first describing its assessment methods, then discussing its counsel-
ing interventions, and finally illustrating its application using the
cases of K and E.
Assessment
Constructivist career assessment begins with an intake interview
that identifies the vocational development tasks that concern the
client. These career concerns can be identified during the interview
or by administering the Adult Career Concerns Inventory(Super,
Thompson, & Lindeman, 1988), which measures degree of concern
with the tasks of exploration, establishment, management, and dis-
engagement. Once identified, assessment of the client’s concern
proceeds through four phases that, in turn, focus on (1) life space,
(2) career adaptability, (3) vocational self-concept and career
themes, and (4) vocational identity, including work values, occu-
pational interests, and vocational abilities.
Assessing Life Space. The first phase in the assessment model
locates the career concern in a client’s life space. A counselor should
initiate this assessment by determining the cultural context that
embeds the client’s career concern. Part of this assessment should
turn the spotlight from the stage on which the career story is per-
formed to the audience—imagined and real, internal and external—
that reacts to the unfolding drama. Following this discussion of
relational resources and significant others, attention should focus on
the client’s life structure and the salience of the work role. If the
work role appears important in that structure, then further voca-
tional development and occupational assessments will mean a great
deal. However, if the work role appears unimportant to a client, then
progressing to assessment of adaptability, vocational self-concept,
and vocational identity may not be meaningful or accurate because
occupations and their roles play little part in that client’s life. When
circumstances suggest that the work role should be more important,
then career orientation is called for (Savickas, 1991a); if not, then
186 CAREER CHOICE AND DEVELOPMENT