Week 5 - Synchronicity

Because of my Christian values and beliefs, I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason.  I also believe in the power of dreams and visions, as a result of my knowledge of Biblical dreams and personal experiences on the mission field.  I have not really considered how these beliefs could impact or change my ability to counsel others, but this article definitely got me thinking about it.  Coincidence and happenstance are things that no one, including theorists rooted in trait and factor theories, can argue against.  Things simply happen that are out of our control.  We cannot test for them, prepare for them, or even anticipate them coming.  All we can do is have a willingness to accept them.  When Guindon and Hanna list the four elements that lead to synchronistic thinking, two of the four start with "a willingness to... (2002, p. 206)."  This article got me thinking about other beliefs that I may naturally bring to my counseling that may or may not be beneficial to my clients.  The authors suggest that counselors must "make a leap of faith (Guindon & Hanna, 2002, p. 206)" in order to be open to and incorporate synchronistic thinking into their counseling.  I think this openness of counselors needs to penetrate all aspects of our counseling.  Being willing and open to things outside of our personal comfort zone, for the benefit of a client, could make us better counselors, and potentially, better all around people.

This concept directly relates to the lecture and demonstration Joan Blades led on Wednesday night.  Though her ideas and work with 'Living Room Conversations' is based primarily in the political realm, the ideas cross all avenues of life, including counseling.  She believes that the answer to growth and moving our nation forward is to find and focus on what we agree on rather than what we disagree on.  Once we recognize that there is a lot to agree with others about, the differences don't seem to matter as much, or even at all.  It gives us an opportunity to build relationships with others and challenge ourselves and others to grow.  I think this holds true in the world of career counseling as well.  If we, as counselors, are open to and willing to listen to ideas and views that are different than our own, we will eventually find pieces that we agree with, which will allow us to better assist our clients in a holistic way.

Brown, D. (2012).  Career information, career counseling, and career development (10th ed.). New York: Pearson Education, Inc.

Guindon, M. H. and Hanna, F. J. (2002). Coincidence, happenstance, serendipity, fate, or the hand of God: Case studies in synchronicity. The Career Development Quarterly, 55, 196-208.