ALLENDER JOURNAL
Allender Journal Assignment- Chapter Five
Bibiana Sarmiento
Liberty University
Author Note
Bibiana Sarmiento have no known conflict of interest to disclose.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Bibiana Sarmiento
Email: [email protected]
ALLENDER JOURNAL 2
Allender Journal Assignment- Chapter Five
In chapter five Allender talks about the tragedies that form our passions and how the decisions
made in our lives can sometimes lead to tragedies and can impact our life later down the road. I think
that sometimes we do not realize the impact that our decisions have on our future and how they can
impact our future in a positive and/or negative way. I can remember many times in my life when I
experienced a tragedy that affected me down the road. One particular tragedy that can recall is being
made fun of my weight. Growing up I was very petite and tiny, and I had a difficult time gaining weight.
Growing up I was very tiny and many children at my school would make fun of me due to my weight.
Most of the time I would brush off the negative comments but in reality, in time I developed an
insecurity about my body. Once I was in high school, I was very insecure about my body due to being
“too skinny” and I began to find ways to gain weight, but none seemed to work. Once I began to get into
romantic relationships, I found myself constantly wanting positive attention and being constantly told
that my body was perfect or pretty. Once I went to college, I continued to look for attention from men
to fulfill that insecurity. I began to gain weight in college and once again I found myself obsessing about
my body in an unhealthy way but not eating properly. I eventually went to counseling, and I have come
a long way and have had to shift my way of thinking and trying to fulfill that insecurity. I believe that
tragedy affected me significantly that at one point it caused me to become depressed and in a bad state
of mind.
As a future counselor, I plan to follow the ACA Code of Ethics, one of the codes is to not cause
harm to clients. It is important to be very mindful when treating a client because something as a small
remark can trigger the client to revert to their old behaviors. I currently work at a detox facility and
when it comes to letting the clients watch TV, we have to be very mindful of what they are watching.
Many of the clients have experienced some type of abuse and watching any type of abuse on TV can
cause a client to get triggered and decide to leave and revert to using illicit substances. When I talk to
ALLENDER JOURNAL 3
clients at the detox facility, I am very mindful as to how I talk to them, I always tell everyone “Treat them
how you would like to be treated if you were in their shoes”.
