PSY 460 Principles of Counseling– Spring 2014
Dr. Rachel F. Pickett
Personal Reflection Paper Criteria & Guidelines
Paper Outline & Contents:
Summary of Personal Growth & Change
 Section should set-up the paper for the reader
 Discuss overall, big picture areas of growth & change
 For example, maybe you observed an overall improvement in your ability to listen to
others, or perhaps you gained a greater sense of self-understanding
Specific Strengths
 Review your portfolio entries to identify areas of strength (at least 3)
 Discuss areas of strength in terms of specific skills (e.g., basic empathy or paraphrasing)
 Briefly define the skills as covered in lecture and/or the text
 Discuss specific, personal examples from class activities
 State why you identify these areas as strengths & how they will enhance your ability to
help others
Specific Weaknesses & Areas for Growth
 Review your portfolio entries to identify areas of weakness (at least 3)
 Discuss your areas for growth in terms of specific skills (e.g., confrontation or reflecting
feelings)
 Briefly define the skills as covered in lecture and/or the text
 Discuss specific, personal examples from class activities
 State why you identify these as areas for growth & ways you can work on improving
these skills in the future
Future Career Goals
 State your major and future career goals
 Discuss how helping skills will play a role in your future career
 Discuss at least one specific skill (e.g., empathy) you believe is essential to your field
o Briefly define the skill as covered in lecture and/or the text
o Provide examples of how you might use this skill in your career
o Discuss this skill as a strength or area for growth (it does not have to be one of
the skills you covered earlier in your paper)
 You may also address how information you learned in class will assist you in meeting life
goals (e.g., improving personal relationships, etc.)
Theoretical Orientation & Personal Counseling Style
 Review your portfolio & Ch. 15 to help you identify your personal counseling style
 Discuss at least one specific counseling theory covered in class that you like
o Briefly describe the components/principles you find important
o How would you incorporate these components/principles into your personal style
 Discuss cultural intentionality & how your own background and values will impact the
helping relationship
Integration of Faith
 Connect religion, faith and/or personal spirituality to the personal style of counseling
described above
 Discuss how faith/spirituality plays a role in your career/life goals & how what you have
learned in this course will help you enhance your faith & service to others
Conclusion/Summary
 Section should wrap-up the paper for the reader
 Briefly review the main points covered in your paper, you may want to echo some of the
overall, big picture themes you discussed in your beginning summary
 “So What?!” conclusion – looking back what did you learn from the course and writing
the personal reflection paper?
Other Tips:
 “B.S.” in your papers… Be Specific! Don’t assume the reader knows what you are
talking about
 Grammatical errors, typos & formatting issues sends a message that you were careless
and threw the paper together at the last minute
 “Show, don’t just tell!” Flesh out your points by providing clear examples, explanations,
definitions, etc.
 If you choose to use additional sources make sure they are cited properly in APA style
 It’s best to use your own words, but if you choose to directly quote the text you must
include the page number where the information is located
Point Breakdown:
Opening Summary of Personal Growth & Change
10 points
Specific Strengths
15 points
Specific Weaknesses & Areas for Growth
15 points
Future Career Goals
15 points
Theoretical Orientation & Personal Counseling Style
15 points
Integration of Faith
15 points
Conclusion & Closing Summary
10 points
Writing Center Visit
5 points
Total:
100 points