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Self-of-the-Therapist Reflection
Name of Student
Lecturer Name
Course
Date
Self-of-the-Therapist Reflection
Introduction
Therapists often, without our knowledge, carry around our own biases influencing how we view and relate to clients. Most often these biases are based on our family of origin, cultural upbringing or old experiences. It is important to reflect on these influences to develop self awareness and to enable ethical practice. In this paper, I examine my own personal bias about adolescence, a belief that teens are inherently rebellious and dismissive of family values. This bias comes from the cultural and religious expectations in my Turkish Muslim family of respecting elders and following tradition. Knowing this bias, I want to set up a personal learning goal to address this as I continue through this course in order for it not to attribute negative impacts regarding my future work with adolescent clients.
Identifying the Bias: Adolescents as Rebellious
I had a bias that adolescents are naturally rebellious, they follow their friends more than their parents, and disregard the cultural or religious norms. This fits with stereotypes of adolescence as a time of turbulence and rebellion (James, 2025). For instance, I could anticipate that a teenage client is going to challenge authority or dismiss parental advice, and therefore misread the intention behind a client’s behavior. This bias is particularly applicable for human development, since adolescence is a crucial life phase of identity exploration and raised autonomy (Beyers et al., 2025). If I do not address this assumption, I may make unfair judgements about clients, which could compromise the therapeutic trust and effectiveness.
Though, research shows that adolescence is not always characterized by rebellion. As Skaar (2024) points out, although some adolescents exert risk-taking and oppositional behaviors, others make their way through this stage with healthy relationships and with adaptive coping. Perhaps my bias comes from overgeneralizations of certain cultural narratives instead of an acknowledgment of the diversity of adolescent experiences. The first step in mitigating the consequences of this discrepancy is understanding it.
Influence of Family of Origin and Cultural Values
I was raised in a Turkish Muslim household, surrounded by a collectivist culture focused on family cohesion, respect for elders and being guided by Islamic principles. In Turkey, adolescence is seen as a phase of transition during which one has to be involved in upholding family honor and other religious values. There was not always acceptance of behaviors that were perceived to be rebellious, such as questioning authority or playing with alternative identities. I remember how we used to talk regarding teenage independence as a disrespect if it contradicts with the parental aspirations. The lessons I learn from these experiences led to my thinking that asserting autonomy by adolescents is built into their defiant or ungrateful attitude.
This was further reinforced by Islamic teachings which emphasize obedience to parents (Qur’an: 17:23-24). When I deviated from traditional norms, my parents often took that as a rejection of faith or family loyalty. This cultural lens is consistent with Dimopoulos et al. (2024)’s finding that religious families often view adolescent autonomy as a threat to moral or spiritual integrity. As a result, my bias stems from a culturally informed narrative that identifies adolescent independence as rebellion, not as a developmentally appropriate process of self discovery.
Impact of Bias on Therapeutic Practice
This bias could have a massive impact on my work with the adolescent clients. For example, I might unconsciously select interventions that serve to instill compliance with family expectations at the expenditure of independence for the client. However, this could alienate clients, stifling their developmental growth. Beyers et al. (2025) underline in their research that fostering adolescent autonomy equips them with resilience and a healthy identity. Assuming rebellion, I might also misunderstand normal behaviors, such as questioning of authority, as problematic instead of exploratory.
Furthermore, my bias could be a barrier to me being culturally competent. Although I understand the concept of autonomy from my cultural framework, adolescents from other cultural backgrounds may express autonomy in different ways. Failure to take this diversity into account can lead to inappropriate efforts and misunderstanding. I must challenge this bias and develop a more nuanced view of adolescence to be able to provide client centered care.
Personal Learning Goal: Cultivating Open-Mindedness
In order to rectify this bias, my learning goal during this course is to become more open-minded about the behaviors of adolescents, and more particularly those regarding autonomy and identity exploration. More specifically, I want to reframe behaviors I had previously categorized as rebellious into developmentally appropriate ways of self discovering. This lesson ties in with the course objective of human development and includes understanding adolescence by reading assigned literature, attending class discussions, and completing reflective exercises.
A practical approach is to consistently look for and incorporate peer reviewed research that contradicts my assumptions. For example, I would like to read studies such as ones conducted by Choudhry et al. (2023), which address neurological and social factors responsible for adolescent behavior. Grounding my perspective in evidence allows me to replace stereotypes with informed insights. In addition, I will undertake role plays and case studies with the course to role play conversations with adolescent clients without any preconceived judgement. My desired outcome is to meet each adolescent client with curiosity and empathy, recognizing their unique developmental journey rather than assuming defiance.
Conclusion
One key ethical component of therapeutic practice is to be able to identify and mitigate personal biases. Rooted in my Turkish Muslim upbringing, my bias came from thinking adolescents are innately rebellious with their cultural and religious values to be obedient and family loyal. Taking this perspective risks affecting my conversations with adolescent clients, eroding their autonomy and developmental requirements. To counter this, I set a learning goal to become more open minded and interact with evidence based literature to reduce this bias throughout this course. Ultimately, I want to be a therapist who appreciates the complexity of the adolescents, and who builds the trust and growth with the client. Therefore, this reflection represents the first step toward greater self-awareness and cultural competence to ensure that my biases do not prevent my effective work with diverse clients.
References
Beyers, W., Soenens, B., & Vansteenkiste, M. (2025). Autonomy in adolescence: a conceptual, developmental and cross-cultural perspective.
European Journal of Developmental Psychology,
22(2), 121-141.
Choudhury, S., Piera Pi-Sunyer, B., & Blakemore, S. J. (2023). A neuroecosocial perspective on adolescent development.
Annual Review of Developmental Psychology,
5(1), 285-307.
Dimopoulos, G., Shircore, M., & Hew, E. (2024). Adolescent autonomy to make a ‘catastrophically bad’decision informed by religious beliefs: To respect or protect?.
Alternative law journal,
49(4), 274-281.
James, A. G. (2025). The Historical Foundations of Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood. In
An Introduction to the History of Human Development and Family Science (pp. 34-48). Routledge.
Skaar, N. R. (2024). Confirmation of a Reconceptualized definition and measure of adolescent risk behavior: adolescent viewpoints.
Journal of Adolescent Research,
39(3), 746-769.
