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Becoming Naturally Therapeutic


            I believe that life is a learning experience and being able to recognize our own strengths and weaknesses not only as counselors, but people in general can help us achieve our goals. The purpose of this paper is to do just that and clearly define each of my strengths and weaknesses as they relate to the therapeutic traits and competencies listed in Smalls text Becoming Naturally Therapeutic. Doing so will enhance my learning process in my journey to becoming a Certified Counselor.
             We start the reflection with Empathy, which is the quality that enables us to perceive someone else's experience and then to communicate that perception back to the individual. This in turn draws the client in closer and at times the client may gain a new understanding of their situation (Smalls, 1981). I feel I have strength in this area of counseling. In my daily life I experience empathy in action between my son and I. This leads to warmth and openness in our relationship. Friends have also told me I am the first person they come to when in need of someone who can understand them, as I really listen and try to put myself in their shoes. This comes to me naturally possibly because of my life experiences I have endured in the past where in order to even comprehend a problem or trouble someone is experiencing it is necessary that you do this.
             Genuineness is the characteristic that allows us to be freely ourselves – it is non-phoniness, non-roleplaying, non-defensiveness, where our outer words or behavior match our inner feelings (Smalls, 1981). I feel it is very easy to be genuine when consoling our friends or family, but when I get into the classroom and practice with classmates this trait does not seem to show. This could be because the other students are not genuine in having the presented problem. Although this makes me nervous, I feel once I get into actual sessions with real life patients experiencing problems I will definitely be able to show my genuineness.


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