Post 4

     The article titled Constructivist Counseling for Career (Savickas, 1995) was of profound interest to me this week.  I enjoyed seeing the progression from the idea of career indecision as this dichotomous entity to a more individualistic approach to uncovering a person’s indecisiveness.

     Savickas first discussed the simplicity of putting people into categories of decided and undecided.  I remember when I first entered college the first thing most people asked was, “What is our major?” and most people would say “I’m undecided.”  It only seemed that a few people really knew what their future held in regard to career choice.  Cohorts of undecided students were walking the campus with imaginary questions marks above their heads wondering “What do I want to do with my life.”  I like how the article discussed this dichotomy but then broadened the idea of indecision with the constructivist perspective.

     I found the constructivist perspective very interesting.  I loved the idea of the story line and picking out themes and patterns within the context of the story.  Scripting thoughts and ideas out offers a great visual for the client and the counselor to view in their session.  Sometimes it is easier to script out past experiences than openly discussing them.  The progression of learning about family situations as a child, then narrating them to the client and then discussing the current indecision helps the client reflect in the indecision in a non-threatening manner. I’m wondering how prevalent is the five step plan (Savickas, 1995) in the career counseling field?  Do most career counselors use this constructivist approach when working with their clients? By understanding and utilizing this approach in the career counseling field, I would imagine that clients would have a better understanding of interpersonal barriers to their indecision.

     This class is helping me to see how important career counseling is for our undergraduates and high school students.  The idea of creating thematic stories about one’s life and then as a counselor finding the patterns and themes for this individual is so creative and insightful.  I never knew that there was so much emphasis on the indecisive student.  For me, I naively thought that everyone was at an impasse for at least some short period of their life.  I always knew I wanted to work with children, particularly special needs children and it would be interesting to me if I followed the five steps plan (Savickas, 1995) and answered the questions to see what patterns or themes would arise from my history.  The five steps plan (Savickas, 1995) seems like a great tool to use in and out of the career counseling setting; it would provide knowledge for personal and professional growth.

Savickas, M. L. (1995). Constructivist Counseling for Career Indecision. Career Development Quarterly, 43, 363-373.