SELF AWARENESS &

THERAPEUTIC USE OF
SELF
 Self-Awareness

 Self-awareness – is the process of

developing an understanding of one's own
values, beliefs, thoughts, feelings, attitudes,
motivations, prejudices, strengths & limitations
& how one's thoughts & behaviors affect others.
Self-awareness-means an understanding of one's
personality, emotions, sensitivity, motivations, ethics,
philosophy of life, physical and social image, &
capacities (Campbell, 1980).
  Values

 Beliefs

 Attitudes
1. Values - abstract standards that give a per­son a
sense of what is right and wrong and establish a
code of conduct for living.

 Values clarification process

Purpose: for the nurse to understand himself or
herself & his/her personal values.
 3 Steps of
Values Clarification process:
 Choosing - is when the person considers a
range of possibilities and freely chooses a value
that feels right.
 Prizing- is when the person considers the value,
cherishes it, & publicly attaches the value to
him/herself.
 Acting - is when the person puts the value into
action.
 Example:
 an orderly student has been assigned w/ a
roommate who leaves clothes & food all over their
room. At 1st the orderly student is not sure why she
is hesitant to return to the room & why she feels
tense around her roommate.
 As she examines the situation, she realizes that they
view the use of personal space differently
(choosing). Next, she discusses her conflict &
choices with her adviser and friends (prizing) &
decides to negotiate with her roommate for a
compromise (acting).
2. Beliefs- ideas that one holds to be true.

 Some beliefs have objective evidence to

substantiate them
 irrational beliefs - one believes regardless
of existing empirical evidence to the
contrary.
3. Attitudes - General feelings or a frame of
reference around which a person organizes
knowledge about the world.

 Positive mental attitude - occurs when a

person chooses to put a positive spin on
an experience, comment, or judgment.
REMEMBER:
 Beliefs and attitudes should be re-evaluated
& readjusted periodically as one gains more
experience & wisdom by revised ones beliefs
& attitudes & expanded ones understanding
of people & the world.
 Therapeutic Use of Self
 Nurses uses themselves as a therapeutic tool to
establish therapeutic relationships with the client
and to help client’s grow, change and heal
Peplau (1952)
 Believed that nurses must clearly
understand themselves to promote their
clients growth and to avoid limiting
client’s choices to those that nurses
value.
 Johari Window

4 AREAS:
 Quadrant 1: Open/public self: qualities 1 knows about oneself &
others also know
 Quadrant 2: Blind/unaware self: qualities known only to others
 Quadrant 3: Hidden/private self: qualities known only to oneself
 Quadrant 4: Unknown: an empty quadrant to symbolize qualities
as yet undiscovered by oneself or others.
Goal: work toward moving qualities from quadrants 2,
3, & 4 into quadrant 1 (qualities known to oneself and
others), w/c indicates the person is gaining self-
knowledge & awareness.