The practice of self-awareness : exploring the meaning of self-awareness as a professional process
Date
2002
Authors
Weingart, Shelley Barbara
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Abstract
What is the meaning of self-awareness in professional human service practice? How is self-awareness experienced through the work of helping others? Why does it matter? While recognized as an essential component of effective human service practice across the helping professions, the meaning of practitioner self-awareness as a professional process could be more fully understood. The intention of this study is to develop a descriptive account of the experience of practitioner self-awareness that captures what it means to be self-aware in practice for the individual participants. A quality of reflective inquiry shaped by the values that characterize the experience of self-aware practice, such as openness, respect for uniqueness, and collaborative knowing, is used to elucidate the experience of practitioner self-awareness in human service work. Three front-line professionals working in somewhat diverse areas of the human service field were individually interviewed for this study. Five common themes relating to notion of balance emerged from the exploration of the participants' experiences: (1) balancing the personal and the professional, (2) balancing humanness with professionalism, (3) balancing reflection with awareness in the moment, ( 4) balancing openness with self-protection and (5) balancing comfort with discomfort. A meta-level of reflection involving a discussion of the findings from a synthesized perspective concludes the descriptive section. Personal reflections and the implications of the findings on practice are discussed in the final chapter.