Overview and General Issues
Before delving into the specifics of our approach with K and E, we
offer some general theoretical and empirical observations. First,
research on the diagnosis of career problems (for example, Chartrand
& Nutter, 1996) and on the critical ingredients of effective career
interventions (Brown & Kane, 2000) leads us to anticipate that our
work with both K and E may be relatively straightforward. In partic-
ular, meta-analytic findings suggest that in the absence of significant
affective involvement (such as anxiety, depression, or tendency
toward negative affect), most clients benefit maximally from brief,
four-to-five-session interventions (Brown & Kane, 2000).
Second, the work of Brown and Krane (2000) suggests that
career interventions are most likely to be effective when they in-
clude five key ingredients: (1) written exercises, (2) individual-
ized interpretations and feedback, (3) occupational information,
(4) modeling, and (5) attention to building social-environmental
support for choices. Thus, along with the more specific interven-
tions we would design for K and E, we anticipate assisting both of
them to gather occupational information and to develop opportu-
nities for appropriate vicarious experiences. We would also encour-
age them to keep written records of the information they gather
during counseling and to capture their career goals and plans in
writing as an aid to further reflection and implementation efforts
(Babcock & Kaufmann, 1976; Niles, 1993; Spokane & Rarick,
1998). We would, concurrently, help them interpret the informa-
tion they gather about self and occupational options, develop real-
istic career plans, and build social supports for their choices.
Third, we are mindful of data suggesting that clients who enter
counseling with career choice concerns do so for at least four reasons
(for example, Power, Holland, Daiger, & Takai, 1979). Clients may
- Seek career choice counseling because they have few options
or are not satisfied with the options they have considered - Be confused by an excess of options
SOCIAL COGNITIVE CAREER THEORY 295