Deepening the Use of Self
DEEPENING THE USE OF SELF: The development of the whole self in order to make a difference.
This term use of self has been thrown around for a long time in the modern work world, with many meanings. An intervener’s challenge is to decide when and how much of him/herself to bring inside, outside or at the boundary when working with his/her clients. In the West, many people are raised to compartmentalize themselves so that parts of themselves go to work and other parts of themselves stay home. When we say using self as an instrument, which parts of ourselves are we talking about? What are the consequences for the choices we make?
At the core of every piece of work, lies the person that we are. We arrived on this planet as whole beings, vulnerable, energetic and curious. Somewhere along the way, we learned to spin off fragments of ourselves in order to survive and succeed in this world. There is a voice inside of ourselves calling out to us, longing for those missing fragments. Someday, this voice is loud enough that we no longer can turn a deaf ear. It is our natural self calling us to come home. We the interveners need to reclaim the alienated parts of ourselves so that we can be whole. By being whole, we can help our clients, including individuals, groups and the organization, become whole and fully functioning.
To achieve self-integration requires us to be personally vulnerable and flexible, and able to communicate our experiences of ourselves and the environment. This in turn requires us to create a balance between self-support and environmental support.
Workshop Outcome
At the end of the workshop, the participants will have:
- Gained a keener sense of awareness of themselves and their environment in assisting them to see the choices they have
- Increased their self-discovery and enhanced their self-expression
- Reclaimed the alienated parts of themselves
- Increased their ability to use their full self in the work they do
- Become bigger than the tools and techniques they carry
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