Career Counseling: A Holistic Approach Chapter 4: Integrating Career and Personal Counseling ©2016. Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Integrating Career and Personal Counseling Work is core element of an individual’s everyday existence It gives meaning to the many facets of each person’s life and should be addressed more aggressively in the counseling profession What is being suggested is a holistic counseling approach that is much more inclusive when addressing client concerns – focus on how all concerns interrelate The call for the counseling profession to integrate career and personal counseling was heightened in the 1990s Osipow (1979) put forward the idea of blending vocational development with mental health when working with adults in the workplace – Occupational Mental Health ©2016. Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

©2016. Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. Counselor and client should work together to develop the client’s self and situational knowledge as shaped in person-in-environment interactions Personal problems cannot be separated from career problems because they are intertwined - there are interrelationships of personal and career problems and that affect multiple life roles Career counseling is a highly personal matter that includes the multidimensional self and its relationship to life and work ©2016. Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Biopsychosocial Model The contributions of cognitive science and neuroscience have underscored the position that the interplay of biological, psychological and social influences are recognized as major forces that drive behavior (fig. 4.1) Brain function is complex: stressful life situations & psychological interventions can alter brain functions; biochemistry is part of the interactions; biological vulnerabilities include genetic predispositions, which are not certainties in most cases of mental health Emotions and cognitions can be reinforced or diminished in interactions between dimensions – e.g. high serotonin can influence development of distorted beliefs that interfere with all life roles ©2016. Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

©2016. Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. Environmental influences can alter brain functions Much of what one learns is through social contexts, which can contribute to disorder (e.g. pressure, a lack of social support, specific experiences, etc can increase anxiety) – learning can change the genetic structure – social experiences become part of one’s biology Poverty, social inequality, discrimination, & oppression can diminish one’s sense of self-control and can adversely affect self-concept & self-esteem Positive thinking & related behavior can increase the effectiveness of the immune system A multidimensional model does not imply that all dimensions have contributed equally to disorder - Individuals react differently when exposed to identical events & stressors ©2016. Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Development of Dysfunctional Personality Dimensions All life roles are adversely affected by personality dimensions that could lead to psychological disorders (fig 4.2 – Antisocial example) - early detection of influences & prevention is key 4 Domains of Conceptualization (table 4.1, p 129): Career, Affective, Cognitive-Behavioral and Cultural - all are interrelated & addressing this can enhance counseling With some clients, it may be best to delay career counseling; with others, career & personal concerns can be dealt with simultaneously ©2016. Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.