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to struggle making up information. On the other hand, you risk being caught off
guard, revealing more than you intended, and/or you might feel frustrated when the
role-play is cut short and feedback emphasizes the counselor’s behaviors.
Hypothetical material has the benefit of being less emotionally charged, and it
allows for a greater variety of situations and patient types.
Student Concern: “Is it normal to feel anxious during role-plays?”
Response: Yes! But you will find that your anxiety decreases as you become
more accustomed to doing role-plays. It may also help to remind yourself that there
is no perfect genetic counseling session and no terminal skill level. Counselors at all
levels of experience can benefit from practice and feedback.
Student Concern: How is a role-play supposed to be done?
Response: Here are some ground rules for role-plays.
- When you are in the patient role, think through the role before you begin, so you
can respond to the counselor as naturally as possible (e.g., What thoughts, feel-
ings, and behaviors might this patient have?). - When in the genetic counselor role, think about whether there are certain skills
or behaviors you would like the members of your group to watch for, and tell
them what those skills/behaviors are before you begin the role-play. - Realize that you will receive a great deal of feedback from many different indi-
viduals during this course. The feedback will vary in its validity and importance.
Listen for “themes” across different observers and role-plays. Repetitious feed-
back is generally a good indicator of your counseling strengths and growth areas. - Do not discuss the role-plays outside of your triad/quad or class. Whether hypo-
thetical or real, patients and counselors deserve confidentiality.
Appendix 1.5: Giving and Receiving Feedback
Feedback is a way of helping another person to consider changing his or her behav-
ior. It involves communicating your impressions, feelings, and observations about
another person’s behavior in order to be helpful to the person.
A 1.5.1 Types of Feedback
There are four types of feedback:
- Positive
- Corrective
- Performance
- Personal
1 Guidelines forfiBook Users: Instructors, Supervisors, andfiStudents