I was working a pretty standard office job. You could say I was successful at my career, or at least, I was doing well. From a career and job point of view, there was really nothing wrong; except, I found myself increasingly questioning what I was doing with my life.
I’d wake up, go to work for eight or ten hours a day, go home, have dinner, and sleep. Like most people, the majority of my waking hours were spent working; except I had no idea what I was working towards. There was nothing really wrong with what I was doing, so I stayed. Even though I felt I needed to do something more impactful; something more meaningful with my life, I didn’t do anything. I didn’t know how.
It felt like my life was this dull, dark tunnel, yet I was too scared to climb out of it.
This bothered, nagged, and plagued me for years until one day someone told me I should maybe look into helping people, since I seemed to have an affinity for it. I was always the person in my circle of family and friends that people came to for a listening ear. I initially didn’t act on it because I was too busy, but I started seeing a steady stream of news about people’s dwindling mental and emotional health.
While searching for more information, I came upon several schools offering programmes that started to pique my interest. Initially I intended to just ask around, but I attended a free course preview with College of Allied Educators, where they were very passionate about developing and nurturing people who had this affinity and desire to help others. Their Counselling Psychology programme really got me interested, and I decided I would take the step to register for the programme.
It wasn’t as scary a decision as I thought it would be. It turns out that the programme could be done part-time and allowed me to work during the day while I studied in the evening a couple times a week. It wasn’t a scary leap of faith, but rather a gradual easing of myself into learning about people, their problems, and the tools that needed to be developed in order to help them handle their issues.
During this time, I found that I wasn’t just learning about helping other people. I was starting to learn about myself as well. The lecturers were working industry professionals and had real experiences to share with us, and the different types of situations, problems, and situations we would need to deal with. The stories they shared touched me and hit an emotional nerve, forcing me to look at myself much more deeply as well. The tools I was learning to help others, I ended up realising I could use to look at myself as a person as well.
I started to see that I had long-standing desires that needed to be addressed, and my own demons I had to deal with. Going through the counselling psychology programme, I found I was helping myself as much as they were teaching me what I needed to learn.
You could say that I found the light, while being taught how to be a light for other people. Instead of a dark tunnel, I was starting to see my world opening up for the first time, in a long while.
I found that I wasn’t just learning about counselling psychology. I was also learning about myself, and realised what would give me meaning in my waking life. It wasn’t just about helping other people, it was about helping myself find myself. It wasn’t scary. It was illuminating; and I’m incredibly excited about what this means for my life and career going forward.
I hope to also bring that light to others who might have a difficult time finding that light for themselves.
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Join us at College of Allied Educators to learn more about yourself, what motivates you, and how you can find happiness, meaning, and success in work, love, and life.
POSTGRADUATE DIPLOMA IN COUNSELLING PSYCHOLOGY
Postgraduate Diploma in Counselling Psychology (PGDICP) is a counselling psychology course accredited by the Singapore Association for Counselling (SAC). The part-time Postgraduate Diploma in Counselling Psychology programme focuses on developing and enhancing experiential knowledge and skills through a holistic approach. Some of the subjects covered include Counselling Children, Addiction Intervention, Crisis Intervention, and Family Therapy.
DIPLOMA IN COUNSELLING PSYCHOLOGY
Diploma in Counselling Psychology (DCPSY) is a counselling course covering a range of conceptual and functional skills in counselling. It trains students to apply appropriate counselling psychology skills in different situations, and equips students with the ability to work effectively as a counsellor.
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