Social Work students from the City College of Manila (CCM) recently finished a three-day training on Basic Communication Skills in Handling Child Sexual Abuse Victims in Stairway, from 27-29 May 2010.  The 10-member team was the third batch of students to undergo a series of trainings meant to equip them to be peer counselors in CCM.  "I never realized how important it is to know oneself first before trying to help others," one participant wrote in her reflections.  Self-awareness is a major topic Taboclaon emphasized throughout the sessions.  Various skills and techniques may be learned, but without a clear picture of who one is, the helping relationship will not be productive and may even get in the way of the client's healing and recovery.  The three-day skills training discussed and demonstrated the communication micro-skills needed in counseling and selected expressive arts meant to encourage client's disclosures.  The importance of taking care of the self was also tackled.