BEFORE COMMMITTING…..PLEASE READ EVERYTHING!!!!
CAREER COUNSELING CASE STUDY (worth 60 points or 21% of the final grade)
This activity will develop practical experience in applying a career development mode explore a variety of career-counseling activities and resources review and interpret assessment tools and organize career counseling information into a career counseling plan. Each student will be assigned a case study to review and analyze. After reviewing and analyzing the assigned case study students are to develop a career counseling plan by using one of the career development models. Exploration of career counseling assessments career counseling resources occupational information and other relevant information will be required. Students will write an eight page report that summarizes and analyzes the process of all activities and information.
Guidelines for Case Study Analysis:
1. What career counseling model seems to parallel your case study client? Discuss how they correspond.
2. Describe the need for a referral or additional services beyond the career development setting.
3. Discuss the selected career development assessments resources and activities that appear relevant for the case study client. What appears to be some of the advantages and disadvantages of the selected career tools?
4. Discuss your experience as a counselor with the case study. Describe your thoughts and feelings. What was difficult frustrating satisfying and rewarding? If you could start over with this case study assignment what would you do differently? What did you learn about yourself and career counseling from participating in this assignment?
Written Case Analysis Guidelines:
Each assignment should be at least eight (8) pages in body length. This does not include the title page and reference page. American Psychological Association (APA) writing style and formatting (Cover page Reference Page and correct use of double-spacing throughout the paper including appropriate paragraph indentation) should be used. No late assignment will be accepted. The following guidelines will be used to rate the case study assignment:
Career Counseling Case Analysis Rating Scale
Analysis Possible Points Points
1. Clear analytical application of a career
development model. 10
2. Specific clear and detailed discussion of
assessments future plans and a need
for additional services. 10
3. Case included a wide range of
assessment tools and appropriate
internet and/or occupational resources. 10
4. Insightful and analytical discussion of
the advantages/disadvantages of the
selected resources and career tools. 10
5. Insightful clear and thorough
discussion of your experience as
counselor and what you learned
from this case study assignment. 10
SUBTOTAL.. 50
Overall thoroughness clarity and
comprehensiveness of the project. 10
FINAL TOTAL.. 60
USING THIS MODEL…….
Model II Development Model
This developmental model has been built from the position that career development is a lifelong process and the career development needs of unique individuals must be met during all stages of life (Healy 1982; Gelso & Fretz 2001; Swanson & Fouad 2010; Sharf 2013). Goals learning strategies and timing of interventions in this model are guided by what was labeled as Supers (1957 1990) vocational developmental tasks and stages. Counselors are to focus on all barriers that may diminish ones development of career maturity and self-concept. Ideally clients should focus on the development of all life roles for a balanced lifestyle; an individuals unique needs are emphasized. As you learned fromchapter 2 Supers career development theory is very extensive and inclusive. The following summary statements include some major counseling concerns that can serve as a connection between theory and practice:
The following counseling model includes five stages as follows:
In the first stage of this model as in most of the other models. The counseling relationship between counselor and client is of the utmost importance. The counselor makes tentative appraisals of the client that are to be verified or debunked during the assessment phases and discussions that follow. A good example is the tentative conclusion that a client is of average intelligence or more specifically able to learn more about occupations and self-concept through learning programs. The verification and specification of this tentative conclusion will be determined by ability tests and further discussions. The counselor employs interview skills that encourage clients to verbalize their past experiences as well as future goals and lifestyle issues.
The second stage of this model known as career development assessment and counseling (CDAC) is very extensive and inclusive. There are four very important steps in this stage and each will be explained separately. During the first step in this stage the clients social development and role salience are assessed. The emphasis of assessment is on the clients relative importance of life roles that involve education work family community and leisure.
The second step consists of an evaluation of the clients perception of the work role such as his or her current career status as well as career concerns that are associated with growth exploration establishment maintenance and disengagement. In addition assessment includes measures of the clients knowledge and attitudes about career choice especially when one is involved in career planning and career exploration and gathering information about work and occupations. The clients adaptability (making mature career decisions) and perception of current job market trends are also of utmost importance.
The third step includes the often used measures of abilities interests and values. A variety of instruments that measure these characteristics are available as described inchapter 6. In the developmental model interest inventories that present results as estimates of realistic investigative artistic social enterprising and conventional (RIASEC) types are preferred. Thus counselors would use the very popular and effective Holland (1992) typology as described inchapter 2. The overarching goal here is to present the client with valuable information concerning the relationship and connection of her or his abilities interest and values in the choice process.
The fourth and final step focuses on self-concepts and life themes. The procedures in this step are often referred to as subjective evaluations of the clients view of self and dominant lifestyles and life themes expressed by clients in conversations or in an autobiography. Counselors guide and encourage clients to discuss their work and other life-role experiences including how one has made decisions in the past and negotiated transitions. Another method is to ask clients to write about their life experiences and future projections. Salience of life-role indicators includes the amount and quality of participation in different roles the commitment one makes to life roles and the opportunities provided by life roles for meeting numerous value needs. This concludes the assessment steps in stage two of this counseling model.
The third stage in this model is primarily devoted to an explanation and interpretation of the key measurement instruments and the counselors subjective information that was garnered from the interview and other discussions of life roles. Counselors often use profiles of score reports as a visual aid when discussing the significance of client scores. One advantage of using test data to get to know your client better is through score reports that usually encourage clients to self-assess and express agreement and disagreement with scores. Counselors have the opportunity to encourage clients to draw conclusions about their future from score results.
In this models fourth stage counselor and client in a working consensus relationship are to establish future counseling goals. Counselors are to assist clients in conceptualizing an accurate self-concept. According to Super (Super Starishesky & Matlin Jordan 1963) self-concept development includes ones ability to self-differentiate role play explore and test reality. Over time other explanations of how self-concepts are developed and expressed have been suggested. In some of the following chapters I will discuss the importance and relationships of self-efficacy and self-concept. In the developmental model self-concept is a most important factor in the choice processone is to project ones self-concept into the work world to find an optimal fit.
The fifth and final stage of this model emphasizes that counselors should include a careful analysis of the clients progress in career development and maintenance of career. Counselors are encouraged to challenge clients to be aware of developmental tasks such as those for early adulthood: Strive to make your work position secure and a permanent position but also find more opportunities for your work of choice. Such tasks are especially relevant when the economy is in recession and job loss does indeed happen. What is also suggested here is that workers may have to make multiple career choices over time.