Friday, February 25, 2011

It may be "new", but is it better?

A few thoughts on the need for change for its own sake...which could be applied to counselling and supervision, and which seem appropriate on the "day that's in it", as I write (Polling Day in Ireland).

I'm in a fairly remote part of Mid West Ireland. We have had no "proper" (as in well-known provider) broadband facility, until earlier this month - and I have been using a locally owned wireless broadband service. I've had it for 3 years, and it's only really been working well for the last 3 months, after they added an American-made "bullet" to the dish, which amplifies the signal I receive from a mast about 10 miles away.

Then, last week, I got a flier in the letter box saying that "The National Broadband Scheme" had arrived in my area (it was vaunted all over the press about 4 years ago). It's a service that uses a plug-in modem from 3G and the mast is less than 3 miles from my house, high on a hill. The monthly charge is half the cost of my current service. I rang the call centre (it's in India) and was told that the connection would be "excellent", given my proximity to the mast. What did I have to lose? I signed-up over the phone and the modem arrived on Tuesday.

I've just got back from the post office, having returned the modem and cancelled my direct debit for the 3G service - and I'm glad I didn't cancel my existing ISP. The "excellent" coverage is extremely slow, jerky and nowhere near as good as the existing one (which can still be pretty poor on a bad day).

So much for the much-vaunted National Broadband Scheme, and my high expectations of it. Just because something is new and "hyped-up" doesn't mean it's going to be better than what you have already. Similarly, if something is familiar and the shine has worn off it a bit, it doesn't mean it's not worth having.

Perhaps counselling clients feel that way about you, especially if they've been attending for several months. They could be swayed with views about the "new kid on the block", who worked wonders for Auntie Joan. You might be thinking that about your supervision, too, and be filled with envy about your colleague who claims to have struck gold by finding the world's best supervisor.

If something isn't working, you may need to see if it can be fixed before you throw it out and look for the reasons why it's not working anymore - and this may be particularly valid if it was working and has now stopped.

Perhaps the least useful thing to do is immediately find a replacement, just because it sounds better. Because, you might end up gong to the metaphorical post office and sending it back within a week!

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