Balance: Wearing different hats

Today is not a practicum day, classes are out for the winter break, and I haven’t been called in to work: a whole day off!  So I’ve made it a ”do-it-yourself” retreat day!  What makes a do-it-yourself retreat?  Well, I’ve soaked in a hot bath, given myself a pedicure, taken a nature hike, enjoyed thinking in silence (a luxury these days), and I’ve been reading and sipping green tea.  I decided this would be a nice time to contribute to my blog as well.

Despite the fact that classes are out for the Christmas break I am still busy at my practicum.  I’ve taken on a new client each week for three weeks now, bringing my client load to eight individuals.  Some of them I see every week and some every other week.  I’ve been learning a lot, and spending some time thinking about theory of change and reading up on different techniques.  I will sometimes use the medicine wheel model with clients so they have a visual aide while considering the balance in their lives.  In my own life I’m doing a decent job of maintaining balance, although I have to admit the physical and spiritual realms are being neglected somewhat.  There’s a whole lot of room for improvement, but the wheel is never 100% balanced and I think it would be unrealistic to expect perfection, especially as a grad student!  The ongoing dance between effort and surrender is a delicate one.

In my last post I talked about the risk of burnout in helping professions and I alluded to the most important thing I do to prevent burnout: role diversification.  I happened upon this protective technique accidentally… the truth is I get bored and discouraged easily, and I tend to be a bit of a dreamer.  When I am wholly committed to a single job or hobby it’s only a matter of time before I become disenchanted and start turning my attention elsewhere.  As a child and adolescent I had a thousand creative projects started and not a single one completed.  In my early adulthood I began university, quit university intending to become a world-renowned horse trainer, quit that a year later and went backpacking in Australia, returned to university a couple of years later, etcetera.  I was miserable in all the jobs I worked and would complain bitterly about them.  Painfully slowly I have learned about myself, and somewhere along the way I accepted the fact that I need (I crave) variety.  I’ve started to keep a few different ‘hats’ at the ready so that my inspiration and devotion can cycle through them repeatedly.  In a way, I have used multiple interests to corral my creative energy (whereas it used to run away with me, leaving unfinished ideas scattered in my wake).  The fact that role diversification is actually a valid and effective technique for preventing burnout is nothing more than good fortune for me!

And so it came to pass that I took a volunteer position at a therapeutic horseback riding facility shortly before I began this Master’s program.  The Victoria Riding for the Disabled Association (VRDA) promotes physical, psychological, and social well-being in children and adults with various disabilities.  I know it sounds like this must be related to my therapist training but I assure you that again, this is nothing more than serendipity.  And while from the outside it looked like I was (as always) putting too much on my plate, the fact is that my volunteer work at the VRDA was the only source of balance in my life during the first year of the Master’s program.  It was the only thing holding a thread of sanity in place for me as I learned the importance of self-care firsthand.  It was the one afternoon each week that I inhaled fresh air, got some physical activity, satisfied the cowgirl that has been stuck inside me for thirty years, and completely forgot about grad school!  It’s no accident that horses are used in therapy.  Their movement stimulates weak muscles and increases blood flow in stiff, underactive bodies.  It enhances balance.  But the physical benefits are just the start.  The feeling of ability that arises from communicating with a horse is hard to match, and horses seem to be able to sense vulnerable emotions and good intentions like no human therapist ever could.

This year, knowing full well how intense and busy my internship and courses would be, I said yes to the role of volunteer assistant instructor with the VRDA.  And in the midst of grad school, thesis, practicum, and occasional paid work, I am pursuing Assistant Instructor certification with CanTRA, the Canadian governing body for therapeutic riding.  Why?  I am doing it in the name of role diversification… because it keeps me balanced!