Counselling Level Two Week 7

Personal Development for Counselling and other Helping

Relationships

Session Aims

• Explore personal development and its role in counselling and listening skills training.

• Prepare to write a Personal Development Statement for homework

You will be invited to:• Explain the importance of Personal Development in counselling

and other helping relationships• Identify and record some personal values and beliefs; and outline

how these values and beliefs could have an effect on helping relationships.

• Identify and record your own motivations for helping others• Identify and describe your own blocks to listening and learning• Describe the benefits of giving and receiving feedback for personal

development.• List some of your personal skills and qualities which are strengths in

a helping relationship (use BACP PMQ’s)• Identify and record some areas for personal development in

relation to helping• Plan and record how you might develop these skills and qualities in

the future.

Personal Development for Counselling

• "Personal Development is not an event but a process, life-long and career long: it must and will happen incidentally before and after any training course, through all aspects of life and work... in counselling training it should be purposeful, integrated and at the heart of the learning journey to become a counsellor".

Johns, Hazel. (1993) Personal Development in Counsellor Training. London: Cassell.

Importance of Personal Development for counselling

“...an unaware counsellor leading an unexamined life is likely to be a liability rather than an asset"

Dryden and Thorne. 1991; cited in Johns, 1991 p.3

How is Personal Development Achieved?

• Writing – Keeping a journal

• Reading/Radio/TV.• Reflection• Paying attention to

critical incidents• Personal Counselling• Supervision• Check-in• Feedback from others

• Creative activities• Skills Practise Sessions• Time-Lines or Life-lines• Johari Window• Guided Imagery• Encounter Groups• Tutorials• Peer Groups• Discussions

Personal Values and Beliefs

ReligionParentingSexist or racist languageChild abuseSame sex marriageAbortionEducationImmigrationManners

How could your views on the above have an impact on a counselling/helping relationship?

Remember the exercises: “How conditional is my liking?” and “Personal Philosophies about Helping?”

Personal Values and Beliefs

• What values and beliefs do you hold which are important to you?

• How might they be helpful or unhelpful in a helping relationship?

• Make some notes to use later.

Personal Skills and Qualities

• List some of your personal skills and qualities which are strengths in a helping relationship.

• trust,• honesty, • fairness, • respect for others, • empathy, • congruence,• UPR,• resilience,• humility, • competence, • wisdom, • courage

Motivations for helping

What are your motivations for helping others?

Why do you want to help others?

Blocks to listening, learning and helping

Examples:• Being preoccupied• Being defensive• Being inappropriately sympathetic• Feeling dislike• Identifying with the client/person being helped• Feeling uncomfortable, shocked or embarrassed• The need for reward• Forming theories

• From Tony Merry (2002) Learning and Being. 2nd edition Ross-on-Wye: PCCS Books

The Johari WindowIncreasing Self Awareness and the Importance of

Feedback.

Looking Ahead

• Consider what you have discussed and learned today

• Identify and record some areas for personal development in relation to helping

• Plan and record how you might develop these skills and qualities in the future.

Homework

• Use the worksheet provided to create a personal development statement.

• Hand in your work in week 9 of the course.

• See the work-sheet provided.