Follow the white rabbit'''

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Follow the white rabbit...
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WHO ARE YOU APPLICANT?

• Steve Davies
• University of Hertfordshire

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Finding Alice or Neo

• Applicants who dont know who they are
• We dont know who they will be
• Are we looking for The One or is there no such
  thing?
• Do we need to follow the white rabbit or shoot
  it?
• IS SELF AWARENESS NECESSARY?

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Psychotherapy Self Awareness

• Select for everyday talk or Psychotherapy?
• (1)Psychotherapy works by the enhancement of
  dialogue.
• (2)relationship factors common to all therapies
  THEREFORE
• The people we need have interpersonal skills
  (Parker, 1999)

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Core Facilitative Conditions

• Accurate Empathy
• Non-possessive warmth
• Congruence / Genuineness
• Respect / Unconditional Positive Regard
• (Thurer Hursh, 1981)
• Containing / Centred / Negotiative
• Wherefore technical skills?

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What are we selecting for then?

• Potential Clinical Experience
• Potential Academic Excellence
• Potential Research Excellence
• Making them nice?
• Er..Being nice?
• UmBeing like me?
• OH, WE STARTED SO WELL.

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The Slipperiness of Self Awareness

• Do you think that my strength or my speed has
  anything to do with my muscles in this place?
• (from a Training Programme)
• What are we looking for?
• Do we need it in everyone?
• Do we need it in anyone?

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So who are you Applicant?

• Boulder or Vail?
• PhD or Psy.D.?
• Scientist or Practitioner?
• Non-Reflective or Reflective?
• In the Matrix or out of it?
• Self Aware Science?

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The Personal Statement

• Your personal statement should tell a
  compelling, integrative story of a reflective
  individual who explicates accomplishments without
  joking or bragging or sobbing. (p.70) (Norcross
  et al, 2002).
• No humour, hyperbole or hard luck stories
  please.

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Evidence of Significant Personal Learning

• (1) Self-consciously perceived as profoundly
  important by learner.
• (2) Often triggered by a major life crisis or
  an uncomfortable time.
• (3) Redefinition of some part of the self
• (4) Assumptions about the world are called into
  question and re-ordered.

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Why add Self Awareness?

• Can obtain an idea of the constructed self
• Can identify capacity for self-reflection
• Can promote reflective practice
• Can promote critical, challenging thinkers
• Can identify preferred learning styles in people

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The UH Experience

• Recommendation of 2003 Selection report Include
  a personal statement that allows
  self-characterisation and elicits less rehearsed
  information
• Our Response
• (1) The Dreaded Q10. Describe yourself in 250
  words
• (2) PCP project on self-characterisation

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The UH Experience

• 2004 applicants completed Q10. Raters asked if
  there is evidence of self-reflection?
• Tentative Feedback so far
• (1) Raters loved it
• (2) Interviewees found it hard but saw the
  point

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Problems and Conclusions

• Can we measure reflexivity? I know it when I
  see it?
• Can we predict reflexivity?
• What about the other expertise?
• BUT
• It may help our access problems
• We need self aware Psychologists

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Im going to put the phone down now