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Activity 6a: Low-Level Self-Reference Skills Model
The instructor and a volunteer genetic counseling patient engage in a role-play in
which the counselor demonstrates poor self-disclosure and self-involving behav-
iors. Students observe and take notes of examples of poor self-reference behaviors.
Estimated time: 10 min.
Process
Students discuss their examples of poor behaviors and the impact of the counselor’s
poor skills on the patient. The patient can offer her or his impressions of the coun-
selor’s behaviors after the other students have made their comments. The instructor
could divide the group of students and have half focus on counselor behaviors and
half focus on patient behaviors.
Estimated time: 15 min.
Instructor Notes
- One option is to continue with a role-play used earlier in the class so the genetic
counselor can more quickly move to self-reference skills. - Students may have difficulty differentiating self-disclosure from self-involving
responses. The instructor should assist them in categorizing the responses they
observe in the role-play. One issue that may come up is that the genetic coun-
selor’s intended response is perceived differently by the patient and/or the
observers.
Activity 6b: High-Level Self-Reference Skills Model
The instructor and the same volunteer repeat the same role-play; only this time the
genetic counselor displays good self-reference skills. Students take notes of exam-
ples of good behaviors.
Estimated time: 15 min.
Process
Students discuss their examples of good self-reference behaviors and the impact of
the counselor’s behaviors on the patient. They also contrast this role-play to the
previous role-play. The instructor could divide the group of students and have half
focus on counselor behaviors and half focus on patient behaviors.
Estimated time: 15 min.
Instructor Note
- Students could work together in think-pair-share dyads to identify examples of
counselor self-reference and their impact on the patient.
11 Counselor Self-Reference: Self-Disclosure andfiSelf-Involving Skills