Keywords

identity, life circumstance, socio-demographic factors

Abstract

The purpose of this activity is to have clinicians explore a change in one key element of their identities (e.g., gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity/race) within the unchanged context of their life circumstances (e.g., family-of-origin characteristics, individual personality). This allows clinicians to focus on and process elements from their own histories within the context of a different perspective through an imagined switch in a salient socio-demographic factor. This activity is designed to help clinicians develop greater perspective-taking abilities and improve their awareness of some of the factors that have heavily influenced, and perhaps even defined, their own life experience.

Original Publication Citation

Bean, R. A.,*Hsieh, A. L., & *Clark, A. M. (2014). An exercise in perspective taking: The “What-If Paper.” In R. A. Bean, S. Davis, M. P. Davey (Eds.), Clinical supervision activities for increasing competence and self-awareness. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley and Sons.