Today’s Writing–My Comfort and My “Thank You” after a Great Workshop in Seattle

Offering prompts to help participants begin reflective writing

It’s the day after a workshop, and I am exhausted. Six hours of teaching plus all the time setting up and cleaning up–to say nothing of waking up so early and getting on the freeway!–it all leaves me taking a lot of deep breaths and saying out loud, “I’m so tired!!”

But that doesn’t change the fact that I had a fabulous time yesterday at the Summer Institute on Clinical Supervision 2011, sponsored by the Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, University of Washington. The title was a bit of a mouthful–”Beyond Venting, Whining, or Giving Up: Reflective Process for Balance and Self-Awareness in Clinical Supervision”–but the goal was simple: to bring reflective process to speech, language, and hearing professionals so they can better manage balance and boundaries in their work.

If you’ve read my story, you know that my career roots are in speech-language pathology and counseling, and my reflective writing began as a response to the anxieties and challenges of my clinical work. So giving a workshop to other professionals feels like returning home for me. I come into a room full of SLPs (speech-language pathologists) and AUDs (audiologists), and suddenly I’m part of a “we” again. When I describe cases and experiences, I don’t't feel like I’m talking about my past but about something so integral to me it remains alive and current even though I am not involved in day-to-day clinical work or supervision.

I thought I was too tired to write anything today, but I realized I wanted–and needed–to practice what I taught. Wasn’t I saying that you don’t need to set aside a huge amount of time to write, that you can benefit from short stints? If writing is a reflective tool that can help reduce the stressors of our daily life and work, isn’t it important that the writing be a comfort rather than one more burden?

Writing this is, in fact, a comfort to me. It gives me something quiet time and reflection always do: a pocket of time to stop the activity and listen to myself, and the chance to review an experience for its energy and gifts. As I write this I realize it also gives me something else–the chance to say “thank you” to the wonderful participants who were at the Institute yesterday. With your readiness to dive in, curiosity, and honesty, to say nothing of your good humor and admirable dramatic skills, you were absolutely “part of the equation” of yesterday’s success. I appreciate you and hope we will have more opportunity to find balance and boundaries together.

Questions for Reflection: How do you recover from a fatiguing event? What makes something a comfort rather than a burden? Have you tried writing yet as a way to feel more balanced?

Writing Prompts: “After an intense learning experience, I become ______” (then keep writing); “When I’ve exhausted from an event, I really need ______” (then keep writing); “One thing that gives me comfort when I’m tired is ______” (then keep writing); “My experience with reflective writing has shown me ______” (then keep writing).

Are you a new reader?

Here’s a “welcome new readers” blog post I wrote after bringing reflective writing to the 2010 ASHA Convention in Philadelphia.

Tagged as: audiology, balance, boundaries, Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, reflective writing, speech-language pathology, Summer Institute on Clinical Supervision, University of Washington