Facilitating the Genetic Counseling Process Practice-Based Skills, Second Edition

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11.4 Class Activities

Activity 1: Self-Disclosure Vs. Self-Involving Responses (Group

Discussion)

Students talk about what they think self-disclosure and self-involving responses are
and how the two skills are similar to and differ from each other. Students can first
respond to these questions in dyads in order to start the discussion.
Estimated time: 10–15 min.

Activity 2: Self-Disclosure Boundaries (Small Group

Discussion)

Students in a small group discuss the following question: What do you think we
should sometimes, never, and always disclose to our patients? The instructor sum-
marizes their comments in three columns on the board:

Never Always Sometimes

Estimated time: 10–15 min.

Activity 3: Self-Disclosure (Small Group Discussion)

Students discuss each of the following questions. Students can first respond to these
questions in dyads in order to begin the discussion.

• When is it ok, if ever, to use a personal story to illustrate an idea to a patient?


• How do you think self-disclosure in genetic counseling differs from self-
  disclosure outside of genetic counseling?


• What are the potential benefits of self-disclosure?


• What are the potential risks of self-disclosure?


• Have you experienced patients who seemed very interested in your training, or
  asked a lot of questions about you? How did you respond? How did their ques-
  tions make you feel?


• Describe additional questions you have been asked by patients that necessitated
  a self-disclosing response. How did you respond to these questions? How did it
  make you feel?


• How do you feel about answering a patient’s question asking you to self- disclose?
  What if you have not gone through an experience similar to theirs? What if you
  have?

11 Counselor Self-Reference: Self-Disclosure andfiSelf-Involving Skills