FALL SESSION, 2015
DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN ECOLOGY UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA
CLASS: 12:00 – 1:20, Monday & Wednesday LAB: 1:30-4:30 Monday OR Wednesday
LOCATION: HEB 301 TEACHING ASSISTANT:
INSTRUCTOR: Karen F. Cook, PhD, R. Psych Nadia Sokoloski, MA. Prov. Psyc.
Office Hours: by appointment, HEB
E-mail: [email protected]
(response within 2 business days)
COURSE DESCRIPTION (Calendar)
An introduction to interviewing and counseling strategies for working with individuals using a strengths- based, family-centered approach. Prerequisite: successful completion of *30.
COURSE APPROACH
Course material will be presented through a combination of lecture, videos, modeling, role-playing, and group discussion. Skill development will be fostered through in-class exercises and through lab participation involving role-playing, videotaping and video review, and supportive feedback. Because of the skill development component of the course, it is especially critical for students to attend all classes and labs.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
1. To apply a human ecological systems perspective in a helping role.
2. To appreciate the differences between interviewing, counselling, and psychotherapy, and to understand how to practice within one’s boundaries of competence.
3. To develop interviewing and counselling skills (including attending, questioning, observing, encouraging, paraphrasing, summarizing, identifying strengths, goal-setting, challenging, and fostering change).
4. To explore important ethical issues in working in a helping role and to become familiar with relevant professional ethical codes of practice.
5. To enhance skills of self-reflection and self-awareness and to appreciate how our own experiences, attitudes, and beliefs affect the way we work in a helping role.
6. To develop sensitivity to issues of diversity (e.g., culture, race, class, gender, sexual orientation, age, trauma, and disability) when working in a helping role.
REQUIRED TEXTS/READINGS and COURSE MATERIALS
Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association. (2007, January). Code of Ethics. Ottawa:
Author. (especially pages 1-11)- available on-line as pdf
Nelson-Jones,, R. (2012). Basic Counselling Skills: A helper’s manual (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE Publications Inc.
** Use a laptop or tablet with recording capabilities (camera or webcam) is recommended (though not required) for this course. If a laptop or tablet is not available or preferred, recording devices will be provided.
GRADING
Students will be evaluated and assigned a letter grade based on the following requirements:
Weight Date Due
ETHICS: Decision Making Cases (2) 10% Oct 14/19
(Completed during lab time) Oct 21/26
LAB SKILLS: REFLECTION JOURNAL 25% LAB 3 & 4- Oct 5
Skills journal completed during/following each skills lab LAB 8, 9 & 10- Nov 25 (lab # 3, 4, 8, 9, 10)- hand in at NOON on date specified
VIDEO ASSIGNMENT 1: Basic Attending Skills Interview 20% October 28 by noon (4-5 minutes), Transcription,
Identification and Evaluation of Skills
VIDEO ASSIGNMENT 2: Helping Interview (8-10 minutes), 25% December 15 by noon Transcription, Identification and
Evaluation of Skills
FINAL REFLECTION PAPER 20% December 15 by noon
Each assignment is attached. Late assignments will be penalized 10% per day unless there is a documented illness/reason acceptable to the instructor. The assignments will be marked using points or percentages. An overall percentage in the class will be calculated and then converted to a letter grade based on the letter grade verbal descriptions on the following page.
LETTER GRADES - VERBAL DESCRIPTORS:
Excellent
understanding of course material and advanced skill development.
A+
Outstanding. The student has demonstrated an extraordinary grasp of the course content, an advanced level of skill development, a high level of self-awareness and reflection, and their performance reflects a high level of sensitivity, professionalism, and creativity or innovation.
A
Excellent. The student has demonstrated superior understanding of the course content, a high level of skill development, a very good level of self-awareness and reflection, and their performance reflects a high level of sensitivity and professionalism, and some creativity or innovation.
A-
The student has demonstrated superior understanding of the course content, a high level of professionalism, but has not shown the same high level of skill development, sensitivity, or self-awareness as a student receiving an A.
Good. Demonstrates a sound
understanding of course material and good skill
development
B+
The student demonstrates a sound understanding of course material, with superior understanding and superior skill development being evident in some areas, and their performance reflects solid professionalism, and a reasonable level of self-awareness and sensitivity.
B
The student demonstrates a uniformly sound understanding of course material and level of skill development, and their performance reflects solid professionalism, and a reasonable level of self-awareness and sensitivity. PERFORMING AS EXPECTED.
B-
The student's understanding of course material is generally sound and most areas of skill development are good, but there are some areas in which depth of understanding and/or skill development is limited, or some unevenness in performance reflecting sensitivity, self- awareness, and professionalism.
Satisfactory/adequate Overall awareness of central dimensions of course material and clear evidence of developing skills.
C+
The student possesses an overall awareness of all central dimensions of the course material and a generally acceptable level of skill development in key areas, and demonstrates sound understanding of some and/or good skill development in some areas, but there is some unevenness or weakness in performance of sensitivity, self-awareness, and professionalism.
C
The student demonstrates awareness of all central dimensions of the course and evidence of developing skills in all key areas, but there is clear unevenness or weakness in the performance of sensitivity, self-awareness, and professionalism.
C-
The student is generally aware of most of the central dimensions of the course and has developed minimally acceptable levels of skills in most areas, but has some areas of clear deficiency.
Poor D+
The student lacks knowledge in one or more central dimensions of the course, has little more than a superficial understanding of most topics, and/or lacks acceptable skill development in one or more key areas. Performance reflects problems in sensitivity, self-reflection, and/or professionalism.
Minimal Pass D
The student's performance is only minimally acceptable due to a lack of understanding of several central dimensions and lack of necessary skill development in several key areas, and may display only a minimal understanding of professional ethics.
Fail F Lacks an understanding of most of the central dimensions of the course and lacks the most basic skill development and/or lacks an acceptable understanding of professional ethics.
*Policy about course outlines can be found in Section 23.4(2) of the University Calendar.
LECTURE SCHEDULE:
DATE TOPIC ASSIGNED READINGS
INTRODUCTION
Sept 2 Introduction to the course, assign lab groups,
review process for True Colors Course Syllabus Sept 7 LABOUR DAY—NO CLASS
Sept 9 Who are helpers, the helping relationship, and the helping process
Nelson-Jones Textbook (Chapters 1, 5 & 6) Sept 14 Characteristics of helpers and the importance of
self-awareness
Nelson-Jones (Chapter 3 & 4) RELATING/INVITATIONAL SKILLS
Sept 16 Basic counselling skills, active listening, and the importance of non-verbal skills
Nelson-Jones (Chapters 2, 7 & 8) Sept 21 Encouraging and questioning skills Nelson-Jones (Chapter 11)
UNDERSTANDING/REFLECTING SKILLS
Sept 23 Paraphrasing Nelson-Jones (Chapter 9)
Sept 28 Reflecting feelings Nelson-Jones (Chapter 9)
Sept 30 Starting, structuring & Informed Consent; Review skills for video assignment
Nelson-Jones (Chapter 10, pages 63-66)
ETHICS & MULTICULTURAL COMPETENCE Oct 5 Professional ethics: An introduction to codes,
principles, and guidelines
CCPA Code of Ethics Nelson-Jones (chapter 25) Oct 7 Professional ethics: the ethical decision-making
process
CCPA Code of Ethics Oct 12 THANKSGIVING—NO CLASS
Oct 14 Ethical issues and multicultural competence Nelson-Jones (Chapter 26) Oct 19 Diversity and the helping role
UNDERSTANDING/REFLECTING SKILLS
, cont’d Oct 21 Searching for meaning, reflecting meaning and
summarizing
Nelson-Jones (Chapter 26) CHANGING/INFLUENCING SKILLS
Oct 26 Self-disclosure, Identifying Strengths/Resources
& Reframing
Nelson-Jones (Chapter 14)
Oct 28 Facilitating Problem Solving/Goal setting Nelson-Jones (Chapter 16)
Oct 28 Monitoring, Challenges & Feedback Nelson-Jones (Chapters 12 & 13)
Nov 2 Perspective taking, seeing multiple perspectives Reframing
Nov 9-13
UNIVERSITY CLOSED (FALL READING WEEK) – NO CLASSES Nov 16 Self defeating thoughts, self-talk, and cognitive
distortions
Nelson-Jones
(Chapters 19, 20 & 21) Nov 19 Readiness for change, Resistance & referral Nelson-Jones (Chapter 15) Nov 23 SAC Guest Presentation- to be confirmed
CHANGING/INFLUENCING SKILLS cont’d Nov 25 Putting it all together for the final assignment
(Review searching for meaning)
Nov 30 Putting it all together for the final assignment (Review reflecting meaning and summarizing) Dec 2 Other change techniques: Information,
brainstorming, role-plays, relaxation, homework, etc.
Nelson-Jones (Chapters 17 & 18)
Dec 7 Terminating counselling, Support & Supervision, Self-care
Nelson-Jones (Chapters 24 & 27)
Wrap-up
Celebrate Your Accomplishments
LAB SCHEDULE:
LAB TOPIC MONDAY LAB WEDNESDAY LAB
1. Lab on own time to complete True
Colors Personality Assessment on-line Week of September 7th & 9th, complete True Colors Personality Assessment on-line
2. Self-awareness & True Colors Review
Introduction to lab process/practice September 14 September 16 3. Relating/invitational skills: Attending,
Encouragers and Questions September 21 September 23 4. Paraphrasing and Reflecting Feelings September 28 September 30 5. LAB PERIODS for video Assignment October 5 October 7 6. Case Studies in Ethical and
Professional Behavior October 14 October 19
7. Case Studies in Ethics and
Multicultural Competence October 21 October 26
8. Reflecting Meaning and Summarizing October 28 November 2 9. Identifying Strengths/Resources and
Goal Setting November 4 November 16
10. Monitoring, Challenges & Feedback,
Perspective-Taking, and Reframing November 19 November 23 11. Putting it all together and beginning
to work on Assignment #4 November 25 November 30
12. LAB PERIODS for video Assignment December 2 December 7
* Extra lab time for final assignment can be arranged if needed- contact Instructor STUDENT SUPPORTS
Students requiring accommodations in this course due to a disability affecting mobility, vision, hearing, learning, or mental or physical health should discuss their needs with Student Accessibility Services (www.ssds.ualberta.ca). Located at 1-80 Students’ Union Building, 780-492-3381 (phone) and/or with the instructor.
ACADEMIC OFFENSES
The University of Alberta is committed to the highest standards of academic integrity and honesty. Students are expected to be familiar with these standards regarding academic honesty and to uphold the policies of the University in this respect. Students are particularly urged to familiarize themselves with the provisions of the Code of Student Behaviour (online at
http://www.governance.ualberta.ca/en/CodesofConductandResidenceCommunityStandards/CodeofStudentBeha viour.aspx.) and avoid any behaviour which could potentially result in suspicions of cheating, plagiarism, misrepresentation of facts and/or participation in an offence. Academic dishonesty is a serious offence and can result in suspension or expulsion from the University.
ASSIGNMENTS:
Ethics: Decision making cases (2)
This assignment will be completed during your specified lab time October 14/19 and October 21/26
th. You will be provided with two hypothetical cases in the latter part of each lab (after practicing this process as a group) requiring an ethical decision. Using the ethical decision-making process outlined by the Canadian Counseling and Psychotherapy Association, you will record the process of finding a potential course of action. You will first complete the assignment
independently but then will be able to consult with your small group. You will initially document your response to the case provided; you will then document your small group consultation and add any changes/modifications to your plan based on the consultation. Your written responses will be handed in at the end of the lab. Each case will provide you with the experience of working
through the ethical decision-making process, and will be worth 10% of your grade (5% per case).
Lab Skill: Reflections Journal
The intent of the journal entry process is to have you self-reflect on the content and process of the skills that you will be learning and developing in labs 3, 4, 8, 9, & 10 (as noted on lab schedule). These journal entries will also assist you in the development of your final reflection paper. An additional benefit of submitting these entries is that it provides the instructor and teaching assistant with feedback regarding the clarity of the skills being taught and any struggles. In this way, it is possible to clarify concepts, provide additional examples, and offer more feedback as necessary.
It is also recommended (but NOT required) that you keep a self-reflection journal throughout the semester of your personal thoughts and reflections on the course material, course/lab processes, and your skill development. This will greatly assist you in completing your final reflection paper. It will be helpful to note what you learned about yourself and the skills you have been developing noting any changes that you have observed, anything that felt really natural or uncomfortable, any difficulties you experienced in the classes or labs etc. This aspect of your journaling is for you and will not be graded. It is to give you an opportunity to reflect on what you are learning and what you are being asked to do in this course. Anytime you take a course addressing family issues, personal thoughts, beliefs, and experiences, issues will be raised for you as the material has personal relevance. This is especially true in this counseling course where you are being asked to raise your awareness about your own values, beliefs, and issues so that you can protect against those experiences, values, and beliefs from negatively affecting the way you work in a helping role. This kind of self-reflective work is very important in a counseling course.
When submitting your required journal entries (for labs 3, 4, 8, 9, & 10) you will label and complete the following sections, addressing them with your comments, questions & reflections:
The skill(s) practicing/developing in lab #__ were : (list them)
1. Briefly in your own words describe your understanding of each of the skills that you are practicing in this lab
2. As the COUNSELLOR, describe your experience in practicing and developing these skills
Identify your strengths and struggles with each micro-skill
Did they seem natural or unnatural, were you comfortable or uncomfortable, etc.- reflect on why you believe you experienced them in the way that you did.
Self-reflection: what was going on inside of you? Did the client’s verbal or non-verbal behaviour evoke anything for you?
3. As the CLIENT in your lab group describe your experience with of each of the micro-skills
Did they encourage you to open up, share more or did they make you feel defensive?
Did you feel heard/understood/supported? Why or why not? Describe why you think you did or did not feel heard/understood/supported.
4. What learning can you take from your experience as the counsellor and the client? How might you further develop these skills?
5. Please note any questions or concerns that you still have about these Skills
Your skills journal will be worth 25% of your course grade (5% for each lab entry). Lab 3 & 4 will be submitted October 5 by NOON and labs 8, 9 & 10 November 25
thby NOON. Your journal entries will be graded for the clarity, depth and quality of the self-reflection.
Video Assignment 1: Basic Attending Interview
The purpose of this assignment is to give you the opportunity to demonstrate the interviewing and
counseling skills that you have been developing (the basic attending skills). This assignment is worth 20% of your course grade. The assignment is due October 28th by Noon.
For the assignment you are to find someone in the class to serve as your client. You are to conduct a 4-5 minute interview demonstrating the basic attending skills. Try to use as many skills covered in class and the lab as possible to reveal the client’s story. You are expected to demonstrate the following skills:
• Attending (nonverbal and verbal: eye contact, body language, use of voice, and verbal tracking)
• Use of open and/or closed questions
• Encouragers
o Nonverbal (head nods, smiling, etc.) o Verbal (mmhm’s, etc.)
o Restatements
• Paraphrasing (at least one example)
• Reflection of Feeling (at least one example)
Record your session. If your “mini” counseling session is shorter than 3 ½ minutes, it will be virtually impossible for you to demonstrate a good range of skills. However, to keep things reasonable for grading, the mini-session will not be graded past 5 ½ minutes of recorded interaction. You may not be able to
demonstrate all of the skills listed above, but try to demonstrate as many as possible within the context of your “mini” counseling session.
You and your client can decide ahead of time the type of interviewer/counselor you are (e.g. high school counselor, career counselor, credit counselor, family support worker, etc.) and the nature of the
issue/problem for which the client is seeking help. You should choose a counseling role and client problem that does not require intensive counseling or therapy skills that are beyond your boundaries of competence (examples of topics used in the labs may be helpful). You will likely want to role play more than one time, record each role play, and then decide which video segment to turn in for grading.
You are to transcribe your counseling session verbatim. An example will be provided in class. Rather than using the client and helper’s/counselor’s full names, I suggest that you use an “I/H” to represent the interviewer/helper and a “C” to represent the client. You will transcribe what the helper and the client say verbatim. Following each client statement you will note any pertinent non-verbal behaviors that you observe or feelings that you infer in brackets. Following each helper/client exchange describe your intentionality in the counseling role-play—that is, identify the skill that you were attempting to use (e.g., OQ—intended to get the client to describe…; CQ—intended to obtain specific information on … ; restatement—intended to encourage client to keep talking and expand on …; silence—intended to give the client time to …). You will provide an explanation of the impact of that skill on the client (comment on the effectiveness of the skill- did it have the intended effect?). For example, if you used an open question, did it encourage the client to talk? If a skill you tried was not effective, why do you think it was not effective? When you realized it was not effective, what did you then try? Following a less effective attempt provide an alternative, “retro”
response that you think would have been more facilitative.
At the top of your first page of transcription, provide background information. This will be a short
paragraph identifying the type of counselor/helper you are, the client’s age and the issue/problem they are seeking assistance with and how the client comes across to you (general appearance, posture, feeling quality etc.).
Following your transcription/evaluation of skills you will provide a brief summary (1-2 paragraphs to sum up) of overall what you felt was the most effective and least effective aspects of your mini counseling session, identifying what you have learned from this process, and any areas that you would like to develop further.
Note: Your interview does not have to be “perfect”, but try to produce an interview that is a good reflection of your basic attending skills at this point in the course. You will receive a grade out of 20 points for this assignment. (5/20 points will be for the quality of skills demonstrated in your mini session and 15/20 will be for your transcription, identification, and evaluation of skills.)
For the quality of the skills that you demonstrate in the video role-play (5/20), you will receive a 0 if you don’t turn in a videotaped role-play, between 1-2 if you have misunderstood the parameters of the assignment or did not make a credible attempt at completing the assignment, around 2.5 if overall your
skills are significantly weaker than expected at this stage, around 3.5 if most of your skills are developing as expected, around 4 if ALL skills are developing as expected, and a 5 if your skill development exceeds expectations.
Video Assignment 2: Helping Interview
The primary purpose of this assignment is to give you the opportunity to demonstrate your ability to use your basic attending skills to draw out the client’s story and your beginning helping skills to be able to identify client strengths, identify and reflect the “deeper” meaning in the problem or issue for your client, and to work with your client in setting some realistic goals. This assignment is worth 25% of your course grade and is due by noon on Tuesday, December 15th. There are 2 parts to the assignment—a videotaped role-play, and a transcription of the role-play with identification and evaluation of skills. What is expected in each of these components of the assignment is described below. The assignment will be graded out of 25 points. The quality of the videotaped role-play is worth 5/25, and the transcription, identification, and evaluation of skills are worth 20/25.
PART A: COUNSELING ROLE-PLAY (5/25)
As with your listening interview, you are to find someone in the class to serve as your client. You are to conduct an 8 to 10 minute helping interview. Your goal is to help the client explore their problem/issue in ways that support their ability to deal with the problem/issue (especially through the use of reflecting meaning, identifying strengths, and goal setting).
For purposes of the assignment, you are to assume that this is NOT your first counseling session. You and your client will need to have done several role-plays that serve as the foundation for this session or you will need to sit down and discuss together what you will assume has taken place in previous sessions. You will begin the session by welcoming the client back and providing a summarization of the previous session (including a check-out if that seems appropriate). Keep the summary short, but cover the key points of the previous session to serve as a foundation for this session. Then use this mini-session to further explore the client’s problem for the ”deeper” meaning it holds for your client, to demonstrate your ability to identify client strengths (especially those relevant for the issue/problem), and to demonstrate your ability to help the client develop a realistic goal(s) for addressing the problem/issue.
In your role-play, you are expected to demonstrate the following skills:
1. Listening Skills
• You are expected to use attending/listening skills as appropriate or necessary (e.g., non- verbal encouragers, silence, restatements, paraphrasing, questions, and reflection of feeling).
2. Helping Skills
• Reflecting meaning. (This is a more advanced skill. You want to demonstrate that you are able to attend to your client and hear their story in a way that has allowed you to identify the meaning of the issue/problem for them—essentially the crux of the issue for the client. You will reflect the meaning of the issue to the client in a supportive manner.)
• Identifying strengths. (You must include some indication of searching for or identifying a strength or strengths in your client related to solving or resolving the issue/problem. That is, you want to help your client identify and acknowledge strengths (personal qualities, skills, abilities, experiences, sources of support—social/cultural/spiritual, etc.) that they can utilize in helping them reach their goal.)
• Goal-setting. (Help the client develop one or more realistic goals around their issue/problem.)
• You may include more advanced challenging or change skills in your mini-session if you wish, but you are not required to include these.
Record your session. If your “mini” counseling session is shorter than 7 minutes, it is unlikely that you will have demonstrated the range or depth of skills expected. However, to keep things reasonable for
reviewing and grading, you should try for about 8-9 minutes. Do NOT go longer than 10 minutes of recorded interaction as the interaction will not be graded beyond 10 minutes. Ensure that the quality of sound is good.
Clearly, you will not be able to demonstrate all of the skills we have covered in class, but try to demonstrate a range of skills within the context of your “mini” counseling session.
You and your client can decide ahead of time the type of interviewer/counselor you are (e.g., high school counselor, career counselor, credit counselor, family support worker, etc.), the nature of the
issue/problem for which the client is seeking help, and what you have talked about in “previous” sessions.
Most students find it easier to role-play a client if they use a real issue/problem (rather than making one up)—but it is entirely up to you. You should choose a counseling role and client problem that does not require intensive counseling or therapy skills that are beyond your boundaries of competence. You may wish to role play multiple times, video-tape each time, and then decide which tape to turn in for grading.
Note: Your interview does not have to be “perfect”. We’ll be looking to see if you can identify areas of strength and struggles. However, if you have an interview fraught with problems, you should try again. You want an interview that does a good job of capturing or representing your interviewing and counseling skills.
You should be able to complete your video-taping within your lab time. However, if you would like additional lab time for a final taping, please make arrangements with the instructor.
You will be evaluated on the quality of the skills that you demonstrate in the video role-play (5/25) with a 0 if you don’t turn in a videotaped role-play, between 1-2 representing that you misunderstood the
parameters of the assignment or did not make a credible attempt at completing the assignment, around 2.5 representing that overall your skills are significantly weaker than expected at this stage, around 3.5 representing that most of your skills are developing as expected, around 4 representing that ALL skills are developing as expected, and a 5 representing that your skill development exceeds expectations.
PART B: SESSION TRANSCRIPTION, SKILL IDENTIFICATION and EVALUATION (20/25)
For this lengthier interview you will only transcribe verbatim the most effective 2-3 minutes and the least
effective 2-3 minutes. You will discuss why you chose each segment as the most and least effective then transcribe them as you did in your first video assignment, describing the skill(s) used and their
impact/effectiveness, including any “retro” responses/skills that may have been more appropriate/effective.
Following the above transcription identify any other skills that you attempted in this role-play (providing an approximate time that they occurred in the video-recording) and briefly reflect on their effectiveness.
Reflecting back over the session, also note any other skills you would like to have tried and at which point in the interview. Include why you think that they may have been appropriate or effective.
At the top of your first page of transcription, provide background information. This will be a short
paragraph identifying the type of counselor/helper you are, the client’s age and the issue/problem they are seeking assistance with and how the client comes across to you (general appearance, posture, feeling quality etc.).
At the end of your analysis, provide 3 or 4 paragraphs describing what meaning the problem/issue has for the client—that is, what do you think is the crux of the issue/problem for the client? What did you
achieve in this mini-counseling session? Where is the client now, compared to where he or she was when the session began? Note: This is an important component of the assignment.
If you have questions---please ASK !
Final Reflection Paper
This assignment is worth 20% of your grade and is intended to further stimulate your self-awareness and allow you to solidify your personal learning from this course. It will be handed in with your Helping
Interview by noon December 15th. There are 3 parts to this paper:
1. You will review and reflect on your very first practice interview from lab #2
• With the knowledge and skills that you have gained what do you see as your strengths in this brief interview? (the strengths that you brought into this course)
• What aspects of this interview reflect your authentic self that you would like to honor as a counselor/helper? (qualities/traits that are important to you, for example, a good listener, a kind but clear tone of voice, your verbal and non-verbal behaviors were congruent, your came across as non-judgmental, etc.)
• What aspects of your authentic self do you need to be aware of that could be problematic in a helping role (for example, a very soft tone of voice, came across as timid or bold, moved quickly to advice giving, etc.)
2. Reflect on your experiences with the class/labs over the semester
• What have you learned about yourself over this period (from class/lab)? What insights have you had into yourself? How does it feel to have gained these insights?
a. What personal strength or skill have you become aware of that will serve you well in a role of helper? Is this the same strength you identified in section 1 or have you become aware of other strengths?
b. What personal limitation or challenge have you become aware that may interfere with you being an effective helper? (That is, what personal characteristic, attitude, knowledge, or skill are you aware that you need to develop or change to become an effective helper?). Is it the same as what you identified in section 1 or have you become aware of other
particular challenges?
• What is the most significant knowledge or skill that you have gained/learned over this period? How does it feel to have gained/developed this?
3. Reflect on your future work as a helper
• What type of clients or populations do you anticipate that you will work well with and which might you struggle with?
• Have you become aware of any beliefs or biases that you have that could impact your work with certain clients or populations? Or that you need to remain aware of so that they don’t interfere with your work as a helper.
• How have your experiences in this course influenced your thinking about your career path?
I anticipate that these reflections can be well developed in 5-6 pages, however, with the personal nature of the assignment some students may require more pages to clearly capture their experiences, thus could extend up to 8 pages. It will be graded on clarity and conciseness, as well as the depth and thoughtfulness of the reflections.
