Many years ago, in another life in academia, I introduced the idea of the Personal Development Audit (PDA) to undergraduates on two different four-year sandwich programmes, each having the word ‘Management’ in the title. It was a simple concept, basically about taking stock of what skills and abilities had been acquired in the past, what long-term aims and short-term objectives were in the mind of the writer, what further skills and emotional development might be needed to achieve those aims and objectives, and how to go about ensuring that such development was realised. After four years of making regular contributions to their PDAs including charting their management activities in their sandwich year, students were completely hooked on the activity and most said this had become part of their lives that they valued for its intrinsic worth in promoting their self-development and understanding, and capacity to cope. 

In counselling and psychotherapy, we do make use of the past to inform the present and we often look to help by taking a strengths-based approach, exploring coping mechanisms that have been useful before in challenging situations, and building on these to develop the confidence and personal resilience needed to navigate the struggle being suffered by the client. Consequently, there is a role in therapy for the Personal Development Audit.

It is easy to embark upon this type of self-assessment, but it takes commitment to monitor and sustain it, as it requires the dedication of time, and genuine introspection. However, the strategy promotes greater knowledge of self, and after just a few months, it is striking to see the improvements in personal understanding and the new directions for the future that this self-appreciation fosters.

I can adopt this approach with you in therapy as part of a CBT-informed way of achieving focus.