On Being A Columnist

November 6, 2014 by Kate Anthony

I’ve been thinking about both my contributors to TILT Magazine and my own role as a columnist recently. This was inspired by the departure of my good colleague Anne Stokes over at TILT Towers, who has been with us from the inaugural issue right up to the present day – that’s 20 columns submitted for our readers pleasure and education (or, to look at it differently, nearly a whopping 20,000 words!). Anne’s topic was CyberSupervision, and I doubt we could have found a better UK expert to offer her words of wisdom (not to mention her being a pleasure to work with and her ability to meet deadlines like no other author I have come across in my time as Editor!).

Anne is handing her baton to another of our dear colleagues after the Winter 2014 issue of TILT to Cedric Speyer, another fine example of a CyberSupervisor we are very lucky to have on board, and perhaps with a very different style and passion – so while I am sad to say farewell to Anne, I’m also excited to welcome Cedric.

Our columnists receive no financial gain from their contributions, and nor have I over my years contributing regular columns for other editors. I do try to be a regular columnist for only one publication at a time because of this (otherwise I can’t afford to feed the cat), but what is it about contributing our expertise to a wider audience that keeps us doing it for free?

Here are some thoughts:

We reach new audiences

My current regular column is with the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy’s Workplace Division ( download it now! 13559_cyberwork CAW Autumn 2014). Not only does my work on Cyberculture and the impact of online services reach a new audience by doing this, I reach people who actively pay for a subscription and so are invested in reading the Journal. Sure, they may skip over my part in it, but I am sure that the topic will surface in some part of their work one day and cause them to think “oh! I can find out more about this can’t I? – my journal covers it in every edition!” I also receive a .pdf for my own distribution, as do all our columnists in TILT.

We receive new areas in which to market

Every columnist with a good editor will have a chance to provide the context in which they work in return for their wise words. My by-line contains details of who I am, what I offer (and where), and how to get hold of me. Readers of the journal are those involved in or contributing to the emotional and psychological health of people in organisations, including workplace counsellors, trainers, team leaders and welfare staff, occupational psychologists, HR managers and those with an interest in employee counselling services and skills. How else could I each these people without investing in financial ways of marketing? And if your column makes it to the online version of the journal – as mine does – then that’s a whole new way of increasing your SEO!

We add to our publication lists

We all have a Curriculum Vitae or Résumé to maintain and our columns do just that. Keep your links fresh from your up-to-date list of publications online and you have a handy resource to disseminate your work without resorting to a scanner or – dare I say it – a photocopier (that is SO 2008!).

Finally – you keep the Editors of the world very happy!

Really you do! My role as co-Managing Editor of TILT Magazine is a labour of love, for all the reasons I outlined in an earlier post – and my regular columnists make my job 100 times better just by being willing and able to contribute with a cheery email when sending their work. I am terrible with deadlines, and yet I rarely hear a peep of complaint about that! So thank you to you all – past, present and future – for keeping me and my readers happier in our work!

🙂

Fostering the Spark – How Our Students Become Pioneers

October 9, 2014 by Kate Anthony

One of the most enjoyable aspects of tutoring our courses are the live “vivas” – a chance for DeeAnna and I to talk individually to each of our students. These talks, held over the telephone, through a videolink, or in a chat room, take place twice during our larger trainings – once at the end of the Foundational Course in CyberCulture and then again on completion of the written work in the Specialist Certificate portion.

We used to call them “oral examinations”, but that seemed very formal for what is essentially a check-in to ensure the learning is being taken on board, to clear up any misunderstandings about the work, and to clarify any parts that may be unclear or need further unpicking. It is also a chance for us to exemplify our message that communication is at the heart of all we do – whether in a learning environment or working with the clients we serve. To truly model our belief that communication is communication whatever technology we use (including those chairs Douglas Adams talked about), moving away from the written feedback we give at the end of every lesson towards the live conversation and back again allows the concept of the importance of blending technologies to emerge.

But what I really love about these conversations is hearing how the learning is being applied to each student’s work environment – whether a therapist, coach, support worker or other human wellbeing professional. This gives us a chance to drill down into how the student can take the learning forward, not only for their own ongoing development but for the good of the clients and the wider profession. I can get flavours of this through our ongoing written dialogue throughout the course, where the ideas the student has take hold and start blossoming – but it is the live conversation that allows not just the brainstorming part between two people, but also the infectious enthusiasm we both get as those ideas start to be fleshed out. There is nothing more satisfying than to hear the course content come to life when the student finds their niche – recent examples have been around how to reach and serve the suicidal client better, the use of blogging for co-education for senior Supervisors, the creation of a virtual gallery for those interested in showcasing art therapy techniques, and how best to de-stigmatise mental health services for children and young people.

The students on our courses are the pioneers of the profession. Sure, we give them the tools to work effectively and ethically online, and I honestly applaud any practitioner who seeks the training so necessary to do so (whether they are trained with us and the Online Therapy Institute or not).

But it is hearing the spark igniting the fuse towards meaningful ground breaking online work as each student applies the technology that makes my day during these vivas. Fostering that spark and helping to turn it into a realistically better way to be present for our colleagues and clients in any therapeutic field is intensely satisfying for us as tutors and mentors. It’s simply a privilege to see how our courses can startle a new thought into action for each and every student who joins us.

🙂

Meeting Lara Croft! The BACPC Birmingham Networking Meeting

April 8, 2014 by Kate Anthony

Meeting Lara Croft!

By Elizabeth Barclay, BACP Coaching Division Member

At the Birmingham BACP meeting on Tuesday 1 April it was both illuminating and informative to meet the ‘Lara Croft’ of online coaching and therapy (aka Dr Kate Anthony).

We were taken on our ‘initiation’ journey and I have to confess my own reservations at the outset. I am a hesitant ‘net’ user except for the basics and contacting my family and friends! Having worked in the NHS for many years and coming from a medical family, I am and always have been very concerned with confidentiality and boundaries.

Kate talked us through the cyber journey and it’s complexities (of which there are many) as well as the responsibilities involved for any practitioner engaged in working in the cyber world. Kate has been involved in working with BACP to develop specific guidelines for online working and she believes BACP are very forward thinking in their approach to the online world.

There was much discussion as the evening progressed and whilst many of the processes of the face to face world apply in the cyber world. For example: ethics, codes of practice, competency, contracting, boundaries, supervision, assessment, safety, containment, crisis intervention,security & endings.

There are areas that require more thought when the relationship isn’t face to face ie with two bodies inhabiting the same physical space in the room. The practitioner is required to have a good understanding, training and competency in the technology involved and all the mediums one might offer to work within.

There are many potential interface options: forums, blogs, chatrooms, apps, VoIP, video, email, text, instagrms, Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, holograms, virtual reality to name some. No doubt I have omitted some due to being a ‘technological immigrant’ or in simple words an older person who was not brought up with the technology!

Consideration would need to be given to preferences of working mediums and possibilities and difficulties this might create for oneself and clients.

An awareness of the permanence of the digital footprint of technology is required. This includes a foot print of one’s work in written, audio or verbal context, hence the importance of using safe and secure sites. I learnt that certain sites are unsecure and Kate considers them inappropriate for client material.

Skype for example, own the record of your data and retains the right to publish your data at any time if it chooses to do so. An alternative is VSEE.com which is reportedly much safer [Note from Kate: check out PlusGuidance for a full e-practice service!].

Implications for one’s own responsible networking, professional and personal digital footprint: Kate reports that prospective clients will ‘google’ us. Remember the 6 degrees of separation? Well according to Kate that is now only 4.7 in the light of social media! She makes the valid point that if you are out partying and a client can access this information then the client might interpret it as you are ‘not holding them in mind’. One does not know how one’s digital footprint will be accessed and interpreted so worth bearing in mind! To quote Kate “someone will know someone and someone might be identified.” And none of us would want to be identified if we were a client so the possibility of dual relationships needs to be addressed at the outset.

Practitioner websites need to be clear in what policies they are offering including the cyber methods of working, security, competency, formal assessment, supervision, client safety, crisis intervention and plan B if/when the technology might fail. What are the protocols?

Contracting is always important but with online working I think it would be even more important to discuss expectations of response times. Given the nature of the cyberworld is that it is instantaneous what are the implications for working practice?

Disinhibition Effect (Suler 2004, referred to by Kate): This is important to be aware of as behaviour can change when there is a ‘distance’ between the two parties and people can reveal much more in the cyber world. This can apply to the coach/therapist as well as the client. Despite this, Kate believes the positives outweigh the negatives.

Abuse / bullying is an ongoing problem encountered in the cyberworld and the impact is severe. Protection of oneself as a coach/therapist is an important consideration. Clients need to be aware of the process they are engaging in and Kate suggests time is spent in preparation/ discussion with the client before commencing any work. They need to be aware of the permanence of the digital footprint, safety and the best cyber medium for themselves.

There is much to reflect upon after the evening, including meeting our clients in the world they operate in, and accepting the possibilities that cyber working offers greater access to services for a greater number of people who might otherwise be trapped on a waiting list for face to face work.

So in summary, an entertaining evening but also practical and there is much support out there for those who wish to pursue this work or if they already do so. Kate offers training – PG certificate Cyberculture for Therapeutic Purposes, peer support, 1-1 tuition, 1-1 mentoring.

I will have missed some information being human and with my own selective processes but is the challenge as a coach/therapist to consider embracing the new whilst maintaining one’s integrity, professionalism and skills. Perhaps it is not an ‘either/or’ situation but a ‘both/and’ possibility?

So many thanks to Kate.

Kate’s website/footprint:

www.kateanthony.net
kate@onlinetherapyinstitute.com
www.onlinetherapymagazine.com – TILT magazine