2.5 Assignment. Setting Up Your Curiosity Conversation
Getting Started
A curiosity conversation is simply a name for a dialogue you have with another person (in this case, someone who spends the majority of their time doing mental health counseling). This should be a person who is either a pastor or a professional counselor who spends most of their time counseling others and has at least two years of professional experience. You are making a deliberate effort to glean helpful information about the role of a counselor, the potential challenges that accompany this type of work, and other topics you want to touch on.
Curiosity conversations go beyond simply gathering important information. This is an opportunity for you to practice listening skills. These skills are invaluable whether you are in a formal interview or engaging in casual conversation with others. The best counselors are engaged listeners.
These listening skills include:
· Being fully present in the conversation and giving the other individual your full attention
· Being respectful of the other person’s thoughts and ideas even when they differ from your own
· Asking open-ended questions to learn more about the person: their background, preferences, belief, values, and so on
Sounds simple, right? Surveys have shown that most people assess their conversation skills, like those above, as being very good. But the actual research on the topic indicates otherwise. Most people are good at talking about themselves but not very adept at knowing how to accurately attend to social cues, listen carefully, or draw out other people in conversation. This assignment will help you practice building your skills in this area while you learn more about people who are professional helpers.
You are free to ask the counselor the questions that are most important to you. But you must, at some point in the conversation, address these four questions:
· Who was the person you interviewed? Give their credentials, the amount of time they spend each week counseling others, the number of years of experience they currently have, and whether they have an area of specialty.
· How did the person choose to be a counselor? What intrigued them about this type of work?
· What does the person find most satisfying about counseling others?
· What does the person find most challenging about working through people’s problems?
These questions are again listed in the assignment instructions in Workshop Five. You will need the answer to these questions to complete the written assignment due in Workshop Five.
In addition to these questions, here are others you might consider asking:
· Do you have a specialty? If so, what is it and how did you develop that specialty?
· How much do your counseling sessions involve discussion about spiritual issues or values?
· What advice would you give to a counselor-in-training, based on your experience thus far?
· Is there a favorite book or two that you have found particularly helpful?
· How well do you think the church at large is doing overall to address the mental health needs of people in local congregations?
Upon successful completion of the course material, you will be able to:
· Explore the motivations and challenges of professional counseling.
Resources
· Website: Skype
Background Information
Setting up the curiosity conversation with the pastor or counselor is your responsibility. Setting up the appointment is a graded activity and required to complete the written assignment in Workshop Five. In that workshop, you will be reflecting on the lessons learned in your curiosity conversation. So the sooner you set up the appointment, the better. Your first or second choices may not work out, and you don’t want to be without a subject at the last minute. Talk to people you know in your church or community for your best options. When you do make contact, it’s suggested that you phrase your request like this:
I’m taking a graduate psychology course and one of our assignments is to interview a professional counselor. I wanted to know if you’d be able to help me with this assignment.
The operative word is
help. When you ask another person for help, they are more likely to accommodate you.
Make the conversation casual and friendly. Most students enjoy this opportunity to meet with and learn from a seasoned professional. In addition to setting up the appointment, make sure to write out all the questions you want to cover. Try to keep the conversation to about 30 minutes to respect the time of the person you are interviewing.
Instructions
1. Set up a one-to-one Skype meeting with your chosen subject (pastor or counselor).
a. If you have not already done so, access the website for
Skype
. Then download and install Skype on your computer. Familiarize yourself with this tool.
2. Schedule the Skype meeting with your subject to conduct the curiosity conversation.
a. This meeting will take place between now and the start of Workshop Five.
3. After scheduling the appointment, write out all the questions you intend to ask, in the order you would prefer to ask them. Being prepared is essential.
