Arriving at that decision has brought a sense of steadiness during a time that could easily feel uncertain. There are many reasons behind it, but the most meaningful is the level of support I have experienced there. From supervisors to staff to fellow clinicians, I have felt guided, encouraged, and challenged in ways that support growth.
Author: Roque Neto
How I Passed the NCE
I gave myself one month to prepare. Not six months. Not an open-ended plan that I would get to when I had time. I committed to a focused and intentional month of study. That decision shaped everything that followed.
Turning Partners into Suspects
Couples can begin to build relationships that allow for both commitment and individuality. In that process, trust is not established by narrowing each other’s world, but by strengthening the foundation they share.
The Final Quarter
At this point, I’m hopeful that I have absorbed what I need from this part of the journey. At the same time, I’m aware that learning does not end with the completion of these two remaining courses. It has already extended beyond the classroom through more specialized trainings.
Rethinking Male Friendships
I would like to propose one useful shift: thinking of friendship as something that can be learned. It is not only a matter of circumstance or luck. It involves a set of skills that many men were never taught.
Approaching the Finish Line
These questions point toward the beginning of a new stage, yet they are not completely new. Over the past three years, this program has asked much more of me than learning theories or practicing counseling techniques. It has asked me to grow in patience, humility, and presence.
Becoming in the Space Between
But increasingly, becoming a counselor feels more like becoming someone who can tolerate complexity. Someone who can hold tension without rushing to resolve it. Someone who trusts that growth often happens in the space between people.
Pausing to Stay Present
As coursework deepens and clinical work continues to unfold, I will once again be intentional about where I place my attention. Rather than rushing posts or writing from the margins of my attention, I have decided to take a brief pause from the blog.
Winter Quarter: The Final Stretch Begins
One especially exciting aspect of this course is who will be teaching it. Research and Program Evaluation will be co-taught by two professors who taught us early in the program. Full-time faculty rarely co-teach due to their workload, but my cohort asked anyway. To our delight, they said yes.
The “Heart” Work of Becoming a Counselor
As we grow into the role of counselor, we learn to notice where we become anxious, where we want to rescue, where we shut down, and where our own unresolved experiences show up. This kind of learning is rarely linear, and it cannot be captured through an APA-formatted paper.
Roque Neto 