January 2021

As a way of enhancing your awareness of different groups to which your reports might be targeted, read the following list and list some of the considerations to keep in mind when preparing a report for each of them. You might contemplate the readers’ level of training or knowledge, how much time they have, and […]

Choose one or two theories that guide practice that appeal to you. Consider issues such as what the theory suggests goals for clients should be. What do the theorists envision as evidence of a mentally healthy personality and what do they consider problematic? How would they define success in treatment from a theoretical perspective? To

This is a challenging exercise because it asks you to go beyond the theoretical, intellectual understanding of diversity issues and look for subtle ways you might be adjusting or failing to adjust your behavior on a daily basis at your internship. During the next few days at your placement site, take a mental inventory of

The following list includes some of the many characteristics that distinguish individuals and groups from one another. Consider these and try to identify where your knowledge, understanding, or experience would enable you to understand accurately and relate to their experiences, concerns, thoughts, emotions, or needs in a helpful way. Try to envision as much variation

We designed this exercise to help you become more aware of your own cultural and personal backgrounds and characteristics. Because this understanding is a first step toward understanding how you will interact with others, it is perhaps more important than anything else in this chapter. We encourage you to spend considerable time and effort on

Although transference is conceived to be largely an unconscious process, each of us has certain individuals in our lives who have represented influential authority figures in the past. Parents or guardians are perhaps the most likely to have filled this role, but others, such as older siblings, relatives, friends, or teachers, could also be such

Considering the three types of resistance (i.e., to awareness, to revealing ignorance, and to change), reflect on your education and training to this point and try to identify instances in which you may have responded with each type of resistance. Next, try to imagine future situations that could evoke such reactions. Finally, because all of

This exercise has two parts. In the first part, we ask you to explore your reactions to the ideas just presented regarding supervision and therapy. Do you think it is important to explore the needs and self of the therapist? Do you have any hesitations or concerns about this process for yourself? How would you

Because informed consent is an ethical and legal obligation, this exercise is particularly important. If you are in an advanced setting and are seeing clients, informed consent may be legally mandated. If you are a beginner in your first placement, we still recommend you complete this exercise because it will help you clarify your own

A good way to appreciate the importance of ethics and the principle of competence is to consider the matter from a client’s perspective. Imagine that you are seeking a psychotherapist. What qualifications would you like the therapist to have for you to consider the person competent to help you effectively? As you answer this question,