Summary
Self-awareness is viewed as an essential tool for counselors due to the nature of their work. Therapists need to be aware of their limitations and strengths to ensure they provide optimum services to their clients. Skovholt’s cycle of caring provides insight into the process of care for counselors. As the image below indicates, the model has four elements, which are empathetic attachment, active involvement, felt separation, and re-creation (Skovholt & Trotter-Mathison, 2016). Each aspect provides a stage in the caring cycle and advises on how to enhance the caring process. The purpose of this poster is to inform and educate.
The Rationale for Developing Self-Awareness
Skovholt indicates that counselors can use three domains to enhance their abilities to provide care. The interrelated fields include cognitive, relational, and emotional and are aimed at helping therapists to be effective (Skovholt & Trotter-Mathison, 2016). The cognitive aspect deals with experience, education, and the ability to solve complex situations. The emotional domain focuses on the counselor’s ability to provide a genuine emotional connection with their clients, while the relational aspect deals with forming strong and productive relations with clients.
Skovholt’s approach is based on Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) which focuses on the need to adjust thoughts to change behavior and emotions. The stages in the cycle of caring incorporate aspects of CBT and insist on the emotive, relational, and cognitive processes (Skovholt & Trotter-Mathison, 2016). Each stage advises therapists to perform self-monitoring, which involves the identification, assessment, and appraisal of individual reactions (Skovholt & Trotter-Mathison, 2016). The wellness wheel is an essential part of self-care and can be useful for counselors. Therapists can not provide effective services to clients without being motivated. Therefore, the Skovholt model bases its claims on cognitive, emotional, and relational aspects.
Characteristics of Skovholt Cycle of Caring
One major characteristic is that counselors need to measure success based on the client’s positive feedback and changes. The goal of the care process is to ensure that the client achieves the help that is needed (Skovholt & Trotter-Mathison, 2016). This can only be measured based on the changes witnessed and the response. Therefore, the demographics of the patient, the treatment objectives, and the modalities of treatment determine the quality of the therapist-patient relationship.
Another characteristic is that the model views success based on aspects within the counselor’s control. This is because aspects such as participation and professional knowledge are determinants of success (Skovholt & Trotter-Mathison, 2016). The cycle of caring allows the therapist to make decisions that are aimed at enhancing the ability to provide quality services to the client.
Influences for Developing Self-Awareness
One of the major influences is the need to avoid burnout in career counselors. This is because the process of care involves constantly connecting with clients and then separating. Therapists can lose themselves in this cycle, which can affect the quality of services they provide (Skovholt & Trotter-Mathison, 2016). The Skovholt cycle of the caring model provides four stages that explain how burnout occurs and how to avoid it. Another influence for developing self-awareness is to enhance the quality of care provided by therapists. Skovholt indicates that the quality of care will improve if counselors engage in self-care (Skovholt & Trotter-Mathison, 2016). Therefore, the influence for developing self-awareness is to avoid counselor depletion and to prolong the professional longevity of therapists.
Processes of Developing Self-Awareness
Three aspects can be used to improve self-awareness for counselors. One of the processes is self-checks which involves the ability of a counselor to stop and think. This involves cognitively evaluating their emotional well-being (Skovholt & Trotter-Mathison, 2016). In the early stages of their career, counselors can develop stress because of the circumstances of their work. To remedy this, therapists are advised to create time during the day to stop and think. Engaging in critical and analytical processing of information ensures that counselors increase their awareness and reduce stress.
Another process is self-talk, which involves minimizing negative emotions, thoughts, and behaviors. Self-talk is an ongoing process and can be considered the second process after self-check. Therapists consistently undergo events that can result in undesirable thoughts, emotions, and behaviors (Skovholt & Trotter-Mathison, 2016). Self-talk ensures that counselors can provide themselves with positive verbal feedback. The advantage of this is that it increases motivation which helps in providing quality services. Negative emotions and thoughts may emanate from previous counseling experiences.
Self-journalizing is the other process that can be used to develop self-awareness. This method involves using written communication to conduct an assessment. Self-journalizing is a continuous and progressive process that helps a therapist to critically analyze thoughts, behaviors, and emotions (Skovholt & Trotter-Mathison, 2016). Counselors can reflect and learn from their reactions to their experiences. Reflection helps to improve counselors’ self-understanding, which enhances self-awareness (Skovholt & Trotter-Mathison, 2016). Therefore, self-check, self-talk, and self-journalizing are the processes that can help develop self-awareness.
In summary, developing self-awareness is an important goal for therapists. This is because it allows them to prevent burnout and depletion, which can affect the quality of their work.
References
Skovholt, T. M., & Trotter-Mathison, M. (2016). The resilient practitioner: Burnout and compassion fatigue prevention and self-care strategies for the helping professions. Routledge.
Wellness Center | Campus Recreation | University of Wyoming. (2022). Web.