essay on personal development in counselling

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Reflective Practice and Personal Development in Counselling and Psychotherapy (2nd ed) Bager-Charleson et al..

2020, Bager-Charleson, S (ed) with du Plock, S., van Rijn, B. and Wright, J (2020) Reflective Practice and Personal Development in Counselling and Psychotherapy. 2nd ed. London: Sage

Reflective practice is a vital part of counselling and psychotherapy training and practice. This is the second edition of a 'go-to' introduction to what it involves, why it is important, and how to use different models for reflection and reflective practice to enhance work with clients. It aims to support personal development and professional development throughout your counselling training and into practice.

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Reflective Practice in Psychotherapy and Counselling Author: Jacqui Stedmon, Rudi Dallos ISBN-13: 9780335233618 Pub Date: SEPTEMBER 2010 Price ... Teaching Travel and Tourism 14+ Author: Cliff Huggett, Deborah Pownall ISBN-13: 9780335238262 (Soft cover) ISBN-13 ...

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Reflective practice is process of inquiry where educators reflect on their setting and think about what they may change. It is about considering how everyday ‘happenings’ shape thinking and influence decision making. Said to enhance teaching and learning, reflective practice is not a one off process rather a cycle of ongoing learning that occurs when educators take the time to stop and think, even momentarily.

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Lynn Clouder

Fernando Batista

"Maybe reflective practices offer us a way of trying to make sense of the uncertainty in our workplaces and the courage to work competently and ethically at the edge of order and chaos…" (Ghaye, 2000, p.7) Reflective practice has burgeoned over the last few decades throughout various fields of professional practice and education. In some professions it has become one of the defining features of competence, even if on occasion it has been adopted-mistakenly and unreflectively-to rationalise existing practice. The allure of the 'reflection bandwagon' lies in the fact that it 'rings true' (Loughran, 2000). Within different disciplines and intellectual traditions, however, what is understood by 'reflective practice' varies considerably (Fook et al, 2006). Multiple and contradictory understandings of reflective practice can even be found within the same discipline. Despite this, some consensus has been achieved amid the profusion of definitions. In general, reflective practice is understood as the process of learning through and from experience towards gaining new insights of self and/or practice (Boud et al 1985; Boyd and Fales, 1983; Mezirow, 1981, Jarvis, 1992). This often involves examining assumptions of everyday practice. It also tends to involve the individual practitioner in being self-aware and critically evaluating their own responses to practice situations. The point is to recapture practice experiences and mull them over critically in order to gain new understandings and so improve future practice. This is understood as part of the process of lifelong learning. Beyond these broad areas of agreement, however, contention and difficulty reign. There is debate about the extent to which practitioners should focus on themselves as individuals rather than the larger social context. There are questions about how, when, where and why reflection should take place. For busy professionals short on time, reflective practice is all too easily applied in bland, mechanical, unthinking ways,

Development of professional practice through reflection, including an originally created model of reflection.

ali hassanyn

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Samantha Fontaine

Petra Kuenkel

What does it mean to be a reflective practitioner? Is reflection something I write in a journal after work or perhaps it is something I do in clinical super-vision? Is reflection a technology I might be exposed to on an educational course? Is it simply a form of thinking that I do anyway? Or is it a way of being within everyday practice that makes me more mindful of the ways I think, feel and respond to situations? Is it a particular style of leadership? Perhaps it is all of these things and more? In response to these questions, I am going to suggest a typology of reflective practices that moves from doing reflection towards reflection as a way of being within everyday practice (Box 1.1). I suspect that many practitioners consider reflection as reflection-on-experience or reflection-on-action (Schön 1987): looking back at 'an experience' or some event that has taken place. The idea of an 'experience' is difficult to grasp: where does one experience begin and another ...

Franziska Trede

Kirsty Carmichael

Background: Reflective practice is regarded as a key competency in managing the complexity and uniqueness of clinical work (Schon, 1983). However, the dearth of research combined with the methodological limitations of how this concept has been explored has limited our understanding of how reflective practice is being used in clinical practice, particularly outside of a training context. Design: This project is presented as a thesis portfolio, which includes a systematic review of qualitative literature on the uses of reflective practice among qualified therapists’, an empirical study exploring clinical psychologists’ experiences of how they use reflective practice in their clinical work, an extended methodology chapter, and a discussion and critical evaluation chapter. Results: The systematic review produced eight studies, and within these seven interrelated themes emerged, which were encapsulated by two overarching themes: the value of reflective practice and conceptualising reflec...

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Personal Development in Counselling and Psychotherapy

• Sofie Bager-Charleson - Metanoia Institute
• Description

See what’s new to this edition by selecting the Features tab on this page. Should you need additional information or have questions regarding the HEOA information provided for this title, including what is new to this edition, please email [email protected] . Please include your name, contact information, and the name of the title for which you would like more information. For information on the HEOA, please go to http://ed.gov/policy/highered/leg/hea08/index.html .

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SAGE 2455 Teller Road Thousand Oaks, CA 91320 www.sagepub.com

Personal development is an ongoing process for practitioners and this book provides practical guidance and activities to enable the process.

This book is invaluable for all students embarking on their training to becoming counsellors and psychotherapists. It highlights the importance of Personal Development as an integral part of being a counsellor and shows how theory links to practice. The case studies and activities promote reflection and assist students in their personal development process.

Students particularly enjoy the case studies and linking the theory to practice. Personal development is key to any career and students are encouraged to reflect on their own personal development throughout the course. This book provides a variety of reflection points and activities that engage students in their own learning process. The reflection points can also be used by lecturers during class to focus students' learning.

Highly appropriate material for students experiencing personal development through counselling training.

A fantastic personal development book. Easy to read and understand.

Required reading for counselling students- very few suitable texts on this subject availiable

As personal development is an essential part of the leaning via the courses we deliver this book has been recommended for students. Many of the exercises from the book are planned into self-awareness sessions on the scheme of work

This text provides students with a good introduction to different elements of personal development in a counselling context.

found this accessable and easy for students to read covered subject matter clearly

Excellent and very clear text introducing students to the idea of personal development. Easy to follow, with suggested activities which really do assist the reader in getting to grips with this sometimes hazy topic.

Preview this book

For instructors, select a purchasing option, related products.

108 – Personal Development as a Counsellor

108 – Linking Theory to Personal Development as a Counsellor

Writing letters to other professionals – working with a client’s emotional age.

In episode 108 of the Counselling Tutor Podcast, Ken Kelly and Rory Lees-Oakes describe why it is important to link theory to your personal development as a counsellor , and how you can do so. In ‘Practice Matters’, Rory explains how to write letters to other professionals . Finally, the presenters discuss the challenges of working with a client’s emotional – as opposed to chronological – age .

Linking Theory to Personal Development as a Counsellor (starts at 1.44 mins)

Why might you wish to link theory to your own personal development as a counsellor? Ken and Rory suggest that there are four key reasons to do so:

• As a counsellor, you are going to be applying theory to your clients’ development – so it makes sense and is consistent to apply it to your own too .
• Linking theory to your own development gives you a better understanding of your own process , increasing your self-awareness and so making you a more effective and safer therapist .
• Your ability to link theory to your personal development as a counsellor is often assessed through assignments on counselling training courses.
• Even after you qualify, continuing to apply theory to self (including any new theories learned through continuing professional development) is interesting and developmental .

This is a topic that crops up regularly in our Facebook group (where you’ll find over 22,000 others involved in counselling and psychotherapy, including students, qualified counsellors, supervisors and tutors).

Ken and Rory offer several tips on how you can link theory to your own personal development:

• Make a list of the key terms from the theory of your modality ; keeping this in front of you, go through each term and reflect on how this might apply to you yourself.
• Try using the Johari window , working with peers on your course to learn about parts of you that others might see but you can’t – so broadening your view of self.
• Consider writing an unsent letter (a gestalt-therapy technique) about any ‘unfinished business’ with key others in your life; this may be best done with support, as it can be a very emotive exercise.

Rory has recorded a full one-hour lecture on how learners can link theory to their personal development; this is available in the Counselling Study Resource (CSR).

Writing Letters to Other Professionals (starts at 12.22 mins)

Rory looks at situations when you might need to write a letter to another professional – for example, when you need to refer a client (e.g. someone with a more complex psychiatric disorder or suicidal ideation) or when you are called on to evidence their attendance at therapy (e.g. to a court, solicitor or employee assistance programme).

Rory explains how to balance confidentiality with the needs of the person requesting or receiving the information , applying the Caldicott principles on information-sharing.

Rory has written a handout on this topic, which you can download here – or through   CSR .

Working with a Client’s Emotional Age (starts at 24.09 mins)

A client’s emotional age may not be the same as their chronological age .

This can hold especially true for adults who were abused or suffered significant emotional challenges (e.g. close bereavement) in younger years . Such experiences can lead them to regress to that past age when they are reflecting on what happened then.

Ken describes how the misuse of substances (e.g. alcohol and drugs) stops people processing their emotions ; thus, they too may revert emotionally to the point where they started using substances in this way.

Ken and Rory provide tips on how to work effectively and safely with such clients:

• Try not to detach yourself from the physical appearance of the client (which tends to show their chronological age), trying instead to listen to their voice: how old do they sound? It can help to close your eyes to do this, if possible.
• Body language can also be a good indicator of the emotional age of a client. For example, do they look small and vulnerable when talking about a particular experience?
• Always work in a way that fits the client’s emotional rather than chronological age at that time.
• Be aware that this age can change within and between sessions – so be alert to shifts, and ready to adapt to this changing emotional age . This is advanced-level counselling.
• Attend carefully to how you use language , ensuring that you tailor this to the emotional age of the client at any particular time.
• Ensure that the client doesn’t leave the session at their regressed age ; you may need to remind them of their chronological age , carefully and gently bringing them back into the here-and-now.
• Always check with the client before they leave the building that they feel safe and strong enough to go back out into the outside world.

Rory has recently delivered a lecture in the CSR on preparing to work with young people; the learning in this can usefully be applied to older clients whose emotional age is more in line with that of a young person.

Free Handout Download

Guidance on Writing Letters for Counsellors

Links and Resources

Counselling Tutor Facebook group

Counselling Tutor Facebook page

Counselling Tutor website

Counselling Study Resource

Basic Counselling Skills: A Student Guide

Spotted out-of-date info or broken links? Kindly let us know the page where you found them. Email: [email protected]

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) & Counselling MSc: Personal and Professional Development in Counselling

• Psychodynamic Counselling and Time Limited Practice
• Evidence Based Practice & Research Methods
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• Personal and Professional Development in Counselling
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Welcome to your Personal and Professional Development in Councelling reading list. Here you will find the resources to support you throughout this module.

Essential reading.

BACP (2018).  Ethical framework for the counselling professions.  Lutterworth: BACP.

BABCP (2017).  Standard of conduct, performance and ethics.  Bury: BABCP.

Module Websites

BACP - providing guidance and resources on professional issues for counsellors

BABCP - providing guidance and resources on professional issues for cognitive behavioural therapies 

Module Journals

Therapy Today - published by the BACP. A good and very readable resource.

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Counselling: Developing Personal and Professional Self-Awareness

Introduction

Background and overview.

Although it is an important part of the healthcare and social support systems, the counseling process is normally uncertain and ambiguous and can create anxiety and vulnerability for the practitioners. Developing a good understanding of the self encompasses a unique process of both emotional and experiential learning. Counselors achieve a good understanding of their skills, performance, knowledge, as well as any personal factors that are likely to deter their ability to work (Posluns & Gall, 2020). Consequently, this paper aims to elaborate on the process and the importance of professional and self-awareness for sustainable mental health and wellness in the counseling profession.

Analysis of Personal and Professional Awareness

Principles of professional and personal awareness.

The professional and personal awareness process in counseling is normally based on the principles of personal development, a wider topic that includes awareness of the self. The aim is to enhance self-awareness, including the factors or problems likely to hinder the performance of the professional in dealing with the clients (Sutton, 2016). The practitioners are the main tool with which clients obtain help, especially those with mental health issues. Consequently, if a counselor does not look at the self, it will be difficult to offer high-quality counseling services. In essence, counselors must accept themselves more fully to allow them to offer the same level of acceptance to the clients.

Developing professional and personal awareness becomes helpful for counselors to achieve awareness of their levels of skills, performance, and knowledge, and any factor likely to deter their ability to deal with clients. At the start of any session, the counselors are likely to face fear, anxiety, and uncertainty. Counselors might be afraid of judgment from others and themselves as well, which demonstrates the need for reflective practice that includes developing personal and professional self-awareness (Sutton, 2016). For example, the counselor might face such questions as did I elicit bad emotions in the client during the session?

The Process of Developing Personal and Professional Awareness

The process of developing personal and professional self-awareness in counseling facilitates positive change and also establishes the professional confidence needed in the long-term counseling profession. Within the process of developing personal and professional self-awareness, practitioners become aware of what is occurring for them, including how they apply knowledge obtained in class, skills, and areas of weaknesses that require additional efforts to improve their performance (Sutton, 2016). Counselors cannot achieve good performance if they are not aware of their personalities, beliefs, emotions, strengths, thoughts, and motivations.

Although there are several approaches or processes through which counselors can apply to achieve professional and personal awareness, the Cycle of Caring process is among the most effective methods (Skovholt & Trotter-Mathison, 2016). Developed in the early 2000s, the Cycle of Caring is a cyclic process with four phases- empathic attachment, active involvement, felt separation, and re-creation.

The empathic attachment phase, the first stage in the cycle, simply seeks to make the practitioner close to the client. The goal of the stage is to make an optimum professional attachment with the client based on the key elements of attaching, bonding, and connecting (Skovholt & Trotter-Mathison, 2016). During this phase, the counselors can review their skills in listening to their clients and determine whether they were overwhelmed. Learning emotional boundaries is a vital skill for counselors at this stage. For example, as a student counselor, I will seek to try as much as possible to repeatedly form an optimal professional attachment with my clients by listening to their stories and assuming to be in their positions while also keeping emotional boundaries.

The second stage, known as the active involvement phase, serves as the main working stage for the counselors. During this stage, the counselor shares a vision with the client and works towards achieving that specific goal. Active listening is the main activity for the counselor to learn about the position or situation that the client faces while also developing a support-challenge balance for change and development (Skovholt & Trotter-Mathison, 2016). For example, in my case, as a counselor, I will not only allow the client to do much of the talking but also ask minimal questions to elicit more information from them. After the session, I will review my questions and the answers provided in the story to learn if I did it right and note my areas of weaknesses for further improvement.

Felt separation is the third stage in the cycle where the counselor should, as the name of the stage suggests, relieve the active emotional burden of the relationship with the client. As Skovholt and Trotter-Mathison (2016) note, the professional loss process appears as a form of the grief process for the practitioner. The idea is to practice termination skills in this stage of the cycle or use caring burnout. In my case, as an example, I will practice an optimal level of client-care versus self-care, where I will start the discussion with the clients after they finish their stories. After the session, I will ensure that I note the areas of weakness and strengths that I noted for future improvement.

The final stage is the re-creation phase that involves taking a break and then returning to the start as the name suggests. Specifically, it involves taking a break for self-care, resting, renovating, restoring, and returning. At this point, I will be very active and fully representing to help my clients (Skovholt & Trotter-Mathison, 2016). I will practice self-care in this phase as a means of restoration to start the cycle once more.

Why the Development of Self-Awareness Fosters Sustainable Mental Health and Wellness

Personal and professional awareness is linked to sustainability in mental health and wellness in the counseling profession. Mental health professionals work with clients from varied cultures, lifestyles, religions, beliefs, languages, and value systems (Sutton, 2016). Effective counseling requires the practitioners to recognize their value systems to respect individuality. Mental health practitioners, through self-awareness, achieve both emotional intelligence and success. With this knowledge, they create achievable goals because they can consider their strengths, weaknesses, and motivations in goal setting (Malkoç & Sünbül, 2020). They use self-knowledge to guide themselves on the right path by pursuing the opportunities that best fit their preferences, skills, and goals. Therefore, they develop a specific method and rational approach for dealing with people with mental issues, thus creating sustainability in their profession.

Developing Personal Awareness as a Mental Health Counselor

I can develop self-awareness as a counselor in the mental health and wellness professionals to improve outcomes and sustainability. I will ensure that before every session, I make a list of questions that guide me when dealing with the client (Sutton, 2016). Some keywords in the session, for instance, will revolve around my listening, intervening, relating with the story, and creating a convenient environment (Sutton, 2016). After the session, I will reflect on my experience and performance and fill in the questions to determine my areas of strength and weaknesses.

This discussion elaborates the process and the importance of professional and self-awareness for sustainable mental health and wellness in the counseling profession. The discussion shows the principles of personal and professional awareness, highlighting the importance of realizing personal weaknesses and strengths for counselors. It also discusses the important steps in the professional and personal awareness process and how I can follow them to improve sustainability as a counselor in the mental health profession.

Malkoç, A., & Sünbül, Z. A. (2020). The Relationship between Emotional Literacy, Cognitive Flexibility and Counseling Self-Efficacy of Senior Students in Psychology and Psychological Counseling and Guidance. Educational Research and Reviews , 15 (1), 27-33. Web.

Posluns, K., & Gall, T. L. (2020). Dear mental health practitioners, take care of yourselves: A literature review on self-care. International Journal for the Advancement of Counselling , 42 (1), 1-20. Web.

Skovholt, T. M. & Trotter-Mathison (2016). The resilient practitioner: Burnout and compassion fatigue prevention and self-care strategies for the helping professions (3rd ed.) . Routledge

Sutton, A. (2016). Measuring the effects of self-awareness: Construction of the self-awareness outcomes questionnaire . Europe’s journal of psychology , 12 (4), 645. Web.

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PsychologyWriting. (2023, September 19). Counselling: Developing Personal and Professional Self-Awareness. https://psychologywriting.com/counselling-developing-personal-and-professional-self-awareness/

"Counselling: Developing Personal and Professional Self-Awareness." PsychologyWriting , 19 Sept. 2023, psychologywriting.com/counselling-developing-personal-and-professional-self-awareness/.

PsychologyWriting . (2023) 'Counselling: Developing Personal and Professional Self-Awareness'. 19 September.

PsychologyWriting . 2023. "Counselling: Developing Personal and Professional Self-Awareness." September 19, 2023. https://psychologywriting.com/counselling-developing-personal-and-professional-self-awareness/.

1. PsychologyWriting . "Counselling: Developing Personal and Professional Self-Awareness." September 19, 2023. https://psychologywriting.com/counselling-developing-personal-and-professional-self-awareness/.

Bibliography

PsychologyWriting . "Counselling: Developing Personal and Professional Self-Awareness." September 19, 2023. https://psychologywriting.com/counselling-developing-personal-and-professional-self-awareness/.

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Personal Development in Counselling and Psychotherapy

• Sofie Bager-Charleson - Metanoia Institute
• Description

Personal development is an ongoing process for practitioners and this book provides practical guidance and activities to enable the process.

This book is invaluable for all students embarking on their training to becoming counsellors and psychotherapists. It highlights the importance of Personal Development as an integral part of being a counsellor and shows how theory links to practice. The case studies and activities promote reflection and assist students in their personal development process.

Students particularly enjoy the case studies and linking the theory to practice. Personal development is key to any career and students are encouraged to reflect on their own personal development throughout the course. This book provides a variety of reflection points and activities that engage students in their own learning process. The reflection points can also be used by lecturers during class to focus students' learning.

Highly appropriate material for students experiencing personal development through counselling training.

A fantastic personal development book. Easy to read and understand.

Required reading for counselling students- very few suitable texts on this subject availiable

As personal development is an essential part of the leaning via the courses we deliver this book has been recommended for students. Many of the exercises from the book are planned into self-awareness sessions on the scheme of work

This text provides students with a good introduction to different elements of personal development in a counselling context.

found this accessable and easy for students to read covered subject matter clearly

Excellent and very clear text introducing students to the idea of personal development. Easy to follow, with suggested activities which really do assist the reader in getting to grips with this sometimes hazy topic.

Preview this book

For instructors.

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Personal Development Counselling

The personal development of individuals has various ways of manifesting. It takes a different meaning depending on each individual’s life circumstances. Working towards personal development involves overcoming psychological, emotional and/or background obstacles. It makes us grow and leave behind past attitudes that were keeping us stuck in a place instead of getting ahead in our lives. It makes us feel alive and vibrant, willing to try new things and increase our self-confidence.

When you start to discover how to see things from a different perspective, it becomes possible to grow and move forward. From time to time we all get stuck in chronic situations and viewpoints that create suffering. We can’t see other perspectives, consider new ideas or create movement from it. We cannot see a solution for a problem that seems to be existential. However, there is always a way. Through finding new meanings and changing our behaviour, we change the way we feel about others, the future and ourselves. There are various ways to achieve this. In this blog, we will focus on a specific way of achieving personal change.

How does it look like to work towards Personal Development Counselling?

You can choose the areas of your life you want to focus for your development. You may choose these areas because you are not satisfied where you are and you want to do better. The goals for personal development are usually related to:

• Mental health (i.e.: depression, anxiety, anger)
• Career: a sense of dissatisfaction related to current status in one’s own career
• Personal Relationships: friendships and romantic
• Family relationships
• Self-esteem/Self-confidence
• Education: desire to get a degree or change program
• Health/Exercise/Nutrition

What is a personal development Counselling plan?

For a busy working person, personal development may involve spending time doing activities to refresh and replenish their energy, to feel alive again instead of feeling the sense of doom that comes from rushing to meet deadlines and demands. For example, it could mean to start spending time in nature, doing exercise, meditation and finding time to see friends.

For a grieving individual, it could be to be able to find new meaning to the loss, internalize the good memories of the loved one and be able establish relationships with others and feel they have the right to be excited and happy again after the loss.

For a an individual with a mental health disorder, it could be to live their life based on his/her values rather than on the impulses of their mood swings and dysfunctional behaviour. In terms of goals this could be to replace the yelling at family members with going for a walk or to be compassionate to others instead of aggressive.

A plan for personal development consists of 5 steps.

• What is your goal? What would you like to achieve?

For example: I want to have more time to stop living in automatic pilot and enjoy my life. I want to be present in the midst of my busy schedule and daily responsibilities.

• Where are you now in terms of your goal?

What are you currently doing or not doing in this area?

In our example: I spend most time working, get home tired with no energy to play with my kids.              Don’t see my friends much and feel a bit isolated. Feel anxious with all the workload.

• Play with my children 30 minutes a day
• Walk 30 minutes a day
• Meet with friends twice a week, for coffee or lunch
• Do 20 minutes of meditation daily

Identify some of the small steps you can take in order to advance towards your goal.

You can plan to increase your steps daily, weekly, biweekly or with the frequency that you feel is realistic for you. If you are planning to introduce a new habit into your life, it’s easier to start with a short period of time but do it daily and increase time as the days go by. Each new day of practice will usually feel easier to do the new activity than the day before. You can use this method for studying, exercising, working and any activity you would like to start doing.

GOALS: Goals have to be SMART.

Smart stands for:

S PECIFIC: one at a time (play 30 minutes a day with my children)

M EASURABLE: 30 minutes a day by the end of the month

A CHIEVABLE: Can you accomplish this change in 2 weeks or do you need a month to adjust your schedule? Plan for success. Better slower but sure.

R EALISTIC: Can you make 30 minutes a day to devote completely to your children? If the answer is no, go for 10 minutes.

T IME LIMITED: Want to try this for a month and see how it goes? Maybe after a month, you want to try a different way of bonding with your children and take them out twice a week or create a special family tradition to do over dinner such as talking about what made them happy during the day.

If you feel excited about working towards your personal development, go for it! Start by identifying the areas in your life that you could do better by your own standards and values. Then define your goal. You can have goals for different areas of your life such as family relationships, career, free time, etc.

Then go through the SMART goals plan to define them. Plan a series of steps to get from where you are now to where you want to be.

Start taking the steps one at a time. Enjoy your personal development!

CBT Psychology For Personal Development has an experienced Vaughan Psychologists who work with of child therapy .

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Book an appointment today. Written By: Dr. Silvina Galperin PhD, C. Psych.

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