Valerie Griffith HSP 303 1/8/12

From Individual to Interpersonal Over the course of the two year human services major at Western, you are required to attend core classes. Each quarter the core class builds upon itself. Last quarter we focused on ourselves as individuals. This quarter we are taking it one step further and learning about interpersonal relationships among ourselves and others. The quarter started offby all of us being
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paired up with a partner. This partner will be the person that you will be doing multiple assignments with. This idea of getting outside your personal environment offers a different perspective that allows for individual growth as well 'as developing stronger communication skills with others.

In order to grow, change and help others, you must first discover who you are. Last quarter, in core, we started off by taking Kolb's learning style inventory. After taking Kolb's learning style inventory, I learned that I am a concrete experience learner. Kolb (1985) suggested that "high CE individuals tend to be empathetic and "people- oriented" (Learning style inventory, p. 1). I definitely feel that I am very much a "people- oriented" person, which is why I have chosen a career to counsel others. We also discovered our values and what is significant about each of us as individuals. At the end of the quarter we got to share with the class our characteristics that make us who we are and where we are headed in the future.

The goal for this quarter, in core, is to develop interpersonal relationships with our partners. According to Zaiss (2002), "our joy, happiness, satisfaction, effectiveness, and sense of well- being lie in our relationships"-(True ~artnership.,..p._50). This idea furthers our

From Individual to Interpersonal

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understanding of ourselves by adding that in order to discover who we are and be happy with it we should have healthy relationships with others. It doesn't matter how much money you have or how intelligent you are, if you do not have healthy relationships with others, your life will not have that quality that every individual strives for. It is also important to learn how to effectively communicate with others to promote healthy relationships. Learning interpersonal communication is vital to my career choice as a counselor.

The first exercise we did in core to dive into interpersonal relationships was Socratic dialogue. My partner and I were given a poem. We read the poem and wrote down a question that came to mind after reading the poem. After writing a question, we switched papers. We read each other's questions, answered the question and then responded with another question. We returned each other's papers and repeated the same steps multiple times. We were not allowed to discuss anything with each other orally. After four times each of passing the papers back and forth, we got to discuss the exercise and reflect on its purpose.

Together, my partner and I discussed five questions. The first question asked us to reflect on what happened during the exercise that was most intriguing. We both agreed that the conversation between us got really deep and personal at a quick rate. Next, we discussed what shifts in energy we noticed during the exercise. As we came to the end of the exercise, we both started writing more in response to the questions. We rated our conversation as a ten in depth, because we really dove deep into personal opinion. The most important thing we learned during the exercise was to step back from our personal environment to keep the conversation going. We also revisited boundaries and their importance. Overall, this exercise would be something you could conduct with a client during an individual counseling session to discover personal information that might not be discussed just talking.

From Individual to Interpersonal To understand Socratic dialogue better, Prawda (1998) explains:

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"Socratic dialogue is a method widely used in Europe which allows for in-depth understanding of various issues concerning everyday life. Through rigorous inquiry and consensus we start unraveling the basic assumptions we have. An incredible experience that can regenerate your life" (~ 1).

The whole process of Socratic dialogue is to start with a general question and to have the opinion of others further your understanding. This method is much like what we are learning in core. We start off with our own individual understandings, beliefs and questions about life. When we get out of our own individual environment we start to get opinions of others. Without the opinions of others, we cannot understand life further. Every individual wants to know the meaning of life. There may not be an exact answer but Socratic dialogue could make you feel more comfortable with the reality.

In core class, all the assignments are connected and tend to build on themselves. The first quarter we focused on learning more about ourselves through assignments and exercises that forced us to ask ourselves who we are. This quarter we are paired up and going to be using interpersonal relationships to learn more about ourselves and work on communication skills. We need to know who we are in the field of human services and relationships are critical in discovering who we are. Through Socratic dialogue we learned that without the opinions of others, we may never dig deep into our inquiries about life, but in order to value your own life you have to further your understanding of it.

From Individual to Interpersonal References

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Kolb, D. (1985). Learning style inventory. Massachusetts: McBer and Company.

Prawda, G. (1998). Retrieved January 8, 2012, from: http://www.philodialogue.comldialogue.htm Zaiss, C. (2002). True partnership. California: Berrett- Koehler.

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