First outing with a new kid client

@TheHorse (238284)
Walnut Creek, California
November 18, 2015 9:04pm CST
I was actually a little nervous earlier today before my first outing with a new kid client. His notes said he had anger issues and often went silent. He's 12, and likes soccer. I took him to my favorite climbing place, Black Diamond Mines, in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area. He had told me he'd been on a field trip there with his class, so I knew it wouldn't totally unfamiliar to him. As it turned out, we had a great time. He talked away the whole time, largely about soccer (I talked some about baseball and softball), and we explored several trails. He's an excellent hiker, and we wound up climbing up my favorite rock wall from the back, a difficult route I rarely use. I'll attach a picture of the front of the rock wall which we used on the way down. It's actually a lot less difficult than it looks. I blabbed a bit about miner's lettuce, Manzanita, poison oak, and snakes, and he listened well to my "educational" ramblings. We also hiked up to two shafts that a kind Park Ranger told us were air shafts for the mines. All in all, a really good first outing.
9 people like this
9 responses
@Lucky15 (37391)
• Philippines
19 Nov 15
Looks like the "notes" gave you the opposite ;) Love the picture
2 people like this
@TheHorse (238284)
• Walnut Creek, California
19 Nov 15
Yes, he was very talkative. But I'm sure I'll meet his sullen or angry side at some point.
@yukimori (10193)
• United States
19 Nov 15
I don't know why, but I'm always amazed by how similar to my area the pictures you post are. Our manzanita doesn't grow quite so big, though. It sounds like you guys had a great outing. Things like that really work wonders for those kids... I had a CPS caseworker do something similar with me when I was about 9-10ish, and it helped a ton.
2 people like this
@TheHorse (238284)
• Walnut Creek, California
19 Nov 15
Where exactly are you? We have several different kinds of Manzanita, but I'm not good at telling them apart.
• Preston, England
19 Nov 15
Such a great way to deal with your client's issues - beats endlessly talking through the problems in an office
@TheHorse (238284)
• Walnut Creek, California
19 Nov 15
Precisely! I don't know if it's more so with boys (I work mostly with boys in this job), but I find that they like to MOVE, whether it's playing catch or hiking. The "relationship" and conversations flow from there.
1 person likes this
• Preston, England
19 Nov 15
@TheHorse he's a very lucky kid in that sense - hope you reach him on his issues too
@TheHorse (238284)
• Walnut Creek, California
19 Nov 15
@arthurchappell Thanks. One we've established a relationship (and the honeymoon phase is over), I'll try to help him develop tools to deal with whatever makes him angry or shut down, as his notes say. But for the first few outings (hopefully), it's sports and hiking.
1 person likes this
@moondebi (1199)
• Bangalore, India
19 Nov 15
Nice way to mingle with a new client.
1 person likes this
@TheHorse (238284)
• Walnut Creek, California
19 Nov 15
It's actually one of my favorite things to do with my adult friends too. My inner 12-year-old boy gets restless just sitting around.
@LadyDuck (502251)
• Italy
19 Nov 15
I am glad that this first outing has been successful, a good feeling it's important. People think that climbing is hard, but coming down is even harder.
1 person likes this
@TheHorse (238284)
• Walnut Creek, California
19 Nov 15
You're right! Coming down can be harder! Nothing we did yesterday was extremely hard, though.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (381931)
• Rockingham, Australia
19 Nov 15
I should imagine the first outing with a child is always a bit of an unknown. Glad it went well.
1 person likes this
@TheHorse (238284)
• Walnut Creek, California
19 Nov 15
Thanks. I'm always worried we wont "bond," but I find that with most kids, doing stuff that makes them feel good about themselves makes them enjoy interacting with me as well.
@Rollo1 (16676)
• Boston, Massachusetts
19 Nov 15
You got a great response from him. Maybe he falls silent around others because he knows they stopped listening?
@TheHorse (238284)
• Walnut Creek, California
19 Nov 15
Good point. I'll try to observe his interactions around family. A lot of the kids I work with don't "heard" that much around the home.
@marlina (154103)
• Canada
19 Nov 15
It is wonderful that the first outing went so well.
@TheHorse (238284)
• Walnut Creek, California
19 Nov 15
I felt a sense of relief after. But while we were out, I was having fun (and was glad he was too).
@DeborahDiane (40844)
• Laguna Woods, California
19 Nov 15
Going on a hike is a wonderful way to build a relationship with a young client. That was a good idea.
@TheHorse (238284)
• Walnut Creek, California
19 Nov 15
I find that boys love "showing what they can do" while hiking, with a little climbing thrown in. And the conversation happens naturally along the way.