ASSIGNMENT | PROFESSIONAL REFLECTION AND SELF-CARE

Running head: “PROFESSIONAL REFLECTION AND SELF-CARE” 1
Professional Reflection and Self-Care
Student’s Name
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Professional Reflection and Self-Care
The essence of self-awareness in the therapeutic procedure is framed as a vital and
indispensable ingredient. The growth of a counselor’s self-understanding is integrated into his or
her professional education, and training through the accumulation of knowledge about
methodologies and theories. Due to this fact, reflective therapists are aware of their limitations
and strengths. Importantly, “balancing self-care” and “other-care” is usually an issue for most
practitioners in the assisting profession. Hence, the procedure of caring consists of an endless
sequence of active participation, “empathic add-ons,” and “felt separations.” Besides, the
capacity to progressively participate in the “caring cycle” is crucial for success. Unfortunately,
the continuous need to re-develop the model can influence a practitioner’s burnout or exhaustion.
As a consequence, counselors must develop a mental framework that will assist during care
provision, such that they can avoid exhausted caring while prolonging their career longevity.
The incapacity to care is a sign of incompetence, and burnout. Thus, “Skovholt’s cycle of
caring” is a crucial model in a counselor’s operation that describes the progressive sequence of
career separations and attachments, within a one-way assisting relationship, which defines
counseling (Skovholt, Grier & Hanson, 2001). Notably, it is not a static approach implemented to
one counselor-customer dyad; rather, it is a dynamic framework that takes into account the
scores of these assisting connections. Therefore, it is the capability to make positive attachments
to offer a relational procedure, and doing it over time that defines mastery.
A Rationale for Creating Self-awareness in the Counseling Profession
According to Skovholt (2005), to develop self-understanding, a counselor may use three
domains that are integrated to produce the high operating self. These domains (cognitive,

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relational, and emotional) provide a portrait of various areas of operations that are inherent to
effectual counselor development. These domains are crucial for the relational process, as a pre-
service counselor can use it to improve their self-care and self-understanding. The approach is
theoretically based on the “Cognitive Behavior Therapy” (CBT), which emphasizes on the
modification of thoughts in an effort of changing behaviors and emotions (Gaudiano, 2008). In
addition, each stage incorporates an evidence-informed approach used in CBT, particularly, each
stage focuses on self-monitoring, while emphasizing on emotive, relational, and cognitive
processes. Notably, self-monitoring involves a person’s ability to identify, assess, and appraise
his or her reactions, whether emotional, behavioral, or cognitive. Therefore, the processes
employed to improve self-awareness comprise of self-checks, self-talk, and self-journalizing.
These are explained as follows;
Self-Checks
It is the first step to the self-caring process that focuses on brief chances a counselor may
take to stop and check on himself or herself by cognitively thinking about their emotional
wellbeing. Hence, it is suggestive of the “stop and think” process referred to in CBT, and the
“Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy.” Consequently, possible stressful circumstances
occasionally happen when offering therapy services, especially pre-service counselors who are
vulnerable due to their developmental level. Due to this fact, counselors must find small
incremental periods throughout their daily therapy sessions, such that they can engage in critical
and analytical processing of events to elevate their self-understanding and minimize stress.
Self-Talk

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It is the second step of developing self-awareness as it is an ongoing process utilized to
minimize negative emotions, thoughts, and behaviors to offer oneself with a positive verbal
response. Hence, it is a useful approach counselor can apply to enhance their ability to
combating negative thoughts stemming from previous experiences (Dowden, Warren & Kambui,
2014). Since this is an ongoing process, a counselor can feel motivated throughout their day,
which in turn increases their positive self-understanding.
Self-Journalizing
It is the third stage of developing self-understanding and self-care, whereby a counselor
uses written communication to assess themselves. Besides, it is a progressive process utilized to
analyze and diffuse thoughts, behaviors, and emotions. Thus, self-journalizing provides the
counselor with the chance to reflect, while learning from his or her reactions. As a result, the
latter improves the self-discovery procedure, which elevates self-understanding.
Characteristics of “Skovholt’s Cycle of Caring” in the Counseling Profession
According to Skovholt (2005), one major aspect is that the approach measures success
based on a customer’s positive appreciation and changes. Thus, the quality of the counselor-
patient alliance is linked with the quality of results across modalities of treatment, sufferer
demographics, and treatment objectives. Another feature of the model is that it provides a unique
way of thinking about success, with the vital dimensions being those under the therapist’s
control. Besides, participation in the cycle and having professional knowledge are both managed
by the counselor. Importantly, specialist knowledge comprises certain facts regarding an issue
like chronic pain, job stress, and teenage eating disorders.