Each month, the 'Day in the Life' series offers PACFA members the opportunity to share their personal and professional experience as dedicated Practising & Registered Clinical Counsellors and Registered Clinical Psychotherapists who embody the art and science of holding space for others.
This month, we follow the day with Registered Clinical Counsellor Ronald Hoang.
About Ronald
Growing up I struggled to make any kind of meaningful relationship. I couldn’t connect with others, I struggled to communicate, building trust felt impossible. In every single one of my report cards at school my teachers would comment about how quiet I was. I remember two of my teachers in 3rd/4th grade were so concerned for me that they spent part of their mornings just trying to make me laugh.
In high school I was part of several different social groups, never staying long enough in one or the other – I was accepted everywhere but belonged nowhere. I learned what it truly meant to be lonely.
It wasn’t that I didn’t want to connect, I just couldn’t. I moved four different schools in six years. As a young child I learned that there was no point making any meaningful connections because I would inevitably lose them. So, I kept to myself to protect myself.
It wasn’t until I was 18 years old where I finally made my first real connection. For the first time in my life, I felt seen. From that one experience, I learned that relationships aren’t just an important thing, they’re everything. And that the quality of our relationships shapes the quality of our lives. It was this experience that planted the seeds for my career in becoming a counsellor. I wanted others to experience the same in their own relationships - to have meaningful, connected and authentic relationships with their loved ones.
Qualifications & Training
I went on to complete a Bachelors degree in Psychology at Macquarie University, then a Graduate Diploma in Counselling at ACAP. I’ve become a PACFA Registered Clinical Counsellor and member of the College of Counselling. I am trained in Emotionally-Focused Therapy, Post-Milan Systemic Therapy, Gottman Method, Play Therapy Dimensions and Child Inclusive Practice.
I work with couples, individuals, families and children in enhancing their relationships. I help clients with communication, conflict, trust, commitment, connection, intimacy, infidelity, betrayal, trauma and family problems. I specialise in working with couples to improve their communication, supporting couples to heal from infidelity and provide family therapy for adult family members.
It’s been almost a decade now, and I can’t believe I’m working my dream job!
A Day in the Life of Registered Clinical Counsellor, Ronald
7:00am: Frankie & coffee
It’s early in the morning and I’m woken up by sniffing followed by several licks to the face. It’s Frankie. My one-year-old Boston Terrier who seems to have an innate ability to wake up earlier than I would like to. I get up. Not because I want to, but because Frankie is absolutely certain that it’s the right time to get out of bed. He’s a very persistent pup.
My morning routine consists of taking care of the dog, my wife and the coffee. I love making espresso coffee in the morning – the smell, sight, taste, touch, sound. It’s a wholistic sensory and grounding experience and I don’t even drink the coffee myself - that’s for my wife! Anyway, it’s off to work.
8:30-9:30am: Failing to plan is planning to fail
I’m a planner. I plan out my day, I prepare my client sessions for the day and my client sessions for the next day. I believe in being well prepared for clients, and I think they sense it in my approach. It provides them with a sense of safety and direction (and perhaps for myself too!).
9:30-5:00pm: Clients
The bulk of my day is spent seeing clients (not too surprising, I hope). I believe good therapy involves the integration of the cognitive, emotional and experiential in order to create lasting change. I work as an educated guide through each of those dimensions, whilst my clients are the experts of their own lives, and we work collaboratively to achieve what they hope for.
I am diligent about client notes. It’s my way to put clients away for the day and make sure no unexpected visitors come home with me.
6:00pm: To save a drowning person you need to save yourself first
Rituals help delineate transitions in time, without rituals we live in ambiguity where lines are blurred and boundaries can be crossed. I put work away when I pack my laptop and I transition out of work clothes – a message to my mind and body “I’m done for today.” It’s my way of taking care of myself, and I spend the rest of my day not being a counsellor - instead being a husband, a son, a friend, and a (ever so slightly sleep deprived) dog owner.
Connect with Ronald
Website
LinkedIn profile