A Path of Counselor Self‐Awareness

This article explores self‐reflection and self‐awareness from an ethical standpoint, proposing that counselors have a responsibility to themselves, their clients, and the profession to engage in these practices. The authors propose a path to counselor self‐awareness and a 2nd process that assumes counselor mastery.     

Influence of Counselor Spirituality and Training on Treatment Focus and Self‐Perceived Competence

Spirituality is a potential area of concern for counseling clients. This study presents the empirical results of a survey completed by 572 counselors to determine if counselors' spiritual beliefs, experiences, or training had an impact on their focus of therapy or self‐perceived competence. A counselor's personal spirituality, spiritual experience, and spirituality training did significantly influence treatment focus as well as self‐perceived competence to counsel a client with spiritual concerns.     

Investigation of Ethnic Self‐Labeling in the Latina Population: Implications for Counselors and Counselor Educators

Using a qualitative approach, the author explored the process of ethnic label selection, change, and the meaning assigned to ethnic labels. Ten women of Mexican descent participated in semistructured, in‐depth interviews. Phenomenological analysis of the data revealed several themes, including the importance of family, ancestral traditions, and cultural traits; label as identity; and labels as complex and dynamic. Factors that influenced label choice, meaning, and change; implications for counselors and counselor educators; and limitations and suggestions for future research were addressed.     

The Self‐Care of Psychologists and Mental Health Professionals: A Review and Practitioner Guide

It has been documented in the professional literature that psychologists and mental health professionals in general tend to neglect their own mental health, despite serving in a field that promotes the health and well‐being of others. Numerous empirical studies support the need for psychologists and mental health professionals to be more conscientious of the effect that stress and the nature of their work has on them. This article reviews some of the recent literature and discusses the pertinent issues at hand. A number of interventions are suggested along with tips for professionals to consider in order to function in a more productive and ethical fashion.     

The Self‐Evidencing Brain

An exciting theory in neuroscience is that the brain is an organ for prediction error minimization (PEM). This theory is rapidly gaining influence and is set to dominate the science of mind and brain in the years to come. PEM has extreme explanatory ambition, and profound philosophical implications. Here, I assume the theory, briefly explain it, and then I argue that PEM implies that the brain is essentially self‐evidencing. This means it is imperative to identify an evidentiary boundary between the brain and its environment. This boundary defines the mind‐world relation, opens the door to skepticism, and makes the mind transpire as more inferentially secluded and neurocentrically skull‐bound than many would nowadays think. Therefore, PEM somewhat deflates contemporary hypotheses that cognition is extended, embodied and enactive; however, it can nevertheless accommodate the kinds of cases that fuel these hypotheses.     

Mirror Self‐Recognition and Self‐Identification

That great apes are the only primates to recognise their reflections is often taken to show that they are self‐aware—however, there has been much recent debate about whether the self‐awareness in question is psychological or bodily self‐awareness. This paper argues that whilst self‐recognition does not require psychological self‐awareness, to claim that it requires only bodily self‐awareness would leave something out. That is that self‐recognition requires ‘objective self‐awareness’—the capacity for first person thoughts like ‘that's me’, which involve self‐identification and so are vulnerable to error through misidentification. This objective self‐awareness is distinct from bodily or psychological self‐awareness, requires cognitive sophistication and provides the beginnings of a more conceptual self‐representation which might play a role in planning, mental time travel and theory of mind.     

Carl Rogers: Body‐Centered Counselor

The fundamental construct of C. R. Rogers's (1961, 1980a) person‐centered approach is organismic experiencing. This thesis is examined in the context of person‐centered theories of personality and counseling. Similarities between Rogers's thinking and that of W. Reich (1942, 1945), pioneer in body‐oriented psychotherapy, are identified. Rogers's activities as counselor are shown to be body‐centered.     

Reflective Self‐Control in Self‐Control Scholarship: A Peircean Analysis

Vosgerau, Scopelliti, and Huh (this issue) present an important critique of much self‐control research, highlighting some of the ways that our customary operationalizations and methods may have created more confusion than clarity. Their insights, rooted in past literature and new data, offer recommendations that will undoubtedly help us improve our research in consumption self‐control. In this commentary, I frame their work using the thought of Charles Sanders Peirce, a philosopher, mathematician, and logician whose frustration with the management of the self‐control construct and subsequent revision parallels Vosgerau et al's in many ways. Further, his thought proposes that their thought traces the boundary of another type of self‐control problem, which I'll refer to as “reflective self‐control.” Taking together consumption self‐control and reflective self‐control, we're able to address a wide range of human experiences and connect self‐control to ethics, consistent with a long tradition bridging the two. Perhaps most importantly, though, a Peircean analysis suggests that Vosgerau et al's paper—whether we agree or disagree with its conclusions—exemplifies the kind of scholarly self‐control we need to display to make scientific progress, regardless of our specific domain of study.     

Addiction and Self‐Deception: A Method for Self‐Control?

Neil Levy argues that while addicts who believe they are not addicts are self‐deceived, addicts who believe they are addicts are just as self‐deceived. Such persons accept a false belief that their addictive behaviour involves a loss of control. This paper examines two implications of Levy's discussion: that accurate self‐knowledge may be particularly difficult for addicts; and that an addict's self‐deceived belief that they cannot control themselves may aid their attempts at self‐control. I argue that the self‐deceived beliefs of addicts in denial and of self‐described addicts differ in kind. Unlike the self‐deception of an addict in denial, that of the self‐described addict allows them to acknowledge their behaviour. As such, it may aid an addict to develop more self‐control. A paradoxical implication is that this self‐deception may allow an addict more self‐knowledge.     

Motivation for Dental Home Care: Testing a Self‐Determination Theory Model1

The present research developed the Self‐Regulation for Dental Home Care Questionnaire (SRDHCQ), based on self‐determination theory (SDT; Deci & Ryan, 2000 ), and used it in an SDT process model of dental health behaviors and self‐rated oral health. In this model, patients' perceptions of autonomy‐supportive (relative to controlling) dental professionals were expected to positively predict patients' psychological needs satisfaction in treatment. Needs satisfaction was expected to be positively related to autonomous motivation for dental home care and perceived dental competence, which were expected to be positively associated with self‐rated oral health and dental health behaviors. Confirmatory factor analysis of the 5‐factor SRDHCQ model fit the data very well, and a structural equation model supported the hypothesized process model.     

Nonsuicidal Self‐Injury among Adolescents: A Training Priority for Primary Care Providers

Primary care providers were surveyed to determine how prepared they feel to address nonsuicidal self‐injury (NSSI) among adolescents, their interest in training on NSSI, and factors associated with routinely asking about NSSI when providing health supervision. Participants included family medicine physicians (n = 260), pediatricians (n = 127), family nurse practitioners (n = 96), and pediatric nurse practitioners (n = 54). Almost 50% felt unprepared to address NSSI, and over 70% wanted training in this area. Overall, relative to other areas of mental health care, clinicians felt least prepared to address and wanted more training on NSSI. Just 27% reported they routinely inquired about NSSI during health supervision. Factors associated with routinely asking about NSSI were identifying as female (OR = 2.37; 95% CI = 1.25–4.49), feeling better prepared to address NSSI (OR = 1.51; 95% CI = 1.04–2.20), and more frequently using a psychosocial interview to identify adolescents in distress (OR = 1.23; 95% CI = 1.02–1.48). Teaching clinicians to assess NSSI within a psychosocial interview may increase screening for and identification of the behavior among adolescents in primary care.     

Self‐Handicapping: On the Self‐Perpetuating Nature of Defensive Behavior

The term self‐handicapping was introduced by Jones and Berglas (1978 ) to refer to the creation of barriers to successful performance for the purpose of controlling attributions about the self. In the event of failure, attributions to lack of ability are diminished or discounted because of the handicap and, in the event of success, attributions to ability are enhanced or augmented because of the handicap. This article reviews over 25 years of research on self‐handicapping. A process model is presented in which individual differences in goals and concerns dynamically interact with situational threats to elicit self‐handicapping behavior which produces consequences that perpetuate the use of the behavior in future situations.     

When Interrogative Self‐talk Improves Task Performance: The Role of Answers to Self‐posed Questions

Nearly all the self‐talk cues studied so far have been self‐statements. However, the findings of Senay, Albarracin, and Noguchi suggest that interrogative self‐talk produces better task performance than declarative one. Two of the experiments reported here were meant to replicate that study, but the expected differences were not confirmed. Experiment 3 showed that if a self‐posed question about future behavior was answered positively, task performance was better than in groups exposed either to the self‐statement ‘I will do it’ or to a negative answer following the question. However, these differences occurred only in those who self‐reported the awareness of the impact of self‐talk on their thought processes. This effect and the possible reasons why between‐group differences were not found in Experiments 1 and 2 are discussed. An alternative explanation for the results of Experiment 3 is also proposed beside that stressing the impact of internal answer. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Self‐Compassion,Self‐Esteem,and Well‐Being

This article focuses on the construct of self‐compassion and how it differs from self‐esteem. First, it discusses the fact that while self‐esteem is related to psychological well‐being, the pursuit of high self‐esteem can be problematic. Next it presents another way to feel good about oneself: self‐compassion. Self‐compassion entails treating oneself with kindness, recognizing one’s shared humanity, and being mindful when considering negative aspects of oneself. Finally, this article suggests that self‐compassion may offer similar mental health benefits as self‐esteem, but with fewer downsides. Research is presented which shows that self‐compassion provides greater emotional resilience and stability than self‐esteem, but involves less self‐evaluation, ego‐defensiveness, and self‐enhancement than self‐esteem. Whereas self‐esteem entails evaluating oneself positively and often involves the need to be special and above average, self‐compassion does not entail self‐evaluation or comparisons with others. Rather, it is a kind, connected, and clear‐sighted way of relating to ourselves even in instances of failure, perceived inadequacy, and imperfection.     

Self‐Interests and Beliefs: Predictors of Mothers’ Views of Child Care1

Mothers (N= 270) completed questions related to child care for their children who were between 2 and 6 years of age. They completed a 9‐page questionnaire that included scales used to assess their attachment to their careers, financial need to work, and gender‐role beliefs as predictors of their ratings of the effects of child care on 4 criterion measures. Findings supported the hypothesized model that a mother's needs and her self‐interests and beliefs would influence her ratings of the benefits and costs of child care, her anxiety in leaving her child in child care, and her views of the effects of child care on her child. It is suggested that future research should avoid biases that might arise from participant or observer self‐interest and seek more objective approaches to the examination of the impact of child care on children.     

The Duty of Self‐Knowledge

Kant is well known for claiming that we can never really know our true moral disposition. He is less well known for claiming that the injunction “Know Yourself” is the basis of all self‐regarding duties. Taken together, these two claims seem contradictory. My aim in this paper is to show how they can be reconciled. I first address the question of whether the duty of self‐knowledge is logically coherent (§1). I then examine some of the practical problems surrounding the duty, notably, self‐deception (§2). Finding none of Kant’s solutions to the problem of self‐deception satisfactory, I conclude by defending a Kantian account of self‐knowledge based on his theory of conscience (§3).