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Warm Up on the Beach

Self-Evaluation Paper ~ Jessica K. Bower
Chadron State College ~ Dr. Woods ~ Dec. 14, 2022


 

Strengths
   I must admit that when I discovered this course included practicing counseling skills with fellow students, I was intimidated. I instantly found myself critiquing everything that came out of my mouth, which does not make for effective counseling, but is excellent for practicing. During our practice sessions, I realized that I was great at putting myself in my client’s shoes and relating to their situation. From that point, I could imagine what conflicts or struggles they might be dealing with. I guess you could say that I am able to track where someone is going and what they are experiencing rather quickly, in most situations. Throughout this course, I discovered that this skill comes with drawbacks as well as benefits, but I will discuss in this more in the needs improvement section of this paper.
   I think that my ability to virtually experience what a client might be experiencing drives my choice of counseling skill in these experiences. I try to imagine what counseling skill might be most effective in drawing out what a client wants to share and work on, based on where they are and what they are experiencing.
   I would say that I also have fairly in tuned observation skills. I am able to recognize when a client is uncomfortable, holding back, being evasive, feels afraid, is comfortable with our interaction. For as long as I can remember, I have had highly attuned observation skills. I believe these skills will help me to identify what clients might be saying nonverbally, so that I can adjust my approach when necessary. 
Development
   As I mentioned earlier, practicing counseling skills in this class was intimidating for me in the beginning. I noticed that as I continued to practice, I was more confident in what I was doing well, and I was more able to recognize when I was off on a skill or interaction. I also found that labeling counseling skills was an excellent way to keep track of what I was doing and why, in a practice session. This course taught me how to identify and develop each counseling skill in a concrete manner and demystified the counseling process a little. I found this extremely helpful in my development as I am now able to identify a specific skill and practice it.
   I am not sure if I have actually improved my use of counseling skills during this course or if I simply became aware of which skills I use most and how to improve those skills, as well as employ new skills. I realized that I could increase my open questions, improve how I reflect feelings and meaning, and paraphrase in a more open manner. For example, I recognized that most of my reflections and paraphrasing was said in a way that assumed I was right, rather than allowing the client an out if I wasn’t hearing them right. I think the biggest takeaway from this course is a clearer picture of which counseling skills I need improve and which counseling skills come more naturally to me.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Needs Improvement
   Some of the counseling skills I have noticed I could improvement are increasing open questions, adjusting my style of reflecting feeling and meaning, and paraphrasing in a less assuming way. As I practiced in our sessions and completed the transcript assignment, I realized that I ask a lot of closed questions and few open questions. I also noticed that I reflected meaning and feeling, as well as paraphrased in a way that assumes I am understanding the client right. I noticed this most when I completed the transcript assignment. I don’t know that it is terrible to reflect meaning/feeling or paraphrase the way I do, but I feel like I should be aware that I am doing it this way, so I can make adjustments when I feel that they might be beneficial to the client. For example, if I were working with a Japanese client, my style of paraphrasing might be too confrontational for them. This particular client would be more comfortable if I softened my reflections and paraphrasing and used more open questions
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Growth & Awareness
   This course has taught me a great deal about my counseling skills and style. One of the most important areas of growth that I have experienced due to my participation in this course is simply getting started. Up until now, most of my coursework has covered theoretical book knowledge. Although this knowledge has been invaluable, it never involved actual counseling practice, the way this course has. I was extremely nervous about practicing my counseling skills but being forced to just start doing it in this class, has made a huge difference. Now, I am less concerned about perfection and more interested in continuing to learn and apply that to future interactions with clients.
   Practicing my counseling skills has not only helped me to overcome some of my apprehension around learning how to counsel others, but it has also revealed some things I did not recognize regarding my counseling style. For example, I am very quick to assume that I know what the client is trying to communicate or what it most important in their communication with me. I am not entirely sure that this is problematic, as I have noticed that most people I have practiced with seem to feel heard and understood. However, I am aware that I move quickly in a session, and this may not be suitable for some clients and some issues.
   Although I have not fully processed how I will integrate what I have learned from this course into my continued practice as a counselor, I do feel that awareness is one of the most important elements of continual growth and improvement. This course has increased my awareness of which counseling skills I can improve and which counseling skills I naturally utilize often. Having this knowledge gives me a place to work from, as I move forward in the learning process.

   


 

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