Post 4: Constructivist Counseling for Career Indecision

In reading this week’s article, it made me reflect on my own career indecisions for the past couple of years and how I ended up back in graduate school trying to further my own career.  Only I wish that I had someone to help guide me through the decision making process.  I liked how the article was split into different sections and it showed how the career indecision process and interventions have changed over time.

When I first started reading the sections about indecision as a dichotomy, a unidimensional continuum, and a multidimensional concept; I was slightly confused.  I was confused because I felt that the idea of career indecision was not clearly defined. Is career indecision just the people who have no idea what they want to do?  Or what about the people who love to work with children, but are not sure if they want to be a teacher, a nurse, or counselor?  Does that also count as career indecision?  However, as I kept reading; it began to make a lot more sense.  Savickas states that “in counseling, the constructivist perspective focuses on the person who is undecided, not the indecision itself.  This focus switches the operational definition of indecision from objective test scores to subjective stories told by the client” (Savickas, 1995, pg. 365).

The way that constructivist counselors view career indecision makes a lot more sense to me.  It was important that the article noted that many people who experience some level of career indecision are most likely going through some transitional period in their lives.   When clients are able to tell their own stories, it also allows them to focus on other area of their lives as well.  That will hopefully allow them to see the bigger picture in their lives. Savickas states that “a client’s indecision becomes an opportunity for making meaning of one’s life when a counselor concentrates on how that career indecision fits into the pattern of larger meanings being lived by the client” (Savickas, 1995, pg. 366).  This allows the client to recognize their own feelings about their career indecisions and that also allows them to speak openly about their future goals.

I believe that it’s important for career counselors to use both career inventories and client’s life stories to help in the career decision making process.  It helps the client recognize their own life themes.  It not only helps the client with making a decision about a career, but I think it will also allow for more career satisfaction when a decision is made. I believe that these are all important concepts for career counselors to keep in mind, and as Savickas said; “when clients envision the future as a continuation of their stories, they can overcome their hesitation and author the next chapter” (Savickas, 1995, pg. 371).

Savickas, M.L. (1995). Constructivist counseling for career indecision. The Career Development Quarterly, 43(4). 363-373.