MIDLANDS STATE UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES

DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY

WORK RELATED LEARNING REPORT

NAME:

TAKUDZWA.M.MARANGE

REG NUMBER:

R141812A

MODE OF ENTRY:

CONVENTIONAL

PERIOD:

JANUARY-OCTOBER (2016)

NAME OF THE ORGANISATION:

PASTORAL CARE AND

COUNSELING SERVICES (PCCS)

_______________________________________________
Promoting Healing, Enabling Hope
PVO 18/2010

TABLE OF CONTENTS
1

1. Acknowledgements.3
2. CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION AND
BACKGROUND4
2.1 Introduction..............4
2.2 Background information..4
a

History and development ..5

Mission statement and objectives..5

Services offered.6
2.3

Nature of organisation7

3. CHAPTER 2: ORGANISATION AND SOCIETY...8

4. CHAPTER 3: ANALYSIS OF THE ORGANISATION..10
5. CHAPTER 4: PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT.24
5.1 Formal learning course24
5.2 Key skills development...25
5.3 Personal development .26
5.4 Handling conflict between personal and organisational objectives.28
6

CHAPTER5: RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION.29

REFERENCES31

Acknowledgements.
I would like to thank the Lord Almighty for a remarkable and profitable period at Pastoral
care and counseling services. I would like also to extent my heartfelt gratitude to my family
members for their unwavering support during this demanding period. My gratitude goes to
Pastoral care and counseling services and its staff members for affording me the opportunity
to be part of their organization, it is through their valuable support that I managed to obtain
quite a handful of practical experience. Worth mentioning is the invaluable support and
guidance of my mentor Dr. Mazvita Machinga who, despite her tight schedules agreed to lead
my training. Many thanks go to my academic supervisors for their guidance, remarks and
relevant suggestions who made my work related learning so rewarding. I owe the successful
compilation of this report to all these people who were constantly besides me, cheering me on
and supporting me all the way during my fruitful student internship
God bless you.

1. CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTIONS AND BACKGROUND

1.1 Introductions
The work related learning report being presented seek to cover a number of aspects which
will thoroughly expound the experiences that I have been exposed to during my attachment
period from January up to date. In brief, subjects that are going to be covered will be the
background information about the organization or the nature of the organization and the
3

society it serves. The report will also seek to present an analysis of the organization, the
development of the student professionally and this will be done by addressing issues such as
formal learning courses key skills development and personal development. In the end the
report will also give a conclusion and recommendations on areas that need improvement.
1.2 ORGANISATION BACKGROUD
a) A Brief History of the Pastoral Care and Counselling Service
PCCS is a registered non- profit organization with the Zimbabwe Ministry of Public
Service, Labour and Social Welfare and is also a member of the Zimbabwe Association of
Family Therapist and Professional Counsellors.

PCCS traces its history back to year

2000, in the city of Mutare, Zimbabwe, when it was known as the Family Resources and
Service Centre. (FRASC). In 2005, the name was changed to Pastoral Care and
Counselling Services (PCCS) to match with the tangible work PCCS was doing and in
preparation for the process of registration as a private voluntary organization with the
Zimbabwean government. This organisation is a brain child of Dr Mazvita, who while
serving as a District Women Worker in the United Methodist Church, Mutare District and
motivated by scripture, James 5: 16b- And pray for each other so that you may be
healed, Dr Mazvita Machinga realized that one of the greatest gifts believers can give to
one another is setting aside time to pray for and with one another, thus, she encouraged
and invited women and other Christians to feel free to share their stories, experiences and
pray over different life issues. That was the beginning of this greatly needed service to the
community of Mutare. Every month Dr Mazvita Machinga set aside some time to listen
and talk with women who needed place to share their stories. This service of listening and
praying expanded as Dr Mazvita spend some time with students at Africa University, exprisoners in distress and women in need. Through these short meetings with people, safe
and confidential space was available for people to share their pain, joy and other
experiences. The meetings were also used to talk about healthy ways of coping and
moving on with life.
As the need for a place to share and pray grew, Dr Mazvita became interested in offering
such a services to any people who will be in need. Hence, she brought together the
church and community leaders to discuss ways of addressing the existing challenges.
Then that was the beginning of the capacity development of local community caregivers
and church leaders in counselling and other care giving skills. Dr Mazvita Machinga the
church pastors and leaders so that they create a forum for capacity building so as to
4

effectively and fully serve their God and community. With the support and
encouragement from her husband, Reverend Gift Machinga, and the Mutare Ministers
fraternal, Dr Mazvita started coordinating local trainings by organizing workshops on a
variety of relevant and significant topics in response to the communitys needs. Thus,
began the strong relationship between Pastoral care and counseling services and
congregational work.
Workshops were done with groups such as women, youth, clergy, community caregivers,
ex-prisoners and chaplains. More could have been done but due to financial limitations
activities were limited. In 2002, Dr Mazvita invited community members who had the
passion and knowledge of care and counselling to join her and volunteer their skills and
talents. The first volunteers were Rev. John Rugayo, Mrs Sandra Mutowo, Dr. Rugare
Kangwende, and Mrs Lillian Mufute. Doreen Masedza helped with the scheduling of
appointments and workshops. As of 2005, an Executive Committee of the Pastoral Care
and counseling services was established; Rev G.K, Machinga, Sue Beck and Bob Beck
were appointed to be members of the Board of Trustees for the organization and then the
organization was established
.
b) Mission statement
To provide professional counselling, psycho-educational, pastoral care, life skills
and training programs that strengthen the spiritual, emotional, and physical health
to individuals, families, and communities. Pastoral care and counseling services
seeks to foster healing and enable hope to people in distress; and explore
opportunities of reaching lifes full potentials.
c) Vision
Pastoral Care and Counseling Services envisions and works towards a community

in which:
Every individuals strengths and capacity to deal with life challenges are

recognized, valued and supported.

Local communities and congregations are nurtured and empowered to take action
to address issues that affect their society.

d) Motto
Promoting Healing, Enabling Hope.
e) Core values
We value and encourage diversity
We value teamwork
We value endless concerned with our clients needs and perceptions
5

We value lasting relationships, based on trust

We aspire to offer the proffered choices of help to people in mental distress

f) Objectives of the organisation

The main aim of Pastoral Care and Counseling Services is to remain the seal for
excellence in providing counselling to individual who are in mental distress in
Zimbabwe.

To offer professional care and counselling to help individuals, families and

communities to work through trauma, loss and other life challenges and offer
counselling supervisory services.

To build capacity of local communities, congregations and clergy members

through short-term courses in pastoral care and counselling such as conflict
management, premarital education, grief and loss to mention but a few and offer
consultation services.

Services offered by Pastoral Care and Counseling Services.

Pastoral care and counseling services offers professional psychotherapy and counseling
services. According to Corey.(2005) Psychotherapy is the informed and intentional
application of clinical methods and interpersonal stances derived from established
psychological principles for the purpose of assisting people to modify their behaviors,
cognitions, emotions, and/or other personal characteristics in directions that the participants
deem desirable. The counseling services are offered to individuals as well as groups. These
services are offered to all age groups who will be in need of these services and through the
use of various therapeutic modalities that suit the individuals and groups being attended to.
Individual or one on one counseling services.
Pastoral care and counseling services offers professional individual counseling sessions to
walk in clients and besides the walk in clients, Pastoral care and counseling services also
have a connection with the Ministry of health so they also attend to some hospitalized
6

patients who would be in need of the counseling services. As professionals Pastoral care and
counseling services uses various therapeutic modalities to deal with client issues.
Group Counseling
Group counseling is a type of counseling which is offered to a group of people, as an
organization group counseling is delivered to various groups which include youths at school
and youths out of school. Group counseling is also done to those who are in need, through the
use of various counselling and therapeutic approaches such as cognitive behavioral
techniques, EMDR, motivational interviews etc.
Listed below are some of the counseling services that are offered at Pastoral care and
counseling services that can be delivered to individuals as well as groups.

Loss, grief and bereavement counseling

Child and adolescent counseling
Trauma counseling
Marital couple counseling etc.

The above mentioned are some of the clients or individuals our organisation will be dealing
with. Pastoral Care and Counseling Services deals with individuals with different problems
besides the above mentioned so as to promote mental health in our communities.
Pastoral care and counseling services also offers trainings in the following areas:

Basic counseling skills and care giving skills

Psychoeducation and life skills training.
Mental health first aid training

Basic counseling skills and care giving skills training.

This training is open for those who are willing to help those who are in need of counseling
services. Pastoral care and counseling services offers trainings in basic counseling skills and
care giving skills so as empower those who are willing to assist those who will be in need of
counseling. The organization works with members from various organizations for example
the Nzeve Deaf center, Tafara Widows support group and other organizations enlightening
them on basic counseling skills. However when offering this service Pastoral care and
counseling services also partner with other institutions for example Africa University.
Psycho-education and life skills training.
7

This is meant to sensitize and educate communities on various aspects of life that are related
to mental health issues. Psychoeducation involves educating the community on various life
challenges and coping skills e.g. curbing risk behaviors in youths like substance abuse, and
also educate them on good study habits. In the picture below are some students from St
Augustine High school Tariro Orphanage who are part of the beneficiaries of this service
during their psychoeducational group meeting.

In the photo are students from St Augustine Tariro Orphanage, who benefits from Pastoral
care and counseling services life skills training and psychoeducational group meetings.
Mental health first aid Training
This is a training that educate people and communities on how to help people who have
various mental health issues or in a mental health crisis. This training educates people on how
to provide initial mental health first aid to those who will be having mental health issues. This
training is open to anyone who will be willing to gain mental health first aid training. Its a 12
hour course which is facilitated by Dr Machinga and upon completion participants receive
certificates which are widely recognized. In this course participants are empowered with the
knowledge about various mental health problems that are common in our society and they are
equipped with basic knowledge on how to assist individuals who will be in the crisis before
referring them to some professional mental health institution. So far Pastoral care and
counseling services has reached many church pastors and clergies with this program, for
example Anglican clergies, Church of Christ pastors etc.

In the picture above are some of the beneficiaries of mental health first aid trainings offered
by Pastoral care and counseling services. Pastors of the Church of Christ after receiving their
certificates poses for a photo after completing the 12hour course in mental health and first aid
training.

1.3 NATURE OF THE ORGANISATION

THE PASTORAL CARE AND COUNSELING SERVICES ORGANOGRAM

10

TRUSTEES

ADVISORY BOARD

DIRECTOR

CLINICAL WORK FIELD

OFFICER

TRAINING FIELD
OFFICER

FINANCE AND
ADMINISTRATION
OFFICER

VOLUNTEERS AND
INTERNS

1- Board of Trustees

11

The Pastoral care and counseling services has some board of trustees. In the event of
dissolution the board of trustees sits down and winds off the business of the organization in
line with the constitution. The board of trustees relate to the Executive Committee in an
advisory capacity. The Board of Trustees, Advisory Committee, and friends of the
organization/ members meet annually to elect the Executive members, to amend, repeal, or
adopt any policies and regulations which they govern, and to receive financial and
programmatic reports.
2- Advisory Board /Executive Committee
The affairs of the organization are conducted and all corporate powers are exercised under the
direction of the advisory board. Thus, the Executive Committee has the direct supervisory
responsibility of the organization. The Executive Committee manages the organizations
properties and business affairs, advises, exercise general administrative oversight, enforces
the policies of the organization, and recommends changes in the policies to the organization
at deemed fit.
3-The Director
The Director serves as the chief executive officer of the organization and is responsible for
the overall operation of the organization under the terms and policies and specific directives
from the Executive Committee. The Director has the duty to ensure that the standards and
procedures within the organization conform to the policies established by the Executive
Committee to nurture the spiritual life of the organization, to ensure proper development and
pursuit of the vision, mission, objectives, to maintain an effective administrative system, to
maintain existing resources and create new resources. The Director is a member of the
Executive Committee by virtue of the position.
4-Clinical work field officer, Training field officer and Finance and Administration
Officer
These field officers make sure that the fieldwork is done and they liaise with some volunteers
and interns in doing the field work. The finance and administration officer controls the budget
and resources of the organization.

5-Volunteers and Interns

12

Volunteers also are members of the organization who helps to do some certain tasks in the
organization and also interns are students who are on work related learning and they also do a
lot tasks as they will gain knowledge and experience during their work related learning
period.
DEPARTMENT IN WHICH TRAINING IS UNDERTAKEN.
Pastoral care and counseling services doesnt have many departments, but rather it has some
various activities in which the student was exposed to during the work related learning
period. During the attachment period I was exposed to psychoeducational group meetings,
group counseling and individual counseling services.
WORK, ROLES AND RESPONIBILITIES OF THE STUDENT
During the attachment period I had various roles and responsibilities that I played these
involves, providing individual, family, or group therapy by appointment. Completing
confidential written progress notes on each client for each treatment session, and other
clinical documentation as required. Protecting confidentiality of all clients by securing
proper signatures on Release of Confidentiality forms, and by never removing client files
from the premises. Composes letters or reports on client progress as requested and
appropriate. Providing therapy for walk-in clients. Representing the organization within the
community and professional organizations. Performs other duties as assigned. More is to be
alluded below:
Provision of counseling services
I had the responsibility of offering counseling services to groups through the help of other
work mates.
Maintaining records
As an intern it was my duty to make sure that after every attended counseling session I had to
write clients progress notes using the SOAP note format. Besides the progress notes I also
had to write reports on clients progress as requested and in an appropriate manner.
Maintaining records also involved filing of clients forms, booking of client appointments
and making sure that all information is accurately written down, writing minutes for meetings
and workshops.
13

The student would create files for the clients who attends counseling sessions, as a student I
had to make sure that files that have the clients profile and some personal information which
will be needed in counseling session like the reason for coming to our place for counseling,
the confidentiality form to mention but a few are up to date .
Fieldwork
Also as a student my duty was also to contact field work that is facilitating psychoeducational
group meetings. Fieldwork is done in the communities with various support groups these
included Tafara support groups, Tariro orphanage group and Youths both in school and out of
school.
Planning Weekly activities
Planning weekly and monthly activities was one my role at Pastoral care and counseling
services.
Networking
As a student I also had the duty to network i.e. meeting with other stakeholders and service
providers. As a student I had the opportunity to attend the Victim Friendly Committee
meeting, National Aids Council and other meetings, sharing some of the activities that we do
at Pastoral care and counseling services and also hearing the services that are offered by some
organizations-.
Administration
During the attachment period I also conducted administration work that is:

Making sure that the assets of the organization are maintained and care for.

Up keeping office. Making sure that the files are arranged in order.

Ensuring cleanliness both inside and outside of the office.

14

CHAPTER 2: ORGANISATION AND SOCIETY

Pastoral care and counseling services participated in various networking meetings so as to
connect with other service providers and stakeholders as a way of enhancing the provision of
services to the community. Taking an example of the Victim friendly Initiative meeting (V.F.I)
which is one of the networking meeting which is held every first Thursday of each month, the
organization would attend this meeting at the Mutare Magistrate court. This meetings main
aim is to unite all stakeholders or services providers so that they can discuss issues that are
affecting the society and discuss on how best these issues can be addressed. Moreover this
meeting acted as a knowledge sharing platform, it helped the stakeholders to identify other
service providers who provides services which are similar so as to recognize places where to
refer those who will be in need of several services.
Stake holders who would attend to this meeting were, Youth Alive Zimbabwe, Child line,
Zimbabwe Republic Police, School Psychological Services, Simukai, Plan International
Zimbabwe Prison Correctional Services, National Aids Council, etc. Pastoral care and
counseling services also linked with other service providers by creating some initiative
groups, for example they created the Substance Abuse Prevention Initiative (S.A.P.I) this
group comprised of various stakeholders and their main aim is to discuss over the issues
concerning substance abuse and how best this issue can be addressed. This initiative group
consisted of stakeholders from the Zimbabwe republic police Drug section, School
psychological services etc.
Pastoral care and counseling services also works with the Mutare city council so as to reach
out Youths at various Youths centers in Mutare, for example the organization would reach out
youths at Sakubva youth center, Chikanga youth center and Hob house youths center for
psychoeducational group meetings. The organization furthermore uses modern technology so
as to relate to the community it serves. The organization also facilitates a radio program
which is broadcasted at Diamond FM in which they will be appealing to the society to come
and seek for professional help at their center, through social network platforms for example
Facebook, the organization connects to the community through stating all the services it
offers as well as all its activities via Facebook social network. The organization also related
with the community it serve through holding quarterly review meetings so as to assess its
service delivery efficiency. In these review meetings the organization would invite
15

representatives from each sector which it serves or partner with in terms of service delivery,
so as to give its stakeholders to assess the effectiveness of the services being offered at
Pastoral care and counseling service.
SPECIAL OPPORTUNITIES
During my attachment period I had an opportunity to participate in the mental health
first aid training, this was really beneficial to me because it equipped me with the
knowledge on how to offer initial assistance to those people who will be having
various mental health issues, through this training Im now a certified mental health
first aider.
Through exposure to individual counseling session I managed to gain skills in
partaking counseling sessions, this opportunity equipped me on how to use various
diagnostic criteria which include the Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental disorder
(DSM) and the International Category of Mental disorder (ICD-10) when assisting
clients. I also managed to convert the theoretical knowledge that I gained back at
university into practice.
Exposure to didactic presentation also gave me an opportunity to broaden my
knowledge base in counseling through reading, this was one of my golden gained
opportunities it really helped me a lot in understanding the importance of researching
and reading.

As part of my assigned duties, I had to facility group counseling and

psychoeducational group meetings. This gave me an opportunity to put theoretical
knowledge into practical knowledge concerning group counseling and psycho
education. Moreover these Psychoeducation and group counseling also gave me an
opportunity to explore and identify my own counseling styles, this helped me to
become more creative and thus enhance my performance when facilitating group
counseling and Psychoeducation as well as modelling me to become so professional
in delivering this service to the people.

At Pastoral care and counseling services I had an opportunity to interact with people
from different walks of life. This kind of opportunity gave me an inordinate chance to
understand diverse cultures as well as understanding human diversity.

16

 Through networking meetings I had an opportunity to acquire communication skills,

and meeting procedures skills.
CHALLENGES

Failure to quickly adapt to the work place environment. During my work placement I
had to adapt to the working conditions which seemed to be a very hard task for me,
especially the fact that the organization didnt offer any allowances it was really a
challenge.

Since we work with some of the foreign volunteers at Pastoral Care and Counseling
Services there is a problem of language barrier when undertaking some of the
activities for example psychoeducational group meetings, at times you will be dealing
with an audience whereby most of the participants do not understand English so as
part of the facilitating team I had to translate the language so that it suit the audience.

As an attach I didnt get orientation when I got this placement, it was difficult for me
to partake some tasks since I didnt have any knowledge on how the organization
operates and how to do certain tasks.

HOW THE CHALLENGES WERE ADRESSED

The above listed challenges faced during the attachment period were addressed
through making personal adjustments in order to meet the work place objectives,
conditions and adapt to the work place environment. I had little time with my
supervisor, so I had to be a fast learner with the ability to grasp concepts quickly and
apply to practice, and when it comes to the issue regarding allowances it was just a
matter of understanding and accepting it as it is then just get along with it.

In short in order to address the challenges that I faced during my attachment period I
used the four As model by Steve Pavlina,
Assessment of the working environment.
Adopting the way of life at the place was next, followed by
Adaptation to the environment in it.
Adjustments to personal characteristics were made to suit the ups and downs found in
the working environments. Mastering time usage for extreme productivity and
overcoming procrastination of tasks were part of the strategies that I used to overcome
17

challenges. Setting of realistic goals, creations of action plans in case of crisis and
achievement of results were not left out either. In times of crisis, I realized the need to
confront and solve hard problems faced in working situation which I did with
confidence. I also engaged in self-motivation and cultivated a burning desire to keep
moving towards my goals.

CHAPTER 3: SWOT ANALYSIS OF THE ORGANISATION

18

An operational organization or institution have some visible strengths and weaknesses.

Pastoral care and counseling services is one of the best counseling services providers if not
the only one in Mutare. This is due to the fact that the organization unlike other service
providers is result oriented it owns some facilities which are suitable for providing counseling
services, it has very professional and well trained staff members and it engages the
community which makes its service provision to be exceptional if compared to other services
providers. If we make a thorough analyses of how far the organization has so far managed to
meet its objectives, missions and visions it can be noted that the organization is really
efficient because so far it has recorded quite a lot of success stories also it has received a lot
of positive response from the community to an extend that some people would refer and
recommend their relatives to come and seek for professional services at the organization.
Strengths of Pastoral care and counseling services.
Adequate facilities
Pastoral care and counseling services, though it is still growing it has adequate facilities
which make its service delivery more exceptional than other services providers. Through the
use of modern technology when delivering some trainings Pastoral care and counseling
services has set a pace in its teaching and trainings, this involves the use of projectors video
cameras and computers. Moreover whenever doing the individual counseling services it also
offers some reading materials to those who would have come for this services as a way of
helping the clients to recover. Below are the specific strengths that Ive managed to identify
and from my point of view it is through these strengths that the organization has done justice
in meeting its set objectives.
Community engagement.
Pastoral care and counseling services operated not only from its offices but it went on to
reach out those who are in need of their services in the community itself. This makes its
service deliverance a success and this have helped a lot in meeting its goals and achieving its
mission. Through Psychoeducation most youths both in school and out of school are reached
out and empowered on various aspects of life. Pastoral care and counseling services also
reaches out to some community based support group for example The Tafara widows support
group, which is a group of widows so as to empower them on issues that has to do with
mental health. Moreover besides the shortlisted, Pastoral care and counseling services is also
19

sensitive to the needs of the less privileged people, for example they offers support to the
hydrocephalus group and they also pay visits to the prisoners at Mutare Remand Prison.
Support for professional development
As a strength Pastoral care and counseling services does not only focus on the community at
large it also empowers its staff members to ensure that each staff member have some
professional skills. Through having some didactic presentation, staff development was
ensured so as to ensure professionalism in all staff members. A didactic it refers to an
educational teaching method that follows a consistent scientific approach or educational style
to engage the student's mind.
Educational support.
Besides offering counseling Pastoral care and counseling services also offers opportunities
for students to gain work related experiences. This is a strength because through the provision
of such an opportunity students will be empowered with practical experiences which cannot
be found through reading. Work placements opportunities are open to all students with
relevant degree programs which are related to the work done at Pastoral care and counseling
services irrespective of your religion, race, gender and your institution.
Knowledge Sharing
The staff at Pastoral care and counseling services is very cooperative and have a no holds
barred attitude to students on work related learning. Knowledge is disseminated to students
willingly and effectively. Pastoral care and counseling services has an open door policy
towards its employees and stakeholders.

Weaknesses of Pastoral care and counseling services

However they are also some weaknesses within the operation of this organization, these
weaknesses also impacts service delivery but however these weaknesses can be due to the
fact that the organization though its now established it is still growing and expanding. Below
are the specific weaknesses that Ive managed to identify:
.

20

Poor accessibility and visibility.

Pastoral care and counseling services office are located far from the Central business district
approximately 2 kilometers away. They are not strategically located, the offices have a poor
visibility which makes it difficult for those who are in need of the services to locate and
access help.
Poor financial status
The organization as for now has a poor financial status. This has resulted in the organization
facing difficulties in meeting its objectives and goals as planned. For example every week as
an organization we were supposed to reach out some youth at Tariro Orphanage but due to the
fact we only had one vehicle which was not in good condition we had to cancel some of the
activities. This really impacted Pastoral care and counseling services because as an
organization it cannot not afford to purchase another vehicle so as to easily ensure its reach
out.
Uncompetitive incentives and poor performance appraisal.
Pastoral care and counseling services offers less non-monetary incentives to its volunteering
staff members, the fact that the volunteering team are the ones that do most of the field work,
there are no remuneration given to them. Workers are motivated if at least they get a token of
appreciation and at least even when they get transport allowances. Besides offering
incentives, oral appraisal can also act as a way of motivating workers than ignoring wellperformed tasks.

21

CHAPTER 4: PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT.

Formal learning course.
The main objectives of the training programme was to:

Apply gained academic theoretical knowledge in counseling into practice.

Gain experience in Counseling and psychotherapy concepts

Grasp all ethical and legal requirements in psychotherapy and counseling

To understand intervention skills in counseling.

To be able to do client assessment and come up with a treatment plan

To understand therapeutic relationships in psychotherapy.

To understand individual differences and multicultural awareness in counseling and

psychotherapy.

To gain experience in various counseling theoretical orientations

In order to attain these objectives during my work placement period I managed to pass
through two formal learning courses that is counseling and psychotherapy as well as mental
health first aid training.
Counseling and psychotherapy
During my work related learning I attended and facilitated counseling sessions. Counseling
according to Nelson-Jones (2005) is a process which involves the counselor and counselee
whereby they combine their efforts so as to assist the counselee to effectively address their
psychological problems. I was exposed to individual and group counseling sessions where I
would use the theoretical skills that I gained at university regarding counseling and
psychotherapy to facilitate sessions. It was through this experience that I managed to
familiarize myself with appropriate knowledge that surrounds counseling and psychotherapy.
Relevance

22

According to Gross (2010) Psychology refers to the scientific study of human behavior. In
psychology they are various divisions, this implies that psychologists works in different areas
for example they are educational psychologists who works in the educational sectors, forensic
psychologists who specializes in issues to do with criminals, counseling psychologist etc.
Gross (2009) states that a counseling psychologist is a professional who helps people to talk
openly, express their feelings, explore problems more deeply, and see these problems from
different perspectives. Problems may include school phobia, marriage crises and traumatic
experiences or another psychological problems and the counsellor can adopt a more or less
directive approach to address these problems. So counseling and psychotherapy is relevant
due to the fact that it is one of the subdivision of psychology. It is through this course I
manage to carry out programs of psychotherapy, both group and individual psychotherapy
using the theoretical knowledge and skills that I gained at Midlands State University through
courses like Counseling in Psychology (PSY 204) and Counseling skills and processes (PSY
217).
Mental health first aid
According to World Health Organisation Mental health refers to a state of emotional and
psychological well-being in which an individual is able to use his or her cognitive and
emotional capabilities, function in society, and meet the ordinary demands of everyday life
and mental health first aid refers to the provision of initial health to those who will be in a
mental health crisis. Through mental health first aid training I was trained on how to provide
initial help to those who will be in a mental health crisis before referring them to some
professional service providers.
Relevance
This course is relevant to my degree program in that it broadened my knowledge base
concerning various mental health issues which are found in the society and their impact in the
society and it enhanced my knowledge on various therapeutic modalities which are used to
deal with different kinds of problems. This course was more or less enhancing or cementing
the knowledge that we gained at university through courses like Psychopathology (PSY 202),
mental health (PSY 116) and community psychology (PSY 212) which more or less
empowered us on various mental health challenges that are found our society.

23

Key development skills.

Interpersonal skills
At college I interacted much with students who had backgrounds similar to mine. Being
a person groomed in a medium family in Manicaland, I wasnt comfortable with interacting
with people from other backgrounds. The work related experience changed me, I was forced
to

interact

with

people

from

different

countries.

Having been exposed to an

environment where people from different race meet I had to adapt and later I began to enjoy
talking to almost all varieties of people.
Initiative skills
At first I was very reluctant to carry out new tasks without asking my co-workers. I used to
wait for them until they came. As far as field work is concerned I had to be more creative so
as to enhance our psychoeducational meetings. I developed skills in preparing
Psychoeducation materials with interesting words, acronyms and writing quiz questions for
some youths.
Planning skills
Planning all activities was one of the daily routines at Pastoral care and counseling services,
planning involved writing presentation notes for the psychoeducational group meetings as
well as didactic presentation and assembling resources for the activities. Thus the skill for
planning and preparing for psychoeducational group meetings and didactic presentations
helped me to become a responsible and organized person as it enabled me to understand
crucial aspects in the functioning of an organization thereby ensuring a timeous intervention
by organizing necessary resources to be used.
Minute Taking

24

I also learnt that one of the most essential entity at any operational organization is record
keeping. Whenever we hold executives meetings, I learnt that you have write down
everything i.e. the matters arising and all the issues being discussed and then when you hold
another meeting you have to present all the things you discussed in the previous meeting. I
learnt that I have to be fast in writing, concentration levels and always paying attention to
what is being said furthermore one must have good written and spoken communications skills
in order to be a good minute taker.
Presentation skills
During the attachment one thing l learnt is that there are training programs where as an
interns we are expected to give lectures or facilitate psychoeducational group meetings. In
order for such psychoeducational group meetings to be meaningfully and to be a success,
there is need to have virtuous presentation skills, even when presenting feedback before my
seniors and other working colleagues. I acquired presentation skills since they aided me in
understanding and developing confidence.
PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT.
In terms of my personal development, the attachment period exposed and introduce me to
new adventures which l believe will have a long way impact in continuously creating a
competent individual in myself .There are quite a number of aspects which l learnt and Ive
planned to make them a permanent feature of my life . However during my first time at
Pastoral care and counseling services area I had some personal weaknesses too and I engaged
various skills in order to address these weaknesses. My strengths were:
Good Communication Skills
I managed to apply practically the communication skills that I learnt from one of my
academic courses i.e. English and communication skills which I did during my first semester
at Midlands State University. I never faced problems in making or answering phone calls
from different people even whenever clients come for counseling I talked to them nicely and
in a professional manner.
Ability to work under minimum supervision

25

I was able to accomplish all the tasks we were taught even during the absence of my seniors.
My mother instilled this strength in me since she never tolerated us to wait to be

told to perform daily

chores. So I never waited to be told to perform tasks I was familiar to. However my problem
was on performing new tasks without supervision.

Weaknesses at the beginning of Work Related Learning and how they were addressed.
Lack of confidence
During the beginning of the internship I had problems with socializing with many people, I
lacked confidence. I lacked this skill when talking to my supervisor or even to those who
would want to be served. However, later on I adapted to the working environment. I could
even complete my assigned tasks with a clear notion that I was doing the right thing. I
became able to say out my findings, explain them in detail and defend them against criticism.
I also later discovered that going to work does not mean that one has to be always glued in
doing work related activities only but rather one has opportunities of meeting and interacting
with people of different classes and social background .Thus the attachment period in terms
of personal development helped me to create a network of friends that have usefulness in my
life time .The importance of this social interaction is that it enable me to grow spiritually ,
develop confidence in myself and discover who iam.
Negative attitude towards teamwork
Personal I feel more comfortable with lone hunting than team work, the way I was socialized
I was exposed to an environment where I have to work with many people or working as a
26

team. However at Pastoral care and counseling services working as a team was one of the
objectives, this forced me to build negative attitude towards group or team working since I
didnt value that due to my background. At Pastoral care and counseling services I was
treated as a significant teammate. My contributions were recognized and appreciated. There
was high morale in team working since its results were more effective than individual results.
Thus the work related learning enabled me to begin to value team working.
Lack of organizational skills
At first I could not organize my resources effectively. I could not accomplish most of my
tasks on time. However towards the end of the Work Related Learning I had developed these
skills through one of my supervisors.
Poor time management skills.
During the beginning of my internship I had challenges in managing my time, in most cases I
would arrive at work late. I would not complete my task on time. I managed to attend to this
problem by prioritizing, planning my work and setting some goals. This enabled me to
perform the most important tasks first and then others later. One thing that lacked in me in
doing my work was punctuality .I believe this was because of long periods of time which we
are given at college to do assignments .However this is not so with real work practice as there
are a lot of tasks that has to be finished within a shorter deadline or time frame. If one was
not punctual at work and also in doing task assigned, one would always have a backlog of
work .Thus the work related pressure taught me to be punctual and always finish my work on
time so as avoid backlog.
Mishandling of social life challenges.
Balancing personal needs and organizational needs .As the demand of social life take a
significant proportion of time .If not properly managed , one is bound to use work time to
solve social issues thereby affecting service delivery for the organization .Indeed in the early
days of being attached , this was a challenge but with time l was them able to separate social
life that can be carried to a work environment and those that needed a home set up .This
helped me to be able to interact with others quite well thereby developing good interpersonal
relations with other work peers .
27

HANDLING CONFLICT BETWEEN PERSONAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL

OBJECTIVES.
There was time when I was supposed to meet my assignments deadline and keeping my file
up to date. This time conflicted with the work tasks I was assigned to by my seniors. Also the
organization had one computer, which was supposed to be used by all my workmates. I
managed to address this issue by using my personal computer so as to partake my assigned
duties on time and also I had to come earlier to work so that I can have all my work done.

CHAPTER 5: RECOMMENDATION AND CONCLUSION.

Recommendations to Pastoral care and counseling services
I would recommend Pastoral care and counseling services to have orientation with its
newly recruited members, orientation is very helpful in that it helps the newly placed
members to have a basic knowledge base on how the organisation operates and it
equips new members with the knowledge of what is required from them, their tasks
and responsibilities thereby it makes work easier for new members.

Whenever reaching out in the community Pastoral care and counseling services
should also organize some workshops with the guardians of those who have mental
illness so that they will have enough information about this problem because some
problems are able to be controlled.

I also recommend the organization to have at least a functional, printed and displayed
code of conduct, this helps interns to understand better on what is required by their
superiors.

Recommendations to Midlands State University

28

Occasional visits by the college officials to the students place of work. This is
beneficial in checking progress with the student and supervisors. Besides having two
visits, I think at least three visits by lectures can be helpful to the students.

The college needs to clarify its requirements and expected results of attachment to the
organizations which takes in students for attachment, constantly so that the learning
procedure is fruitful. Otherwise it can be said that baby dumping is done for
students during the attachment period.

All departments should come with a laid out attachment program just course outlines
that specify what students are supposed to know .this will also help host organization
to properly guide students during the attachment period.

Conclusion
The work related learning placement period at Pastoral care and counseling services
empowered me with an immeasurably valuable experience, which nurtured me into a more
capable professional. Skills have been gained technically, professionally and socially. These
will be used for post-graduation days as he moves into the industry full time. Exposure to
different aspects of psychotherapy has helped me in choosing an area of specific interest. It
has added an ability to visualize the importance of group work and delegation. Attachment at

29

Pastoral

care

and

counseling

services

was

an

eye-opener

30

31

and a platform to improve on areas of incompetence. This period at Pastoral care an

counseling services really transformed me into a responsible student who is capable of
working competently in the industry. It really gave me hand full experience of the real
working environment. I was able to familiarize myself with new ideas and aspects in the

32

industry.

33

34

The theory that I learnt at school has been transformed to something tangible. I now hav
a different stance to the modules that I will learn at school because of the knowledge tha
I gained during my attachment. I have also been transformed personally by the challenges that
faced during my internship period as well as the responsibilities that I were given during my
internship. I am able to critically analyze situations and make rational decisions
n

critical

circumstances

Regular

reporting

to

the

supervisor,

att

35

36

REFFERENCE
Corey, G. (2005). Theory and practice of counseling 5th edition, USA: Thomson
Gross, R. (2010).The science of human mind and behavior, 6th edition, UK: Hodder education
Gross, R. (2009).The science of human mind and behavior, 4th edition, UK: Hodder
education
McLeod, J. (2009). An Introduction to Counselling, Fourth Edition, England: McGraw Hill

Nelson-Jones, R. (2005). Practical counseling and helping skills, 5th edition, India: Sage
publication

Comer, R.J. (2010). Abnormal psychology, New York: Worth Publishers

37

DECLARATION
I declare that this work related learning report is my own work and that all the sources that I
have used or quoted have been indicated and acknowledged by means of complete
references

SIGNATURE OF PARTIES TO THE AGREEMENT

This document has been completed and agreed by the following
Name:.
Role:
Signature:

Name:
Role:..
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Signature:
Name:
Role:..
Signature:

DATE:.
STAMP

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