ABSTRACT
Exploring and understanding oneself is always fascinating and there are surprises awaiting discovery. T-Group is a pathway to find oneself and opens the door to self-awareness. T-Group facilitators are expected to hold a safe space for participants to explore and deepen their self-awareness. Hence it is essential that facilitators in a T-Group understand concepts, theories, and models about self-awareness. A clear understanding of our own feelings, thoughts, purpose, and behaviour is also the foundation for this work. “Our ability to use ourselves potently relies largely on the level of awareness we have about the impact we make, and our ability to make choices to direct and modify that impact” (Curren, Seashore & Welp, 1995). This chapter covers a wide spectrum of theories that build a model and offer a process for developing self-awareness. We explore the definitions of self-awareness and articulate the two dimensions of awareness of being and awareness of self in the moment based on the onion metaphor. The rest of the chapter details some of the prominent models around awareness of being and awareness of self in the moment. We also explore some of the defence mechanisms that stop us from exploring ourselves in the moment and how we can be aware of them.
We conclude the chapter with the concept of ‘Use of self.’ This concept brings in the perspective of how a facilitator can utilize one’s awareness as an instrument for change.
