Case Study on "Career Development Career Counseling Is Thought"

Case Study 5 pages (1782 words) Sources: 5

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Career Development

Career counseling is thought to be a discipline of its own. It consists of counseling that is conducted independently of the use of psychometric assessments. This is not to say that assessment does not take place during the interview. The assessment typically occurs by way of a calm, warm and pleasant counseling process through which the client creates a picture of who they are. By asking questions about topics such as role models, favorite magazines, hobbies and early recollections counselors can build a clear and detailed picture of the personalities, values and interests of their clients without the use of psychometric assessment instruments. During this process, the client has the power as the teller of the stories and the expert in regards to their life. This process also provides them with an opportunity to strengthen the story of who they are because as they tell their stories, themes and patterns are repeated and reinforced as being important and essential ingredients to her future direction both (McMahon, 2007).

Savickas' clear elaboration of the theory that underpins his practice is a reminder that career counseling is much more than a grab bag of techniques and strategies. It points out the need to be able to firmly position practice in theory and to be able to provide a rationale for our work to clients and to others. Savickas describes his work as a narrative approach that draws on the early work of Super as a rationale and the counseling methods of Adler. With this they are able to express his theoretical ideas to the interviewer as well as to the client in a language that is suitable to both (McMahon, 2007).

A career style interview, which consists of stimulus questions that seem valid to career counseling clients and elicit from them opinions and experiences that are relevant to their career choices, is often used to help someone understand their career goals and choices (Sweeny and Sweeny, 2009)

Case Study

In order to begin counseling for career construction it is necessary to interview a client using a uniform set of questions. The Career Style Interview is an instrument that has been designed to depict self defining stories that allow counselors to help identify the style that people impose on their characters. This instrument also helps them to understand the resulting thematic harmony (Savickas, 2005).

Meeting Alexa

Alexa is a 20-year-old female pre-law college student who thinks that she wants to be an attorney. She thinks that she might want to pursue a political career later on in life. She is not sure what jobs are available to obtain now while she is in school or even what jobs will be available later on. She wants me to help her to explore whether becoming an attorney is the right career path for her.

Career Style Interview with Alexa

In response to the first question concerning how I could be useful to her, Alexa responded that she want to make sure that she was on the right track in becoming an attorney. Next, I asked Alexa to name who she admires and whom she would most like to pattern her life after. She stated that she admires her mother because she is a go-getter and a very determined person. She feels that she can overcome anything. She also admires her father because he's very funny and he can tell jokes and entertain people. He always gets invited to parties because he is the life of the party. She feels that she would like to be like him too. I ask her how she was like her mother. She stated that she was like her mother in many ways but I don't have the power she has when it comes to staying calm and clear minded to find a solution in critical times. I then asked her how she was different from her mother. She stated that she is funnier than her mother and she likes to have a lot of friends. She says that she is funny but not as much as her father so that's how I am different. She also feels that she is more self righteous. In order to assess preferred environments, I asked Alexa about her favorite magazines, books and television shows. She likes I read Vogue to pass the time and to follow fashion, Wall Street Journal because it keeps her up-to-date and Daily Business Review because it's local and it gives her information about court cases and also about attorneys that were fined by the Bar Association and why. Her favorite TV shows are Family Guy and the Simpsons because they're funny and it's the only time of the day when she doesn't have to think about anything and can just laugh. In response to questions about her hobbies and leisure activities, Alexa stated that she liked walking her dogs. She likes to sleep. She likes to hang out with her friends. She doesn't really have any hobbies. Maybe just shopping if that's a hobby. Alexa reported having three favorite sayings. These were "All that glitters isn't gold" and "All good things come to those who wait." She also remembers hearing "If you can't take the heat get out of the kitchen." When asked about school subjects, Alexa responded by saying that she loved English, writing and history, because she is good at it and I enjoys it. She stated that she hated Math, Science and FCAT preparation. She feels that she is not good at it, and still has problems now. She stated that FCAT preparation was a waste of time.

Nearing the end of the Career Style Interview, I asked Alexa to report her early recollections. Her recollections included:

I remember swimming at day care summer camp when I was three.

I remember being at the Christmas play at pre-K when I was four. I played the role of Mary and I walked on the stage holding the baby Jesus. I felt I was the center of attention because I had the most important role.

I remember first day of kindergarten when I met my best friend Amy. It was a very exciting day because I was going to school with all these new kids. And I wanted to make lots of friends.

I remember the last day of first grade when I did the "Frog Hop Dance" for our parents. Everybody was clapping and crying they really liked our dance.

Alex's Vocational Personality, Career Adaptability, and Life Themes

Recently career construction theory has emerged as a complimentary tool to help conceptualize how people impose meaning on their vocational behavior. It compliments the traditional trait-and-factor approach and challenges that there are normative and predictable stages of career development (Busacca, 2007). In trying to analyze Alex's interview I begin to try and make sense of Alex's stories by reviewing how she wants to use her counseling experience to help her. In response to my question of -"How can I be useful to you in constructing your career?" -- her response was that she wanted to make sure that she was on the right path with becoming an attorney. She wants a third party to validate why she has chosen the career path that she has.

Second, I look for the verbs in her recollections. There verbs that were used in her recollections included: swimming, playing a role, walking on stage, being center of attention, feeling important at the play, meeting a new friend, wanting to make friends, dancing, people clapping and feeling accepted. Alexa appears to enjoy being active. She thrives on being social and accepted by others. She likes being the center of attention and finds that these things make her feel important.

The third thing that I look at is her recollections. All of her recollections revolve around social events where she was involved in a lot of active movement. She enjoys these types of situations and wants a counselor to validate her career path of becoming an attorney. She wants to make sure that her choice of becoming an attorney will provide here with the social activity on which she seems to thrive.

Fourth, I want to try and understand how Alexa is attempting to get validation by constructing a career and how occupations can help her master the dilemma that she faces. It is important to draw a line from preoccupation to occupation. In order to do this, I compare her early recollections to her role models. Her recollections are all about social events, just as her role models are both strong people who do well in social situations. Alexa is definitely not afraid of social situations and being the center of attention.

Fifth, I profile Alex's career adaptability. After reviewing her coping strategies in her stories, I came to the conclusion that she is somewhat concerned that her current career path will give her enough social stimulation. The major deficiency in her profile is the absence of belief in herself and what… READ MORE

How to Reference "Career Development Career Counseling Is Thought" Case Study in a Bibliography

Related Papers:

Career Counseling I Thought Lessons Thesis

Career Counseling

I thought Lessons from the Hive... A much more practical book than, say, Thank God It's Monday! By Roxanne Emerich. I began to read Emerich's book for this… read more

Thesis 2 pages (661 words) Sources: 1 Style: APA Topic: Literature / Poetry

---

Graef, S.T.; Tokar, D.M.; Kaut, K.P. (2010) Article Review

Graef, S.T.; Tokar, D.M.; Kaut, K.P. (2010). "Relations of masculinity ideology, conformity to masculine role norms, and masculine gender role conflict to men's attitudes toward and willingness to seek career… read more

Article Review 4 pages (1770 words) Sources: 2 Topic: Career / Labor / Human Resources

---

Financial Counseling Term Paper

Financial Counseling Profile:

Tackling Mid-life Shifts

In this paper, I will describe the career, family situation, and relevant life history of my client, Laura Lemming, and outline the solutions to… read more

Term Paper 10 pages (3022 words) Sources: 8 Topic: Career / Labor / Human Resources

---

Counseling Naturally Therapeutic Person Term Paper

Counseling naturally therapeutic person is one who, by a natural response to those in pain, empowers them to realize their own healing potential lies within them, and never in the… read more

Term Paper 6 pages (2014 words) Sources: 1+ Topic: Psychology / Behavior / Psychiatry

---

Counseling Psychology Treatment Plan Term Paper

Counseling

What is your attitude about Doris wanting to leave her husband and her child? How would your own values influence the way you would work with her?

I have… read more

Term Paper 4 pages (1384 words) Sources: 0 Topic: Child Development / Youth / Teens

---

View 100+ more related papers  >>