i brought claire to a flea market to 'hunt' for treasures in early afternoon.
i met james, an ex-teacher and now a professional counsellor, who's actively involved in counselling work, dealing with all kinds of addiction issues.
we had a lengthy conversation, mainly with me listening to what he had to say.
there was an interesting insight made by him, that kids' lives are fallin apart these days, coz' the grandparents are no longer a part of their lives. has such thot even crossed our minds?
he recalled, how as a young boy, he would get home after sch (while his parents worked) and to him, having the companionship of his grandparents was the greatest safety net in his life. he would sometimes grieve, and they would just listen! no intellectual advice was given, but just valuable words of wisdom.
in this context, he's now doing his PhD and also involving with counselling job in schools and other institutions, while volunteering his svc in charity organisation too!
in his opinion, young kids/ teenagers just need a trusting place that they can go to, for voicing out their grievances, with no judgement to be passed on them! so, he had gathered retire folks who are properly trained as mentors, to help in this area!
truly, the role of counsellor is to listen, to understand and to ultimately win the trust of the counsellee!
though i do not knw him well, i think he's enriching his retirement life through participation in many meaningful activities. well, who knws, one day, i might join him!
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what a coincidence! I was thinking of going into counselling some time ago and even thought of taking a counselling course here before i return. It's a perfect/natural transition...as teaching requires lots of energy and stamina.
ReplyDeletewell, do it then.
ReplyDeletemight hv a chance to introduce u to this person...i thot he's hitting the rite nail with counselling kids...all kinds of addiction, including cyber.
who knws, we might end up doing similar things...in our twilight yrs. haha, aging must be graceful and not bz, huh!
I never thought of this because my kids are very lucky to be taken care by their grandparents.
ReplyDeleteVerve, go for it. Sure you will make a good counsellor.
Actually u may be suitable to be a counsellor. Maybe just take the course first. The skills learned can be useful too even if u dun become a counsellor ultimately.
ReplyDeletethe problem with me is, i hate sitting in a class taking courses.
ReplyDeletei'm always a hands-on person, prefers practical learning from someone experienced!
indeed, i was checking with a friend if she knew james kuok. incidentally, they are church mates and hv attended same meetings before. she cfmed that this guy is indeed doing his phd and actively involved in counselling job.