain ethics, which I will be held accountable. If anything were to happen with me and a client, I would lose my ability to practice social work. This isn't to sound mean or rude, but I can never go out with you."

Well...this same routine went on for a couple of sessions, and finally, today, something happened.
"I'm sorry, I can't-
"Yes! I know!! The rules! The policy! Your boss!!"
"If you understand all of this, then why do we keep revisiting this same topic every week?"
"I'm afraid if I don't make you laugh, you will stop coming to see me."
"That is definitely not the case. I will come and see you every week, regardless if you make me laugh or not. We have a professional relationship, and I'm here to help you, not to be entertained."
"Oh really?"
"Yes, really. Please feel comfortable to be yourself. I'll be here for you no matter what."

This was fantastic. I was feeling like I finally understood why we kept going back to the same thing! Then...it happened again. He suddenly resorted back to his flirting, and this time, all I did was look. The use of silence in therapy can sometimes be very powerful. This was definitely one of them. I sat there, saying nothing, and stared straight at him. He looked at me, then looked down (always pay attention to the non-verbal communication!) and then changed the subject.

And that was that. No more flirtations during the rest of our session. The elephant was ushered out. I went home happy. And my client went home happy too...with a better understanding of what it was I was there to do, and hopefully, with a new respect for me and the profession.