Blog 9: Chaps 6 & 14

                As I was reading through Chapter 6, I found it easy to relate to the people in each of the different sections.  I work in a post-secondary school and so I get to see a lot of these individuals, with specials needs, changing their lives.  The timing for these individuals is a little bit different just because we are a school rather than a job, but I have witnessed many women attending school after having kids, individuals with mid life career changes, others attending school after they have served in the military and countless others with physical and mental disabilities.  It is definitely a difficult decision for them to uproot everything and start something completely new.  It is exciting as an Admissions Representative to witness their transition into this life changing event.  I can absolutely see how career counseling is necessary for them because many of these individuals are so unprepared for the work force and they are unaware of how to act and what will be expected of them.  Sensitivity to their situation was stressed in this chapter and I agree that is necessary for counselors to be aware of these issues and to be prepared to handle their unique situations.

                Chapter 14 was not nearly as easy to relate to for me.  I am not anticipating ever getting in to private practice and therefore had a hard time reading it.  I found some of the information made it seem almost bogus as well.  The newspaper advertisements about resume building would be something that if I saw it in the newspaper, I would immediately skip over the information.  To me, I always picture Career Counseling taking place in congruence with other counseling or within a larger counseling office.  It also kept explain private practice as a for-profit business, Brown states, “Private practice is about offering career development services to earn money” (2012, p. 313).  I understand that counselors need to make money, but this statement makes these career counselors seem like they are being deceptive because they are just in business for the money rather than to aid individuals in finding a career path.  One piece of information that I did find interesting about this though is that insurance does not cover career counseling and therefore all costs are paid out of pocket by the consumer (Brown, 2012, p. 313). 

Brown, D. (2012). Career Information, career counseling, and career development (10^th ed.). New York: Pearson Education, Inc.