Day 02 @ Care Corner 09 May 06

Took my first intake case, which came pretty suddenly to me.
I was told it'd be a financial case and I just had to do the intake first and arrange for another session.

Client is pretty open to talk about her financial difficulties, can tell that she's resourceful because she has been to a number of other agencies for help. She seems to have settled on divorcing her husband who has alcohol addiction. She probably made up her mind some time ago already. In addition, she also asked if we could talk to her son - she feels her son does not respect her and does not want him to end up like his dad.

Sh jumped from topic to topic. As my mind was fixed that it would be a financial case, I was not prepared/flexible to track her as she talked. I was taken aback, my mind was spinning (What should I say next? What theory should I use? How can I show empathy even though I am not really where she is?). As a result, thank goodness, Lydia stepped in and took over from there.

How I felt: fearful of not knowing how to respond especially when she went on to talk about her family issues, self-conscious - does she know I'm a student? I could have introduced myself more specifcally?

Learning points:
- Be prepared mentally for different issues to come up.
- Important to know government policies, HDB, Town Council , PUB.
- Gotta be where the client is and track her as she talks. Connect with her and flow. Interuppt her at suitable intervals and clarify/summarize/affirm/reframe.
- Actually, if I really believe that client is the expert of her own situation, then I don't have to be so concerned about what I don't know in terms of life experience.
- It's important to have a few theories in mind so that I can use them when issues come up and I can ask questions that are guided by theory --> more systematic.