The Self: Principal Tool of the Correctional Helper

The goal of this chapter is to get you to examine what you really think about yourself—to examine your self-concept. As a correctional worker, many tools are available to you to modify the behavior of offenders, but your own self-concept is the most important. We next discuss how the offender’s and the correctional worker’s self-esteem affect both behaviors and the counseling relationship. The qualities of effective correctional workers are also presented. The benefits of self-disclosure are discussed next, with a focus on how it can increase your effectiveness as a correctional worker. The chapter concludes with exercises in self-exploration through disclosure. These activities serve to (1) improve self-exploration by disclosing to a partner various aspects of yourself and (2) to give you some experience of what it is like to reveal yourself to a relative stranger.