Blog Entry 2

I found the article regarding the use of genograms in elementary, middle, and high school students interesting (Gibson, 2005). In the article, it stated that students are influenced by parental expectations and roles, therefore exploring family dynamics, roles, and values can be helpful with the process of career development. The genograms provide an opportunity for students to explore and identify attachment issues and other unhealthy family patterns that could impact their career development. The author provided a list of questions that could be used in processing the genograms. I found the questions that explored the gender-specific roles to be interesting. It never occurred to me to explore gender-roles with children, and it would be fascinating to hear what their perceptions are regarding whether gender-specific roles exist. When processing genograms with the middle and high school aged students, I would explore the idea of job satisfaction. I would ask them whether they thought their parents were satisfied with their jobs, and how do they know if they are or aren’t. If they weren’t happy, I would have them practice empathy skills by thinking of reasons for why they continue to work at that particular job. It may help them understand the importance of creating a plan to achieve their career goals. Gibson listed some limitations at the end, which brought up various degrees of issues in using genograms. Due to budget cuts and high classroom sizes, it is unlikely that school counselors would be able to give the individual attention to process through the genogram. Therefore, educators would need to be trained to effectively administer this activity.

The information and tools in this article can be applied when working with adults and other populations.  In my experience, many clients I counsel report that their stress stems from employment-related issues. Whether it’s from a client being unemployed, a college graduate failing to find a job in their field, or constant discord with their employer, it can have significant impact on their mental health. Therefore, having them complete a career genogram would be helpful with revealing negative core beliefs and distorted thinking patterns that may originate from their family systems. It would be a good visual representation of the impact that dysfunctional family patterns have on career choices. Currently, I have clients’ complete timelines of their lives, and share about it in group. It seems that the visual aid helps them to gain a better understanding of how events have impacted them over their lifespan.  Therefore, I assume many clients would be receptive and open to completing a career genogram.

Reference

Gibson, D. M. (2005). The use of genograms in career counseling with elementary, middle, and high school students.  The Career Development Quarterly, 53, 353-362.