Self-assessment and instructor assessment: Contribution to supervision in a brief counselling skills training program

Abstract

Whilst there are many critical elements in the teaching of micro-counselling skills, feedback is an essential component of an effective training program. This paper describes supervision linked to a program of instruction. More particularly it examines the relative merit and contribution of utilising both instructor rating and self-rating as a means of providing educative feedback during the process of supervision in a brief counselling training program. Instructor rating and self-rating measures were taken on two occasions, first at the commencement of a six-week training program and secondly at the completion of the course. It was found that instructor rating was consistently lower than self-rating, but both reflected an improvement in counselling skills acquisition. Students indicated an ability to be self-critical after a period of counselling training to the extent that instructor rating matched more closely self-rating, after the second interview.