A time I helped a friend was my senior year of high school when she
was going through something so major in her life and I could tell she
was stressed about it all day at school but she would not talk to me
about it. Finally, when we got home from school and up to my room,
we sat on the bed and thats when she broke down and started
opening up to me. This is where I think setting is important, like the
textbook describes, when theres a desk it may feel like authority over
the other person or like a barrier, they need to be comfortable in
order to be willing to share. (Woodside, 2018) In addition to that, I
made sure to just sit and listen, maintain eye contact and try to truly
understand her point of view and what she needed from me in this
situation. As I said, we were seniors in high school and she had just
found out she's pregnant. Though I could not directly understand her
problem, she needed someone there for her and she needed someone
to talk to about it. Her parents are very religious, so she knew they
would want her to marry the man, and that is not something she was
ready for. Therefore, it was important for me to understand her
cultural and religious perspectives to give the best advice I possibly
could in this situation. Though I did not take notes like chapter 7 talks
about, I was able to make the setting comfortable, I was able to help
her explore the options of how to tell her parents - finding a solution,
and I was able to calm her down.
Resources:
Woodside, M. R., & McClam, T. (2018). An Introduction to Human
Services (9th ed.). Cengage Learning US.
https://mbsdirect.vitalsource.com/books/9781337671262
