being loyal to family, and he would spend any lottery winnings on
his family and friends. But whether accurately or not, he may sense
mixed messages about what he is expected to do. Are his parents re-
cent immigrants? Does he belong to an extended family with many
traditional members? Do his two parents bring different Asian tra-
ditions with them (Japanese and Chinese)? It might be especially
helpful to ask K about the occupations and activities his parents or
extended family would reject as unacceptablefor him, and why.
Whose value is it that he earn lots of money?
I would also be interested in knowing more about K’s perfor-
mance and interest in the various courses he took in high school
and college. What resonated with him, and why? What did he dis-
like? He is young for his grade level, so was he accelerated in school
at some point? If so, why and with what consequences (say, render-
ing him less physically and socially mature than his classmates)?
3.Any cultural issues to address?Yes (see 2).
4.Any mental health issues involved? K’s immaturity in interests
and reluctance to develop academically and occupationally raise
the possibility of disabling anxiety or depression. Such maladies
might result from K being unable to recognize and resolve conflict-
ing desires and social pressures. But whatever their origin, they are
probably impeding development.
5.What career counseling to provide? The challenge in counsel-
ing K is to foster more insight and exploration. He probably does
not know what his interests and abilities really are, because he has
confined himself to juvenile activities. His route to understanding
will not be through talk but through structured exercises, concrete
experience, and immediate, clear feedback (as occurs with video
games and skateboarding).
The most immediate challenge, however, is that he has come to
counseling for information about particular occupations, not for
insight and exploration—both of which he seems to have avoided
so far. K’s lack of insight, probable anxiety, impatience with talk
(recall his comment about “silly sayings”), and (reserved) Realistic-
Conventional Holland type will make it difficult to engage him in
140 CAREER CHOICE AND DEVELOPMENT