This is a data log and reports for a project I did for my counseling class featuring a dysphagia patient from Salinas Valley Health. This patient is also featured in swallowing artifact 3. This project supported my learning in informational counseling, emotional counseling, family involvement, and professional collaboration. Counseling is an important aspect of dysphagia care in supporting person-centered approaches and quality of life (Lawton, 2022). Informational counseling was especially useful with this client and their family when educating them on safe swallowing strategies, risks, assessment results, and recommendations. Biofeedback from instrumental assessments aided this patient in a greater understanding of his swallow function. Emotional counseling also played a role, as the patient and his family were understandably discouraged that the patient was not safe for oral intake after a lengthy hospitalization. Motivational interviewing was successful in encouraging the patient's participation in treatment with a very clear goal of oral intake (Hoepner, 2024). This opportunity benefited my clinical skills of educating, active listening, reiterating strengths and progress, and navigating difficult conversations. I also had the privilege of attending my first palliative care meeting. Thus far, this patient has made the greatest impact on my career, and his story motivates me to continue working in acute care.  

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Lawton, J. (2022). Counseling Clients With Dysphagia: A Resource for Clinicians. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 7(3), 807–815. https://doi.org/10.1044/2022_persp-21-00263

This is a reflection paper from my experience in the Adult Language Clinic. At this point in my graduate career, my counseling skills were very limited. My client was struggling to complete an aphasia therapy task and began to engage in negative self-talk and repeatedly apologized to me. With the skills I possessed at the time, I tried to encourage him and reduce task complexity. That moment haunted me, with thoughts that I did not have the skills to emotionally support clients. I wish I would've allowed more time for him to share his feelings and opened up an opportunity for further discussion. I now encounter similar situations daily in my skilled nursing externship. I know that basic counseling skills and therapeutic relationships can easily be implemented into therapy to support the grief and stress associated with loss due to aphasia (Pompon, 2021). I am proud of the growth I have made in clinical counseling.  

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Pompon, R. H. (2021). Basic Counseling Skills: Working With People With Aphasia and Their Families. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 6(5), 1003–1014. https://doi.org/10.1044/2021_persp-20-00298

These are presentations I created with Kelsi Branson for the caregiver support group at the Adult Language Clinic. I led this clinic weekly through the fall and winter semesters of 2023. A more thorough description of my winter experience is featured in the special projects section of this portfolio. These particular examples focus on memory education and strategies, caregiver strengths, and navigating the holiday season. These participants enlightened me on the demands, burden, and burnout of caregiving. Many sessions included both education and emotional counseling. The sessions focused on holistic well-being, self-care, cognitive-communicative education, and facilitating strategies through resources and support (Moss et al., 2019; Pompon, 2021). These sessions provided an open and safe place for sharing and active listening while creating an environment of community, friendship, and support. This experience fostered my understanding of the importance of caregiver involvement and helped develop my basic counseling skills.  

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Moss, K. O., Kurzawa, C., Daly, B., & Prince-Paul, M. (2019). Identifying and Addressing Family Caregiver Anxiety. Journal of hospice and palliative nursing : JHPN : the official journal of the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association, 21(1), 14–20. https://doi.org/10.1097/NJH.0000000000000489

Pompon, R. H. (2021). Basic Counseling Skills: Working With People With Aphasia and Their Families. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 6(5), 1003–1014. https://doi.org/10.1044/2021_persp-20-00298