For those who may not know or have forgotten, I attended graduate school from 2007 to 2009, and graduated in May of 2009, one month before my wife received her educational doctorate from UCLA. I graduated a few days before I turned 55.
While in graduate school, in my cohort (I was with the same group of students all four semesters) I was the second oldest. In spite of my advanced age, I did rather well. Other than one A- and one B+, I got straight As. I believe that this miracle was due to a loving God, my dedication to my schooling, and the fact that I was serving as a bishop or pastoral figure during that time. I was blessed.
But it is now 2014, almost 2015. Much of what I learned in school has disappeared into my obscure memory brain cells. In other words, I have forgotten much. However, some of what I learned has been reinforced in the ensuing years because of using some of those ideas in my work.
The good news is that I have developed an expertise in dealing with sexual addiction, which was my specialty in graduate school and was the subject of my master's thesis. The good news is that I have worked for the same entity since 2008, and entity whose major focus is to work with folks with sexually addictive behaviors and with spouses who have been affected by their addictions. The good news is that I am an important part of their team in the Los Angeles area. The good news is that because I am 60, people generally think that I know what I am doing! The good news is that I am getting referrals from current or past clients and from LDS bishops.
The bad news is that I have not worked in the public sector where one is exposed to a wider range of people with more serious and diverse psychological issues. Nearly all of my clients are high functioning. The bad news is that I am 60 now, and while I am gaining ever increasing experience in my chosen field, my ability to keep important information needed to pass the tests is "deficient."
Knowing my challenges, I enrolled in an online (and on two occasions, live) courses that help people like me prepare for the exams. It involves reviewing a "cliff notes" version of information that may be on the tests, and also taking practice tests. By the way, the first licensing test, which takes four hours and is a 200 question multiple choice test, must be passed before taking the second one.
I am in the middle of extensive studying and test taking. To be honest, I am struggling. My ability to recall seems somewhat impaired. I sometimes get discouraged, caught up in the here and now and not trusting in the process. (This is a truth that I share with my clients and which I need to continue to remember.) But I believe that if I put in a lot of effort, God will do his part, and I ultimately will be blessed to pass these tests and become licensed. (This is also a truth that I share with faith-based clients which I need to continue to remember.)
I made the decision to really cut down on extra-curricular activities during this preparation time, including with church callings and responsibilities. The latter is being facilitated by my good friend, Kent Lee, who willingly is sharing my burden. I am being supported greatly by my good wife as well who encourages me and is taking over household duties during this process. It will be interesting to see how well I balance my time when my New Jersey family arrives in town on December 16th and stays with us until January 6th.
The reality is you may not see much on this blog for a time, although I want to continue writing somehow. For now, I need all the warm feelings and prayers I can get to help me at this challenging time.
No comments:
Post a Comment