Career Counseling Case Study Project

Career Counseling Theory and Relationship Strategies

Janine Vereen

COUN5279 – Life Plng & Career Development

January 31, 2016

Professor Fred Wilson

Abstract

The case study chosen is a Taneka, a 17-year-old African American female. She is a high school junior the oldest of three siblings living with her single-parent mother. As the oldest child, Taneka has held major responsibilities throughout her life to support her working mother, such as carrying for her younger siblings, Derrick, now age 14, and Kenya, age 12. Krumboltz Learning Theory of Careers Choice and Counseling (LTCC) would be the best approach for Taneka, since her environmental conditions is interfering with her ability to make a career decision without abandoning her mother and siblings. Career Counseling Case Study Project

The Learning Theory of Career Choice and Counseling (LTCC) was developed by John D. Krumboltz. Career decisions are the product of countless numbers of learning experiences made possible by encounters with the people, institutions and events in a person’s particular environment. People choose their careers based on what they have learned. Krumboltz proposed that there are four main factors that influence career choice, which are genetic influences, environmental conditions and events, learning experiences and task approach skills (e.g., self-observation, goal setting and information seeking) (Mitchell & Krumbolt, 1996). The consequences of these factors and most particularly learning experiences lead people to develop beliefs about the nature of careers and their role in life (self-observational generalizations). These beliefs, whether realistic or not, influence career choices and work related behavior.

Unit 3 – Career Counseling Theory and Relationship Strategies

Career counseling has been regarded as a personal emotional type counseling ( Osipow & Walsh 1990). However, clients attempting to choose careers need more than solutions to their emotional problems. Counselors must be prepared to choose for a client, who is considering a career choice intervention that is appropriate. Taneka needs a career counselor who will be supportive. Supportive therapy helps the client to deal with his or her problem, and provides the client with an understanding and accepting counselor.

The Learning Theory of Career Choice and Counseling helps the client by identifying the origin of his career choices and assist with creating a guide to challenge career related problems. The counselor starts with understanding how a client came to their career related view of themselves and the world and what is limiting or problematic about this view. Once this has been established, the counselor and client can identify what career relevant learning experiences, modeling or skill building will help them redirect their view (Mitchell & Krumbolt, 1996).

The basic tenets of LTCC involve cooperation between client and counselor. They include: (1) Clients need to expand their capabilities and interests with the help of the counselor to explore new activities (2) Clients need to prepare for changing work tasks and, with the counselor help, learn to cope with the stress of learning new skills throughout their careers (3) Clients need to be set free from fear and set free to courageously take responsibility for directing their own career path and making tough career decisions, and (4) Though the counselor is crucial in helping clients attain the first three tenets, the counselor is most needed to provide ongoing counseling where career and personal counseling is blended to help the client deal with all career related concerns including “burnout, underemployment, relationships with co-workers” (Niles & Harris-Bowlesby, 2009) and any other life issues. Career Counseling Case Study Project

Career counselors need to use assessment results of abilities, interest, viewpoint, principles and personality types to search for potential areas for development and to create additional learning experiences (Bimrose, 2004). The intended goal for the career practitioner is to help their clients “to create satisfying lives for themselves” (Niles & Harris-Bowlesby, 2009, p. 79) both now and for the future (Feller, Honaker, Zagzebski, 2001). Krumboltz stated that the way a person thinks ultimately controls his or her actions, including career choices. If a person is unsure on what path they want to take, then it could possibly lead them in the wrong direction. (Krumboltz, 1994).

References

Archer, J, McCarthy, C. 1. (2007). Theories of counseling and psychotherapy. Upper Saddle

River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.

Kirschenbaum, H., & Jourdan, A. (2005). The current status of Carl Rogers and the person­

centered approach. Psychotherapy:Theory, Research, Practice, Training, 42(1), 37-51 .

Bimrose, J. (2004, August 29). Learning theory of careers choice & counselling. NGRF –

National Guidance Research Forum. Retrieved January 31, 2016 from

http://www.guidance-research.org/EG/impprac/ImpP2/traditional/learning-theory/

Feller, R. W., Honaker, S. L., & Zagzebski, L. M. (2001). Theoretical voices directing the career

development journey: Holland, Harris-Bowlsbey, and Krumboltz. Career Development

Quarterly, 49(3), 212-24. Retrieved January 31, 2016 from EBSCOhost.

Krumboltz, J. D. (March 01, 1994). The career beliefs inventory. Journal of Counseling &

Development, 72(4), 424-28. Retrieved January 31, 2016 from EBSCOhost.

Niles, S. G., & Harris-Bowlsbey, J. A. (2009). Career development interventions in the 21st

century. Upper Saddle River, N.J: Merrill/Pearson.

Osipow, S. H., & Walsh, W. B. ( 1990). Career counseling: Contempora1y topics in vocational

psychology.Lawrence Erlbaum Association. Broadwa y Hillsdale, H. J.

Mitchell, L.K. & Krumbolt, J.D. (1996) Krumboltz’s Learning Theory of Career Choice and

Counseling in Brown, D., Brooks, L. & Associates (eds) (3rd edition) Career Choice and

Development San Francisco, California: Jossey Bass

DIVERSITY ISSUES IN CAREER COUNSELING 1

DIVERSITY ISSUES IN CAREER COUNSELING 5

Diversity Issues in Career Counseling

Janine Vereen

COUN5279

Professor Fred Wilson

Diversity Issues in Career Counseling

According to Arthur & McMahon (2005), over the years, the population has changed from homogenous groups to mosaic people. The mixture of different groups of people come with diverse customs and cultures. The diversity has influenced many aspects of the society in that the focus has shifted from monoculturalism to a wider focus, and that is multiculturalism. The idea of an integration of society with different groups of people has probed the career counselors to adapt more combative measures in counseling the various groups found in the same society. Various characteristics define the diversity issues in career counseling. Career Counseling Case Study Project

Taneka is a teenager in junior high school in need of vocational guidance. As the eldest sibling in a family of three, she exhibits characteristics of a responsible, hardworking and a dependable young adult. In this case, Taneka, an African-American girl from a low-income family needs career counselling. Any career advice that Taneka can get from a career counselor must address some of the characteristics of diversity issues in career development.

Age is one of the characteristics which plays a significant role in the type of counseling that a professional counselor must consider so that it can help her to transition from high school to college and the job market as well. By the fact that she is still a teenager, the relationship would be the one of a mentor and a mentee. At this level, Taneka would be required to consider adult questions and make adult choices. The kind of counseling focuses on comparable outcomes, and that is socialization to higher education both socially and academically. At seventeen years, Taneka needs advice on the best career path to follow. Her abilities to deal with people would make her prosper in the sales business.

As a professional counselor, I must be able to foster a relationship that respects all parties and in this case, the relationship should employ cultural sensitivity and diplomacy (Arthur & McMahon, 2005). In her family, post-secondary education has never been given much priority due to the lack of the financial resources. However, since Taneka had seen some light on the issue, I should be sensitive to her feeling about the matter and try to make her understand the importance of furthering her studies. In the counselling process, understanding the client is critical. In the case of Taneka, the counselling would be a client-centered approach (Arthur & McMahon, 2005).

Gender impacts counselling significantly. Since Taneka is a woman, the advice should be centered on matters affecting women in the society. The cultural conceptions influence the career choices that people choose. In the case of Taneka, as a career counselor, I have to listen to her perception about her understanding of the career paths and the role that gender plays in the same. Gender variations in the selection of activities that constrain occupational choices occur earlier in the life cycle. In the case of Taneka, she did not put much effort in studies while in her early years in high school since she saw no need to put the needed efforts to make her go to college. As a career counselor, I would advise her on the range of career paths she can follow with the kind of grades and show her ways of getting the financial resources in advance to prepare for the course she chooses.

Biases and Assumptions have a telling effect on the counselling process both to the counsellor and the client. To start with, the client may have assumptions about an individual career and a counselor must have the knowledge on how to explain such assumptions and biases. Taneka had the perception that college was out of her reach due to the family’s socioeconomic status and the fact that no one in her family had proceeded to college (Ponterotto, 2010).

Also cultural bias can influence the counselling session. The western culture emphasizes autonomy, competition, independence and assertiveness while those from the east emphasize on interdependence, cooperation, maturity and compliance. The counsellor must realize the differences in the sets of values and strike a balance between the two when carrying out the counselling process. The values of the counselor may have an influence on the client’s values. The values of the counselor affect how they work with the clients. Counselors must understand their values and those of their clients as well. Values act as points of reference for individuals; the counselors must be careful that their values do not conflict with those of the clients because this would cause a strained relationship. Counselors must stay neutral so that the clients can move from an external to an internal locus of control (Ponterotto, 2010).

Over the years, career counselling in the U.S has developed a comprehensive network of theories and intervention strategies that make counselling worthwhile. In the case of Taneka, various models can be manipulated to give positive results amid the potential challenges in the counselling process. The life cycle developmental model can be used to outline the abilities, personalities, interests, values and self-concepts. Under the assumption that each occupation requires a set of characteristics would help the counselor determine Taneka where would fit best.

The identity development model would assist the client to develop and implement a self-identity. As the self-concept becomes more realistic and stable, so does vocational choice and behavior. People like occupations where they are free to assert their personal identity, and this would help Taneka. The gender development theory would help address the challenge of making it in a male-dominated occupation and help her become a success in the line of work. The empowerment that comes with the counselling would give her the confidence to face the challenges in the chosen career path (Ronzio, 2012). Career Counseling Case Study Project

References

Arthur, N., & McMahon, M. (2005). Multicultural Career Counseling: Theoretical Applications of the Systems Theory Framework (1st ed., p. pg. 208). University ofCalgary, 2500 University Dr. N. W, Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2.

Ponterotto, J. (2010). Handbook of multicultural counseling. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: SAGE Publications.

Ronzio, C. (2012). Counseling Issues for Adult Women in Career Transition. Journal Of Employment Counseling, 49(2), 74-84. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/j.2161-1920.2012.00008.x