Building Counseling Skills: Developing Self-Awareness

An essential component of developing counseling skills for allied health professionals is investment in developing self-awareness. Effective counseling requires self-awareness on the part of the clinician in order to avoid bias, and to be prepared for clinical situations. Dr. Hunting Pompon begins by explaining the relevance of self-awareness to counseling practice in clinical settings, and then uses practice scenarios to allow participants to practice looking inward at their own thoughts and feelings. Dr. Hunting Pompon also discusses the importance of genuineness and provides exercises to improve genuineness and self-awareness.