SELF CRITIQUES

EDG 2902 : GROUP COUNSELING (LAB 2)

LECTURER :
MDM SALMI BT AHMAD SUDAN
PREPARED BY :
SITI HAJAR BINTI MOHD RAIS [1115836]

REFLECTIONS
There are many skills for counselor that can be used in a counselling
session. First is my attending skill. I think I manage to maintain eye
contact with our clients. But then it is not a fixed stare, I were just looking
at them, to show that I were listening to them. Next is our body posture. I
tried to stay in a straight position. Even though the counselling session is
30 minutes, I tried to sit properly, without shaking my legs or anything
that can make our client feel uncomfortable to keep on talking about their
problem.

The leader also manages to give minimal encouragement such as

Um Okay or nodding as a sign that she was listening to what have
been said by the clients, to show her empathy towards them. It is an
active way to show that what have been said by our client has been
understood. The co-leader showed our clients an interested facial
expression to give them a good interpretation. Besides that, both leader
and co-leader also repeatedly use reflection of contents and reflection of
feelings in the counselling session. We also did a quite good summarizing
and paraphrasing in the session. These show that we used every single
skill that they learned in class to conduct this counselling session and to
make a useful analysis to help insisting the client problem.

Conversely,

both

leader

and

co-leader

were

quite

weak

in

exploration skills such as asking questions and responding to clients

problem. We, especially me, often used an open-ended question whereas
we supposed to use a close-ended question. Due to that weakness, we
have to repeat our question to be understood by our clients.

Besides that, the clients have filled in the evaluation forms which
have been given at the end of the session. Most of them feel satisfied with
our leadership skills, out time management for each member, and the
setup of the place for meeting. The activity helped them to express more
about their self-concept on body image. They said that they are grateful to
be able to share their issue to the others. However, this is only the first
session, so they hope that they can have more session to share more
about their perception on how they see the good parts in themselves.

There are a lot of skills that I have learned in class such as listening
skill, attending skills, and questioning skill. So I applied it all during my
counselling session. However, I think I have to get used to silence skill. I
supposed to be in silent before I can ask any further questions to my
clients as they might have something more to share with the group
members.

As I have done all the preparation, I tried to look calm in front my

client and as soon as my client talked about her problem, I applied all
skills that I have learned in class. I want my client to feel confident with
me as the co-leader. I think I managed to make way for my client to
brainstorm and think wisely about the alternatives to cope with their
problems. There were not many differences between the actual from the
planned.

My clients strengths are that, when they came to the session, they
had a clear mind. There were able to explain clearly what their problems
are. However, sometimes they looked like want to hide something from
me and my group leader. I assumed it was our weaknesses. We were
supposed to explore more by clarifying, reflecting their feelings, and
reflecting their contents.

If I were to rate my content and ability to be helpful, it would be 8

out of 10. The group counselling session will be a success if I have a very
good chemistry with my leader. We have the chemistry, but they are still a
long way to go before we can reach that level.