Post #9

          While doing this week’s reading, I was glad to see that Brown included a chapter on clients with special needs.  I was especially interested when the author stated that “people with mental illness represent the second-largest group of clients with disabilities, and that the unemployment rate among this group may be as high as 85 percent” (Brown, 2012, p. 122).  I was surprised by this statistic, because I never fully realized just how high the unemployment rate is for those with mental illnesses.  I believe that it is important for career counselors to be able to work closely with clients with disabilities to help them find careers that will match their current level of functioning.

            According to Brown, “People with mental health problems are likely to experience multiple failures and lower occupational status than they would have achieved without the illness” (2012, p. 122).  In my work in an inpatient psychiatric unit, I have heard client stories that very much go along with Brown’s statement.  At one point, I worked with a client that was extremely intelligent and had her bachelor’s degree in education and had even begun working in the field after doing her student teaching.  She also began working on her master’s degree in English and was very involved in her studies.  This client shared with me that she was one semester away from earning her Master’s degree when she started showing symptoms of schizophrenia (like in most cases, her symptoms began to manifest themselves in her mid 20’s).  Due to her symptoms, she was no longer able to function in the way she did previously and was unable to finish her degree requirements.  She shared with me that she was no longer able to focus on her studies due to the voices that she would hear in her head and her disorganized thinking.  I believe that this example very much goes along with Brown’s statement that I talked about earlier.  This client has so much potential, but her illness is causing her to not be able to reach the goals she had made for herself at this time.  I believe once this client is a little more stabilized on her medication, career counseling will be beneficial to her.  Her mental illness is a part of her, so career counselors cannot ignore that part of her life.  It will be important for this client to work with a career counselor in order to find a job that matches her interests and abilities, but also matches her current level of functioning. 

Reference

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