Two Effective Personal Characteristics One of the primary motivating factors for embarking on a career path in counseling stems from personal experience with the pain of addiction. The ability to truly empathize with the addicted populations’ experiences and pain is one of my most effective personal characteristics. While there is most certainly concern in regard to the area of compassion fatigue and countertransference, there is no way to teach the level of understanding that comes from having gone through a similar experience. Corey, Corey, and Corey (2010) stated, “if you have engaged in your own process of healing, you will likely possess an understanding and sensitivity that will show in your work with group members,” (p. 35). This type
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This often brings up memories of working with counselors, especially in a group setting, where the therapist was asked, “were you an addict?” Countless times, I watched as an entire group’s demeanor and eagerness shifted, depending on the answer to that question. I thought it was particularly interesting when Page, Campbell, and Wilder (1994) noted that during their study they found more therapeutic benefits occurred when counselors took on a less formal role in a group setting. This brings me to what I believe my second effective characteristic for group counseling: a firm identity. Flores (as cited by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2005) noted that often times clients are seeking assurance that a counselor is going to be able to understand them. Through minimal self-disclosure, it not only enables a level of understanding, but also will encourage openness amongst the group itself and enhance the group process (Corey, Corey, & Corey, 2010). This technique and identity also challenges the idea of a “formal role”, creating a more egalitarian and, hopefully, cooperative …show more content…
Being a White, straight male, I found it interesting to learn the historical cultural values that are typically held in the highest regard for my demographic. McGill and Pearce (as cited in Langman, 1997) described White Anglo-Saxon Protestant values by using the term “hyperindividualism”. They stated:
They tend to be good at self-reliance, self-sufficiency, and self-control and rather less good at maintaining mutually giving relationships, tolerating dependency, and integrating and expressing emotional experience. Keeping a stiff upper lip, muddling through, and taking it like a man, all reflect English values (p.
This often brings up memories of working with counselors, especially in a group setting, where the therapist was asked, “were you an addict?” Countless times, I watched as an entire group’s demeanor and eagerness shifted, depending on the answer to that question. I thought it was particularly interesting when Page, Campbell, and Wilder (1994) noted that during their study they found more therapeutic benefits occurred when counselors took on a less formal role in a group setting. This brings me to what I believe my second effective characteristic for group counseling: a firm identity. Flores (as cited by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2005) noted that often times clients are seeking assurance that a counselor is going to be able to understand them. Through minimal self-disclosure, it not only enables a level of understanding, but also will encourage openness amongst the group itself and enhance the group process (Corey, Corey, & Corey, 2010). This technique and identity also challenges the idea of a “formal role”, creating a more egalitarian and, hopefully, cooperative …show more content…
Being a White, straight male, I found it interesting to learn the historical cultural values that are typically held in the highest regard for my demographic. McGill and Pearce (as cited in Langman, 1997) described White Anglo-Saxon Protestant values by using the term “hyperindividualism”. They stated:
They tend to be good at self-reliance, self-sufficiency, and self-control and rather less good at maintaining mutually giving relationships, tolerating dependency, and integrating and expressing emotional experience. Keeping a stiff upper lip, muddling through, and taking it like a man, all reflect English values (p.