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

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Appendix 1.9: Personal Reflection About Genetic Counseling Paper

Prepare a 5–6-page, double-spaced paper in which you present your perspective on
genetic counseling. You should incorporate readings, classroom activities, and per-
sonal experiences. Include in your reflection a discussion of the following areas:

1. What is genetic counseling? What makes it so challenging? What role does
   diversity (culture) play in genetic counseling relationships?


2. In this course, we discussed the importance of identifying client concerns as the
   client states them as well identifying them via the counselor’s working concep-
   tualization. Why is a working conceptualization important?


3. Which of the skills that we have covered in this class is easiest for you? Which
   skill is the most difficult? What makes it so difficult for you?


4. *Describe a counseling interaction from a clinical rotation in which you used a
   skill from this course that worked well. What did you do? Why/how was it
   effective?


5. Describe one piece of positive feedback you received in this course and one piece
   of corrective feedback you received in this course that were particularly illumi-
   nating for you.


6. How have your beliefs about genetic counseling changed since the beginning of
   this course?

Objective This assignment builds upon self-reflective activities from earlier in the
course. It also provides students an opportunity to consolidate their learning and
“take stock” of their professional development to date.

Instructor Note

• *If students have not yet begun a clinical rotation, you can ask them to describe
  a role-play interaction from the course.

References

Barkham M.  Empathy in counselling and psychotherapy: present status and future directions.
Couns Psychol Q. 1988;1:407–28.
Bennett-Levy J.  Self and self-reflection in the therapeutic relationship: a conceptual map and
practice strategies for the training, supervision and self-supervision of interpersonal skills.
New York: Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group; 2007.
Bernard JM, Goodyear RK. Fundamentals of clinical supervision. 5th ed. Boston: Pearson Merrill
Counseling Series; 2013.
Callanan N, Redlinger-Grosse K.  Time flies: an examination of genetic counselor professional
development: introduction to special issue on genetic counselor development. J Genet Couns.
2016;25:611–6.

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