Chapter 6

Brown Chapter 6

In Brown (2016), two contextualist theories have been presented to the reader. The first theory which was authored by Young, Valach, and Collin (2002), believes the the self is created in an ongoing, goal-directed pattern that must be understood in the present (pg. 103). While they do agree that when individuals learn about themselves as they interact with their families, communities, peer groups, and work environments, they also believe it is important of career counselors to try to understand the individual as they experience their environment and try to but meaning to it (Brown, 2016, pg. 103). Young et al. (2002) theorize that career-related behaviors are goal-directed results of the individuals’ construction of the context in which he or she functions. Also, they believe that the actions taken to choose a career involve goal-oriented behaviors that include observable behavior, the internal process that cannot be observed, and meaning or results as interpreted by the individuals and others who observe the action (Brown, 2016, pg. 104). I really enjoyed the example of the person who finds her job as boring and unworthy of her labor. The compensation she receives each week may be viewed as the only reason to keep the job. Other people in her family could judge her as being heroic for doing such a generous deed.

To some degree, the theory presented by Savickas (1995, 2002, 2013) bring together the other two theories. Savickas praises the work of Holland and thinks its important to expose his clients to the six personality types of the Holland code. Ultimately, he believes the construction of the self occurs through a reflective process, which means thinking about self and interpreting the thoughts as they occur in context (Brown, 2016, pg. 105). The most interesting part of Savickas’s (1995, 2002, 2013) theory is the idea that he views the “self as project.” For most workers, he believes that career development will be a work in progress that will involve starting and stopping points, upgrading one’s training and retooling completely,and more or less a sense of instability (Brown, 2016, pg. 105). One the more applicable concepts presented on Savickas’s (1995, 2002, 2013) Career Counseling Model is the five step approach. The five steps are construction, deconstruction, reconstruction, construction, and action (Brown, 2016, pg. 108). I enjoyed how in Table 6.2 how both Counselor and Client’s tasks were both presented and described. 

In the Guindon and Hanna (2002) article, they present the idea that unpredictable instances of meaningful coincidence can play a significant role in career opportunities. 

One of the more interesting things I was able to pull from this paper was the idea that traditional career counseling approaches alone may not be sufficient in assisting an individual to find meaningful life’s work (pg. 205). Self-exploration, values-based intervention, and non judgmental are things that counselors can do to help clients figure out their career goals. Lastly, there are four elements that can lead to synchronistic thinking for counselors; understanding the existence and universality of synchronistic phenomena, willingness to investigate one’s own sense of spirituality, willingness to be unconventional in the face of what is conventional and ability to use non traditional techniques as part of the career development process (Guindon and Hanna, 2002, pg. 206)

Brown, D. (2016). Career information, career counseling, and career development (11^thed.). New York: Pearson Education, Inc. ISBN 978-0-13-391777-2.

Guindon, M. H., & Hanna, F. J. (2002). Coincidence, Happenstance, Serendipity, Fate, or the Hand of God: Case Studies in Synchronicity. The Career Development Quarterly, 50(3), 195-208. doi:10.1002/j.2161-0045.2002.tb00894.x