Name: Kristi Ellis

HNFE 4134
Midpoint assessment/Self assessment of counseling skills
Instructions: Set aside 1-2 hours to reflect on your progress so far with your counseling and the course.
Expand the space to allow you to answer the questions with the goal that the completed document does
not exceed 4 total pages.
Part One: Self-Assessment of counseling skills
Ask yourself the following questions to evaluate your counseling style and determine what kind of
counseling environment you created for your client. Use a recent counseling session with a specific client if
possible. Some questions you may need to answer based on multiple client experiences.
Ambience/Counseling Environment
Was there privacy? Did you make any efforts to enhance the counseling environment for your client?
Yes, it was a private environment. It is a very nice space because it is relaxing and comforting, but
not so secluded that the client feels uncomfortable. The lighting is perfect because it is bright
enough to see very clearly, but it does not make you feel like youre under blinding fluorescent
lights. The desk makes me feel authoritative, but since it is not cutting off contact between the
client, it still feels personal. I do close the door when my client is there, so they feel comfortable
sharing information. Eating habits can be a very personal matter for some people and would like
privacy to discuss it. I also think it focuses the client into our session since there are less
distractions. I also keep the blinds down so it feels less like were in the middle of Wallace and more
like we are at a real counseling center.
Expectations
In what ways did your client and you have similar expectations? In what ways did they differ? Were they
reasonable?
It is always hard to tell exactly what the client is looking for and how they will react to what you talk
about. With my first client, KD, I am not really sure exactly what he was expecting, because we
basically just reviewed the food he ate, and did not really seem like he needed much help going
forward. I had expected to talk about his recall and teach him about food and set goals together for
where he wanted to go for the future. Although, I did talk to him about eating more vegetables and
at the time he did not seem very responsive, but he came back and had improved his vegetable
intake. My second client, RM, seemed like she was looking for more guidance with her allergies
and eating vegetarian on campus. I think she may have expected me to be able to tell her a little
more about her allergies than I could, but she was very open to keeping a food diary to track her
consumption. I think that meeting had the most success with our expectations as a counselor and
client lining up. ST seemed to have a pretty bad diet, and wanted to lose weight, but I do not think
she realizes how poor her diet is. When I tried to show that to her, it did not seem like she was
catching on. It did not seem like she was interested in changing her diet much. She was also my
only client who has only wanted to meet once, although I think she could benefit from multiple
sessions. Sometimes, I feel like the clients expectations are not all reasonable, because I think
they expect the counselor to know everything about every nutrition information, which is just
impossible. I also think that they want a quick fix and they want the counselor to provide it, which is
not something we can do. On the other hand, I have found it kind of difficult to read my clients and
figure out exactly what their expectations are, so they may not have any.

Building Rapport
What aspects of your personality enhanced your ability to be effective as a counselor? What aspects made
it more challenging? What strategies did you use to help them feel comfortable or what do would you do in
the future? In what ways were you supportive?
I have a very open and trusting personality, which allows the clients to feel comfortable sharing
information with me. I tend to have strong reflective listening skills that make the client feel like they
are really being listened to and understood. I do tend to talk a lot, and sometimes I need to focus
on being quiet and letting my client do more of the talking. I try to make the session more like a
conversation with a friend. I sit facing my client and try not to write too much down, especially when
they are speaking. I want them to know I am paying attention and listening to them. I try to ask
them a lot of questions so I can get important details and so they get interested in the meeting and
open up. I try to be as supportive of their choices as I can be, but I think I concede my nutritional
knowledge in favor of trying to please them sometimes, and I want to make sure that I am still
telling them important information to help. I need to find the balance between supporting their right
to choose and doing my job as a counselor and teacher.
Establishing a Dialogue
How well did you balance of open-ended and closed-ended questions? What challenges did you have in
eliciting useful information from your client?
Sometimes I will ask a closed-ended question and not realize it until they answer it. At which point I
will follow it up with something like, do you think that is something you would be interested in
doing? or how difficult do you think it would be for you to complete that?. Sometimes, closedended questions are important for gaining information for the assessment, but then I ask more
open-ended questions towards the second half of the session where we talk about goals and
moving forward. Eliciting useful information from the client is not always easy. I feel like what they
say and what they do, do not always line up. Often, we will go over their 24-hour recall and I will
make a suggestion like, I think including more vegetables in your diet would be a good idea and
then they respond with, oh, I eat vegetables at every meal, even though it is clear that they do not.
Or they will leave out information until it randomly comes up later, and have to go back to a
previous conversation. Probably the hardest time to elicit useful information from the client is at the
end, when I am trying to figure out if they actually want to attempt to achieve their goals or if they
are uninterested in changing. Often, what they are saying and how they are acting do not line up.
They usually say they do want to make the changes, but seem completely unenthused or sold on
the idea.
Listening and Reflection
Were you able to listen without interrupting? Were you able to allow a few moments of silence rather than
trying to find the right words to answer every concern? How were you able to read between the lines?
Did you restate to your client what he or she has said to obtain clarification?
I can get a bit excited about commenting or giving advice to my client and accidently begin
speaking before they have completely finished. At which time I encourage them to continue and
wait til they are done. As a counselor, I feel like I should have all the answers, and the exact right
response to everything they say. I do not want to appear like I do not know what I am talking about.
Thinking back, I probably do not provide much space for reflection for myself or the client and try to
jump in to answer their concerns right away, even if I am unsure of the answer. But that time could
be very beneficial to myself and the client to come up with a much better solution together, then I
could quickly trying to answer the question. There are two very distinct times when it is very
important to read between the lines. The first is when we are doing the 24-hour recall and talking
about daily eating habits. I think clients tend to try to leave out information that they do not want to

draw attention to or saying things that they think I would want to hear. The second time is at the
end when we are discussing future goals and what they are willing to do to achieve them. Often
they will state that they are on board with something, when it is clear they are probably not going to
try; that is when I try to ask more questions to draw out any reservations and attempt to get them to
focus on what they really want and how they want to achieve it.
Frame of Reference
In what ways were you able to listen without judgment and empathize with the client? Could you see
through your clients eyes?
One of my strongest qualities is being able to empathize with many different situations. I especially
understood my vegetarian client who was trying to find more protein options on campus. I also
make it a point to not pass any judgments in any situation. I can definitely understand the troubles
of trying to eat healthy on campus, especially when it is not something your friends are interested
in. I also understand it a big deal to change your eating habits, especially if you feel like you have
to give up foods you love. It can be very intimidating to clients and taking baby steps can be an
important factor in their success.
Respect
Do you always respect confidentiality? Have you been able to extend the same professional courtesies to
all my clients despite diverse values and backgrounds? Are you able to successfully confront an
uncooperative client? Are you able to terminate a counseling relationship with grace and respect?
Yes, confidentiality is vital because without that, you are not fulfilling your job as a nutrition
counselor. Clients need to know they can trust you with what they share. I am always respectful to
all my clients and if our counseling sessions are not working, we can find other methods for them to
achieve their goals that does not include meeting with me.
Sharing and Feedback
Did you share personal experiences? If so, in a way did that enhanced or take away from the session?
Yes, I try to share some of my personal experiences, but not share so much that it removes focus
from the client or makes them feel uncomfortable. One of my clients is a vegetarian, like myself, so
sharing that can help our session move forward. I mainly try to stay focused on the clients
experiences over my own.
Ethics and Teamwork
Do you know when to refer a client to another professional or service?
If the situation came up where I felt like they needed more help than I could provide to them, I
would definitely recommend to them that they consider looking at other professional services to
help them with their issues or goals.
Self-Examination
How do your own food issues and values impact your counseling? Are you able to allow clients to express
a full range of emotions?
It is very important for me to maintain a healthy relationship with food so that I do not
subconsciously push my food insecurities on my client. If I have an unhealthy relationsip with food I
will not be able to counsel them in the way that is most beneficial for them. It is important that my
client expresses how they feel about food so that I can assess where their feelings are and better
serve them to meet their goals. Any emotions they have are welcome.
Questions adapted from: JADA, July 1995, Dietetics Goes Therapy by Lisa Licavoli.

Summary
Describe two to three counseling areas described above that you would most like to improve upon:
I would definitely like to focus on trying to please the client less. I want to make sure to emphasize
my advice. They are welcome to do what they please, but it is my job to inform them, and I cannot
do that if I am afraid of upsetting or embarrassing them. I also would like to try to leave more room
in my sessions thought and reflection, especially if I do not have the answer to the question right off
the top of my head. The reflection can be beneficial for myself and the client.
Describe two to three areas in which you are most skilled:
I am most skilled at listening to the client in a manner that makes them feel important. It creates a
safe and open environment so our counseling session can be the most successful. I am also very
encouraging to the client that they have the power to make choices for themselves and they can
achieve their goals. I think I have a good way of breaking the goals into manageable pieces for my
clients to tackle.
Part two: Self Assesment of your progress in the course
Review the established criteria for evaluation listed below briefly describe in a paragraph or two how well
you are doing in each area and how you would like to improve during the remaining half of the semester.
Indicate any support that the instructor could provide you to help you meet any goals.
1. Journal/ Self Assessment - 20%
2. Class Participation - 30% (15% attendance, 15% initiative/contribution/promotion of service,
participation in on-line discussion)
3. Client involvement/Counseling Reports - 30% (client counseling, oral & written reports,
initiative)
4. Book Review - 20% (10% written/10% oral)
I really enjoy doing the journals. It gives me a chance to gather my thoughts about my clients, and find
solutions to problems and to focus on nutrition news. I always complete my journals and I think I consider
good points, but I think I could expand them, diving deeper into some of the topics talked about. Reflecting
on what other peoples clients are doing would also be an interesting way to expand my knowledge. I
always go to class so that is not an issue and ask questions/ try to give suggestions to whoever is speaking
to help with their client. I think the group dynamic we have works very well. I think everyone in our class
asks good questions and offers good suggestions while being respectful to the client and the counselor. I
want to work out on filling out more detailed client reports, so I do not forget anything they tell me. The book
is going really well so far. I love it, I am just not very far into it yet. I need to set aside more time to read it.
Besides that, everything is going well.
List a few ways you have grown so far this semester from your experience in the course: I have
learned how to contribute meaningful comments and questions to other clients and look objectively at
nutrition problems. I also have learned to be more self-reliant since I am in charge of getting most of my
work for this class done in a timely manner. I appreciate how it is structured because it makes me feel like a
professional.
Submission instructions: place completed midpoint self-assessment in your dropbox by 5 p.m. on
October 14 Updated 2014