Practicum Reflection

Throughout my weeks in practicum, I have already began to see what an important task self-care will be as a school counselor. My site supervisor has explained that being a counselor can be mentally draining and that she could not survive without working out. She explained to me that she takes 20 min in the morning, 20 min during her lunch (when possible), and 20 min in the evening to walk or do a slight workout in order to clear her head. She says that these workouts allow her to relieve stress and help stabilize her emotions. As I have begun to understand the emotion toll the school counselor role may take on an individual and me personally, I started to brainstorm self-care plans to upkeep my mental health. I began by thinking about what in my life brings happiness and

I realized that my fiancé and mother are major supports in my life. When I share my feelings and vent my frustrations it takes a large amount of stress off of my shoulders and I am able to carry on with my life. I am the type of person that if there is something on my mind then I struggle to move forward until I get it off of my chest. Therefore, I will continue to use my support systems throughout my practicum experience, making sure that I am keeping important information confidential. In addition, I tend to have high levels of stress and anxiety when I have a lot of tasks to complete and strict deadlines. Thus far, this practicum experience has been extremely overwhelming. I have learned that creating lists and using a daily planner has helped me organize my tasks to complete. I will continue to use these skills throughout my practicum and as a school counselor in the future. From being at Forest Lakes, I have learned that school counselors have many tasks on their plate at all times, keeping these straight and clear will help me complete more effective work. Lastly, I decided that spending time with