id – Iain Douglas Stewart

My procrastination

By Iain 24 November 2021Reflections, The MissionNo Comments

Procrastination is a tricky beast. To anyone watching it may look like I don't care about anything, and I'm being lazy. But in reality, I'm crippled by indecision. I don't know what to do next. There are so many things I want to do, things I want to start, things I want to finish, things I want to carry on…

L3CiCS Comparing Counselling Theories Assignment

By Iain 27 June 2020Qualifications courseworkNo Comments

The aim of this essay is to compare and contrast two counselling theories of my choice. I have chosen to compare Psychodynamic Counselling and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. The philosophy behind the Psychodynamic Counselling approach is that we all have an unconscious mind as well as a conscious one. It states that the unconscious mind can hold on to painful memories…

L3CiCS Counselling Theory and Self-Awareness Assignment

By Iain 26 June 2020Qualifications courseworkNo Comments

The purpose of this assignment is to show how learning about counselling theory and applying it to your own life can promote and increase self-awareness, by deepening the understanding of your own personality, history and relationships. This will be a very personal journey through my counselling studies so far, and hopefully a good reflection of what I have learned about…

L3CiCS Reflective Diary – 7th February 2020

By Iain 7 February 2020Qualifications courseworkNo Comments

This week we split up into small groups to discuss how we could use counselling theory to understand our own personal history, and to reflect on what we have learned about the theories so far to help understand events in our life, and our responses to those events. Studying theory has definitely made me fully aware of how the past…

The “Lewis becoming an adult” thing

By Iain 6 February 2020Reflections, Site Related, The Mission, VideogamesNo Comments

This is going to be hard to write without sounding jaded, or bitter, but I'm going to try. My nephew, Lewis, turned 18 recently. He's Jane's sister's first-born, and I've known him all his life. I don't know where to start with how I feel about my perspective on all this, so forgive me if it seems disjointed. So, as…

L3CiCS Reflective Diary 31st January 2020

By Iain 31 January 2020Qualifications courseworkNo Comments

This week we looked at why theory is important in counselling work. Through a group discussion we identified several key aspects of why it is important, and I was quite surprised by the amount we came up with. First though, I think it’s important that I reflect on what is meant by the word “theory”. A theory is generally a…

L3CiCS Reflective Diary – 17th January 2020

By Iain 17 January 2020Qualifications courseworkNo Comments

To solidify our learning and get an idea of how it is practically applied, it would be useful to take our knowledge of the three theories we have studied so far and apply it to a range of presenting problems. As I mentioned the last time we used these case studies (22nd November, when we were applying SMART goals to…

L3CiCS Learning Log – 13th December 2019

By Iain 13 December 2019Qualifications courseworkNo Comments

The origins of Psychodynamic Counselling can be traced back to Sigmund Freud in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, and the psychodynamic theory has been continually developed, modified and refined over time. It is based around the philosophy that people are driven by unconscious patterns of behaviour and desires which are shaped by their past experiences. Some examples of things…

Ego

By Iain 11 November 2018Free-writingNo Comments

What springs to mind when I consider the word "ego"? It's that sense of self, isn't it? Freud classified it as the mediator in his structural model - it works to balance the hedonistic id and the law-abiding superego. I think this makes sense as it explains why I so often feel pulled in two opposing directions. Sometimes I see…

Mind

By Iain 30 September 2018Free-writingNo Comments

This is entry three in this new themed series of blog posts in which, as part of my ongoing quest for greater self awareness and my continued personal and professional development, I pick a key word and write about it for a set amount of time. And you've probably spotted the theme by now. Let me know if you have,…