The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Social Work
WHAT WE BRING TO PRACTICE: A CRITICAL LOOK AT PROFESSIONAL USE OF SELF
SOWO 757 Section 1 – Spring, 2014
Mondays 2 to 4:50 Jan 13 – March 3rd
Room: TTK 137
Instructor: Mimi Chapman, Ph.D., MSW
919-843-8282
mimi@email.unc.edu
Office hours: By appointment
This course explores students’ professional use of self in direct practice. Using scholarly
literature, students examine practice situations in which personal characteristics and experiences
positively and negatively shape clinical work.
Together we will examine domains and choices about professional use of self. We will be
considering our personal styles and preferences and how they impact our work with clients. We
will examine readings on the idea of countertransference and consider the definition and
relevance of this concept across social work settings and in the context of evidence-based
practice. In addition, we will be considering how the work we do changes us and how reflective
practice contributes to self-care.
This course will contribute to your professional development only if you apply the concepts and
strategies discussed to your own practice. Because I will be asking you to draw on your practice
experiences, it will be helpful for you to continue to journal and/or complete process recordings
on your current cases.
NOTE: The course instructor adheres to University and School policies regarding
accommodations for students with disabilities, religious holidays, incompletes, plagiarism, and
students’ evaluation of the course and its instructor as stated in the Student Handbook and the
graduate school bulletin.
Course Themes:
1. Who we are as practitioners and the impact personal characteristics such as race, gender, age,
sexual orientation, disability, culture, family of origin, and style have on clinical practice.
2. Countertransference: changing definitions, how to recognize it, how to use it to enhance
empathic communication with clients.
3. The therapeutic frame: boundaries and self-disclosure in clinical practice.
4. Changing perspectives on the use of self in the helping relationship.
5. Self-care in clinical practice.
Course Objectives:
Upon completion of this course, students, in written assignments and in discussion, will be able
to:
1. Articulate the major theoretical perspectives that address professional use of self.
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2. Use course content to systematically examine one’s own professional use of self in clinical
practice.
3. Identify and discuss the potential impact of clients’ traumas on helping professionals and
strategies for minimizing the negative effects of that impact.
Required Texts
All readings can be found on the Sakai site for this class.
Suggested Texts
Kottler, J.A. (2010). On being a therapist. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Nouwen, H.J.M. (1972). The wounded healer: Ministry in contemporary society. 2nd Edition.
New York: Doubleday.
Silverstein, C. Ed. (2011). The initial psychotherapy interview: A gay man seeks treatment.
London: Elsevier.
Wicks, R. J. (2008). The resilient clinician. New York: Oxford University Press.
Yalom, I.D. (1989). Love’s executioner. New York: Basic Books.
Assignments
Written Assignments
There are three assignments described in this syllabus with due dates. The length varies for each
assignment. They should be submitted as a hard copy in class on the day the assignment is due
unless otherwise specified, as in assignment 1.
Assignment #1 (due before the start of class 2): Be prepared to actively participate in a
discussion as described below. You may want to take notes and bring them to class.
Please view the following two movies – Good Will Hunting and Ordinary People. (If you have
not seen them before, you may want to watch them once to experience them as great movies and
then watch them a second time to complete the assignment.) As you watch these films, focus in
on the helping professional in each. Try to forget that the therapists appear to work successfully
with these clients. It is Hollywood after all. Now, consider these helping professionals from two
vantage points: client versus new professional. For each point of view answer the following
questions: What do I like about each therapist? What troubles me about each therapist? Then
consider discrepancies in your answers that vary between the two points of view. What accounts
for these discrepancies or the lack thereof? Possibilities might include your personality, life
experiences, education, etc.
Assignment 2
Please turn in at the beginning of class on Monday, February 3rd.
On our sakai site is a folder labeled “images.” It contains six images and some contextual
information about each. For each image, begin with the image. DO NOT READ ABOUT THE
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IMAGE UNTIL YOU ARE ASKED TO. (It will spoil the fun!) Using Kondrat (1999), respond to
each image using her “typology” of self-awareness. First, describe only what you see in as
much detail as possible (conscious awareness). Next, describe what you experience as you see
the image – curiosity, revulsion, pleasure, alarm, tranquility, etc. (reflective awareness). Now,
describe why you think you experience each image in the way that you do. That is, aside from
the qualities of the image itself, what associations do you make to it? What life experiences
might shape how you see the image? What personal or family characteristics might influence
your reaction to the image? (Reflexive awareness) Now, read the contextualizing information
provided about each image and respond with “critical reflectivity” as described by Kondrat.
Finally, look back at your responses to each image and see if you can see any themes that might
tell you something new about yourself and how you approach unfamiliar objects, situations, or
people. (You will likely see this through revisiting the conscious awareness/reflective awareness/
and reflexive awareness responses.) Conclude your paper with thoughts on this process and the
relationship you see between it and your work with clients.
Assignment 3
Please turn in at the beginning of class on Monday, February 10th.
Using your personal genogram and our class readings, consider the ways in which the
peculiarities of your own family history may manifest in your work with clients. Some possible
questions you might address include, but are not limited to:
1. What messages did you receive from your family about help-seeking, therapy, etc. while
growing up?
2. If your family had sought help for a problem, or if they did seek help, what type of
therapist or helper would have been the best fit for them? What characteristics would
that person have had to possess? What style would have fit for your family? Would race,
ethnicity or culture have played a role?
3. As you answer these questions, what connections do you make to your work with clients?
What type of client and/or family would you be best prepared to work with given your
own characteristics and history? What types of families would challenge you and why?
Assignment 4
Please turn in at the beginning of our last class on March 3rd.
Silverstein (2011) takes a large risk in writing up an interview to share with other practitioners
for feedback and critique. In his own reflection and in the reflections of others, he highlights the
interaction of the client and the therapist clearly explicating that our work is not a one way street
and that choices we make in our interviewing may derive directly from our own characteristics,
anxieties, and associations. Those choices may be beneficial or problematic to the therapeutic
alliance. Please select an interaction with a client that you can remember in some detail. To the
extent possible, create a transcript of that interaction. Working in teams of two or three, use
Silverstein’s approach in which each of you reads one another’s transcripts and follows the
process documented under “How to Read this Book” pages 13 and 14 of Chapter 1 in Silverstein.
Share your observations with one another and then each person should write a brief paper to
attach to their transcript describing the feedback received from colleagues pointing out
information and observations that they had not considered before and how that might influence
future client interactions.
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NOTE: For all assignments, good academic English is expected; grades will be lowered for poor
grammar, syntax, and/or spelling. You do not need to do extensive citing for any of these
assignments. But when you cite, follow APA style. If you are referencing a particular quote in
an article, it should be noted as such by the use of quotation marks.
Class Participation
In order for this class to be meaningful, participants must contribute their observations as they
relate to both the personal and the professional. Everyone is expected to contribute to class
discussions and demonstrate through their comments that they have read and considered the
assigned readings for each week. There will be times when there are differences of opinion in
our class. Everyone is encouraged to speak up but also expected to listen to the point of view of
others. Our goal is not to achieve consensus rather, to think critically and reflectively about
content important to our work with clients.
Student Evaluation
Assignment 1 Movie Comparison Discussion (not written)
10 points
Assignment 2 Image Assignment
20 points
Assignment 3 Family of Origin Assignment
20 points
Assignment 4 Transcript Assignment
25 points
Attendance
5 points
Active Participation (Discussion questions)
15 points
Course Schedule
January 13th
Week 1
Welcome and Beginnings
Note: We will begin our class at the Ackland Art Museum at 2:00. Please meet at the front
door of the Ackland.
January 27th
Week 2
Opening Themes
Assignment 1 – Discussion of Movies
Dewane, C. J. (2006). Use of self: A primer revisited. Clinical Social Work Journal, 34 (4),
543- 558. doi: 10.1007/s10615-005-0021-5
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Heydt, M.J. (2005). Conscious use of self: Tuning the instrument of social work practice with
cultural competence. Journal of Baccalaureate Social Work, 10 (2), 25- 40.
Kondrat, M.E. (1999). Who is the “self” in self-aware: Professional self-awareness from a
critical theory perspective. Social Service Review, 73 (4), 451-478.
Kottler, J.A. (2003). Client and therapist: How each changes the other. In On being a therapist
(pp.1 – 24). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. [In 2010 edition Chapter 4, 69-86]
February 3rd
Week 3
Countertransference – Definitions and Impact
Assignment 2: Image Assignment due at the beginning of class
Kottler, J.A. (2010). Patients who test our patience. In On being a therapist (pp. 119 -145). San
Fransisco: Jossey-Bass. [In 2010, Chapter 7, 141-168]
Silverstein, C. ed. (2011). The initial psychotherapy interview: A gay man seeks treatment.
(Intro – Chapter 4).
Optional Reading
Nye, C. (2005). Conversations with Sunwangran: The treatment relationship in cultural context.
Clinical Social Work Journal, 33 (1), 37-54.
Schwartz, R. C., Smith, S.D., & Chopko, B. (2007). Psychotherapists’ countertransference
reactions toward clients with antisocial personality disorder and schizophrenia: An
empirical test of theory. American Journal of Psychotherapy, 61 (4). 375 – 394.
February 10th
Week 4
Family of Origin Work
Assignment 3 – Due at the beginning of class
Carter, B. (1991). Death in the therapist’s own family. In F. Walsh & M. McGoldrick (Eds.).
Living beyond loss (pp. 273-284). New York: W.W. Norton.
Colon, F. (1998). The discovery of my multicultural identity. In M. McGoldrick (Ed.),
Revisioning family therapy: Race, culture, and gender in clinical practice (pp. 200-214).
New York: Guilford Press.
Framo, J. (1992). Author’s family biography: One therapist’s personal disclosure. In Family of
origin therapy (pp. 207-228). New York: Brunner/ Mazel.
Kottler, J.A. & Parr, G. (2000). The family therapist’s own family. The Family Journal, 8 (2),
143-148. doi: 10.1177/1066480700082005
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February 17th
Week 5
Questions of Boundaries
Cabaj, R.P. (1991). Over identification with a patient. In C. Silverstein (Ed). Gays, lesbians, and
their therapists (pp.31-39). New York: W.W. Norton.
Kottler, Ja.A. (2003). Personal and professional lives. In On being a therapist (pp. 43-73). San
Fransisco: Jossey-Bass. [In 2010 43-68].
Lijtmaer, R. M. (2009). The patient who believes and the analyst who does not. Journal of the
American Academy of Psychoanalysis and Dynamic Psychiatry 37(1). 99-110.
Martin, A. (1991). The power of empathic relationships: Bereavement therapy with a lesbian
widow. In C. Silverstien (Ed.). Gays, lesbians, and their therapists (pp. 172-185). New
York, W.W. Norton.
Malikiosi-Loizos, M. (2013). Personal therapy for future therapist: Reflections on a still debated
issue. The European Journal of Counselling Psychology, 2 (1). doi:10.5964/ejcop.v2i1.4.
http://www.zurinstitute.com/onlinedisclosure.html
http://www.zurinstitute.com/to_google_or_not_to_google.pdf
Zur, O. (2011). To Accept or Not to Accept? How to respond when clients send "Friend Request"
to their psychotherapists or counselors on social networking sites. Retrieved month/day/year
from http://www.zurinstitute.com/socialnetworking.html.
February 24th
Week 6
Self-Disclosure
Henretty, J.R. & Levitt, H.M. (2010). The role of therapist self-disclosure: A qualitative review.
Clinical Psychology Review, 30, 63-77. doi: 10.1016/j.cpr.2009.09.004
Kooden, H. (1991). Self-disclosure: The gay male therapist as agent of social change. In C.
Silverstein (Ed). Gays, lesbians, and their therapists (pp. 143-153). New York: W.W.
Norton.
Kottler, J.A. (2003). Lies we tell ourselves. In On being a therapist (pp. 183-206). San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass. [In 2010, Chapter 10 229-254]
Satterly, B.A. (2006). Therapist self-disclosure from a gay male perspective. Families in
Society, 8 (2), 240-247.
Zur, O. (2011). Self-Disclosure & Transparency in Psychotherapy and Counseling: To Disclose
or Not to Disclose, This is the Question. Retrieved month/day/year
from http://www.zurinstitute.com/selfdisclosure1.html.
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March 3rd
Week 7
Taking care of ourselves
Assignment 4 – Due at the beginning of class.
Berzoff, J. & Kita, E. (2010). Compassion fatigue and countertransference: Two different
concepts. Clinical Social Work Journal, 38, 341-349. doi: 10.1007/s10615=010-0271-8
Kottler, J.A. (2003). Hardships of therapeutic practice. In On being a therapist (pp. 75-117).
San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. [In 2010, Chapter 5 87-`124]
Ring, J.M. (2000). The long and winding road: Personal reflections of an anti-racism trainer.
American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 70 (1), 73-81.
Wicks, R. J. (2008). Enhancing resiliency: Strengthening one’s own self-care protocol. In The
resilient clinician (pp. 42-79). New York: Oxford University Press.
Wicks, R. J. (2008). Replenishing the self: Solitude, silence, and mindfulness. In The resilient
clinician (pp. 80-122). New York: Oxford University Press.
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