Portfolio of CompetenceChapter 15 Reflections on Your Personal Style and Future Theoretical/Practical Integration and Your Developing Portfolio There

are two major factors to consider as you move toward identifying your own personal style and integrating the many available theoriesyour own personal authenticity and the needs and style of the client. Unless a skill or theory harmonizes with who you are, it will tend to be false and less effective. It is also obvious that modifying your natural style and theoretical orientation will be necessary if you are to be helpful to many different clients. In summary, remember that you are unique, and so are those whom you would serve. We all come from varying families, differing communities, and distinct views of gender, ethnic/racial, spiritual, and other multicultural issues. If you have presented and analyzed a transcript of an interview as recommended in Chapter 13, you have an excellent beginning for understanding yourself and how clients relate to you. If you are able to engage in the four theoretical/practical methods of this book, you have at least beginning competency in issues of decisions and solutions, meaning-making, and behavioral specifics. At this point it may be useful to summarize your own story of interviewing and counseling. Particularly important are your plans for the future. Where are you going next? Determining Your Own Style and Theory: Critical Self-Reflection on Where You Stand and Where You Might Head Next My present strengths in self-understanding and emotional awareness are:

Areas where I would like to grow and learn more about myself:

What are your personal goals as you think of ethical issues in the field?

The list in the Multicultural Self-Assessment is obviously not complete. Please add other multicultural, cross-cultural, and issues of diversity that occur to you:

What would be your target area(s) for future growth in terms of multicultural awareness?

As you develop your own personal style and theoretical/practical orientation, what are the critical issues as you see them? At this point, your ideas are more important than ours, for it is you who will continue the process of becoming an ever more intentional interviewer, counselor, or therapist. Here are our ideas in answer to the question we raised at the beginning of the chapter in the first flashcard.

Meaning issues are perhaps the best place to start. What are your personal
values and your most important personally held beliefs? What might you want to contribute of yourself to the helping others?

What is your level of self-understanding and emotional awareness? Equally important, what level of understanding of ethical issues have you
developed?

What are your strengths and resources? Outline both your past history of
personal positive assets. In addition, what support systems do you have as a person-in-relation?

What is your own multicultural background and history? How will the multiple
areas relate to your developing practice?

What is your level of understanding, skills, and mastery in multicultural issues?

 What level(s) of microskills and microskill strategies have you achieved? Which
of those do you believe most important for future growth?

What theoretical orientation(s) do you favor and why? Where might your journey
to personal theoretical integration lead?

What are your plans for further growth? Can you be intentional and patient with yourself and allow yourself to grow and
develop over time?

What else would you add to this list? How does our list compare with yours?
Write your ideas here:

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