Synopses & Reviews
With a practical and straightforward approach, Essential Elements of Career Counseling focuses primarily on the practice of career counseling by exploring the basic methods, resources, and courses of action that can be applied in conducting career counseling every day. Perfect for use either as a main text or as a supplement to a more theory-based text, this book not only covers the basic techniques of developing career choice but also explores the emerging trends in the field, such as web-based counseling and the creation and use of virtual career centers online.
Over the years, the authors have developed career counseling programs in an array of settings around the world that varied from secondary school systems to colleges and universities to unemployment systems to immigrant transition services. Through their experiences, they have found that whatever the context, certain basic methods apply to all quality career counseling. Essential Elements of Career Counseling is a synthesis of these universal methods that leads students through evaluation, action planning, and follow-though, and that take into account the various facets of each case such as the individual, the environmental context, the socioeconomic context, and new technology.
Special Features Include:
- An emphasis on the process of career counseling as opposed to the theory that gives the text a robust, hands-on accessibility and that makes this book ideal as a supplement in introductory career development classes.
- An emphasis of web-based counseling and other internet-related resources that keep students up-to-date with emerging trends in the field.
- End-of-Chapter Summaries that help students to synthesis and retain what they have just read and are also ideal for quick reviews of the chapter’s main points.
- A “Quick Start” chapter at the beginning of the book that outlines the main themes of the book and allows students to quickly acquaint themselves with the mainstays of the book’s processes while linking each one to corresponding chapters in the book.
- Case Studies are provided throughout the text, which add real-life examples of career counseling while illustrating concepts and practices covered in the main text.
- An Appendix is located at the back of the book, which includes the NCDA guidelines for competency standards and ethical guidelines and which help students in the details and particulars of their counseling training.
Synopsis
The second edition of this textbook focuses primarily on the practice of career counseling by describing some of the basic techniques and resources that can be used to support the theories of career choice and development. The authors present information and a structure that is robust and, as such, can be widely applied. They also address some emerging issues such as Web-based counseling and provide case studies throughout the text. A belief in quality career counseling is at the forefront of this book, as well as the exploration of various myths and emerging trends. Career counseling is defined and the competencies that counselors need to pursue as part of their training agenda are outlined. As a supplement, the text includes the NCDA guidelines for competency standards and ethical guidelines as appendicies at the back of the book.
About the Author
Norman Amundson is a professor of Counseling Psychology at the University of British Columbia. A leader in the field of career development, Amundson recently received the Best Book Award from the Canadian Counseling Association for his book Active Engagement (Ergon Communications, 2003). His research focuses on counseling methods, unemployment, and changes in working life, while his numerous lectures, articles, workshops and seminars emphasis the importance of imagination, creativity, and action in the career counseling process.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 Career Counseling: Myths, Realities, and Emerging Trends
What is Career Counseling?
Factors Contributing to Shifts in Career Counseling
Seven Common Career Counseling Myths
Defining Career Counseling
Career Counseling Competencies
Chapter 2 Using Career Theories to Help Clients
Theory of John L. Holland
Theory of Donald E. Super
Theory of John Krumboltz
Constructivist Approaches
Chapter 3 Context and Career Planning
Internal Variables
External Variables
Chapter 4 Negotiating the Career Counseling Relationship
Creating a Mattering Climate
Building Bridges
Negotiating the Working Alliance
Coping with Client Reluctance
Chapter 5 Defining the Client's Career Concerns
Elaborating the Problem
Viewing the Problem Through a Metaphoric Lens
Changing Direction
Chapter 6 Exploring the Problem: Understanding the Self
Questioning and Storytelling
Metaphors
Structured Assessment
Limitations
Chapter 7 Exploring the Problem: Contextual and Labor Market Options
Social Context
Educational and Work/Leisure Context
Labor Market Options (A Personal View)
Chapter 8 Using Websites in Support of Career Counseling
Deciding Whether to Use a Technology-Based Intervention
Selecting Systems and Sites
Chapter 9 Building and Using a Virtual Career Center
Components of a Virtual Career Center
Local Information as a Part of the Virtual Career Center
Access to Web Counseling
Monitoring Feature
Organization of the Virtual Career Center
Sample Sites
Chapter 10 Consolidation, Decision Making, and Action Planning
Consolidation
Decision Making
Readiness for Action Planning
Developing the Action Plan
Advocacy and Social Action
Chapter 11 Implementing Action Plans
Providing Support to Clients
Processing New Insights and Information
Action Plans That Aren't Followed Through
Handling Additional Concerns
Chapter 12 Evaluating Client Progress
Evaluating Client Progress During the Course of Career Counseling
Evaluating Client Progress at the End of Career Counseling
Chapter 13 Adapting Career Counseling to Counseling Settings
School Settings
University Settings
Community Settings
Appendix A The National Career Development Association's Career Counseling Competencies and Performance Indicators
Appendix B National Career Development Association Ethical Standards (Revised 2003)