Career counseling over the life span
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Career development is viewed as a continuous process that continuous across the lifespan. Counseling can be affected by the changing cultural and environment systems (Zunker,2016). Clients lives are changing continuous and their career interests, goals, and preferences changes as they become involved in the workforce, therefore; career counseling can be observed from a continuous dynamic and lifelong process.
Mental health counselors are expected to understand every aspect of a client’s emotional being that effects their mental health career counseling is not an exception (Zunker, 2016). Mental health counselors need to be aware of client’s limitations within their career preparing to meet a client’s need in building social skills, industry , and communication skills. When working with adolescences counselor need to build relationships outside of their family and teach how these interpersonal skills will benefit them in the workplace. Mental health counselors should be competent of life stages when choosing assessment tools, conducting evaluations, and setting clients in jobs.
Career counseling can be integrated into work with children by focusing on different aspects of successful education, vocational, and social experiences. Some of the foundational skills that counselors can focus on with children include prosocial skills, positive work habits, diversity skills, pleasing personality traits, and entrepreneurship (Gysbers, 2013). Counseling with adolescents can focus on planning, goals setting, and decision-making skills, and a curriculum that directed towards a career. Newman and Newman (2012) defines career maturity which suggests that career decisions should not be discussed until the adolescent or young adult is mature enough to gain valuable life experience. Career counseling adults focus on career development than remaining at a certain company (Zunker, 2016). Retirement counseling can vary in each individual either by promoting changes from work to more leisure opportunities or from full-time work to part time work.
Erik Erikson career counseling is observed from a developmental stage that a client is currently in. Erikson stages of children age 6- 11 state that they are actively learning a variety of social, academic, and work related skills that set the stage for complex career development. This stage is also related to achievement of self-efficacy and importance of productivity. Adolescents are actively working on development task of achieving a group and individual identity and avoiding insolation. Adolescents work hard to become social butterflies and achieve independence from their parents (Newman & Newman, 2012). Children or adolescence who fail to achieve their development tasks may require support later in life (Zunker, 2016).
There are many other counseling models that would be appropriate for children and adolescents in career counseling such as : Super’s self-concept theory, Krumboltz’s learning theory, and cognitive development theory. Elementary school students are developing self-concept and identity through childhood relationships makes Super’s self-concept theory a good selection (Zunker, 2016). Krumholtz’s observation in learning new things and how they can adapt their behavior can be utilize for children and adolescents (Zunker, 2016). Piaget’s cognitive development theory views children’s knowledge acquisition as developing in specific steps through their environment engagement.
Morgan Riley
Career Counseling Across the Life Span
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From the perspective of mental health counseling, and vocational psychology, actions in the form of activities are viewed as learning experiences that can lead to vocational planning, and essentially, act as career interventions (Valach & Young, 2017). Therefore, career ready students are viewed as having a unique, and proactive style of adapting to their present that enables them to obtain the knowledge, skills and dispositions needed to create their futures (Gysbers, 2013). This is not solely an innate process. This kind of establishment is build on opportunities to engage in life contexts, make decisions, react with empowerment, self direction and learn to overcome obstacles with purpose and commitment to a specific direction (Gysbers, 2013).
This creative action-based process should begin in elementary school, and unravel throughout high school (Gysbers, 2013). It is a complex and delicate process that significantly affects growth and development (Gysbers, 2013). For example, a child may not be able to verbalize or articulate vocational goals, but he or she may engage in activities that strengthen certain skills and establish behaviors that could potentially lead to a career path. Based on those activities, educators may implement the infusion approach with the child, and by high school, the student may be able to visualize their vocational future (Zunker, 2016).
Counselors who work with children and adolescents need to recognize the developmental influences that impact career and educational planning, placement and evaluation. Children are constantly adapting to their life situations, learning and experiencing as they grow, and therefore, their vocational interests, skills and goals are also changing throughout the course of their life span. It is important for counselors to respond with services composed with activities that meet the needs of their students (Gysbers, 2013).
A counselor utilizing the life span perspective will essentially accentuate the developmental influences that impact the clients’ professional and personal life (Zunker, 2016). The unique aspects of a mental health professional would be the counselor’s knowledge and emphasis on the mind, wellness and optimal functioning. Therefore, the mental health counselor would be qualified to assist the client in reconciling with life stressors regarding to the developmental tasks, life events, and even personality disorders, depression and anxiety. In addition, mental health professionals can address any challenges the client may have in achieving optimal well being. For example, a mental health counselor may assist a young, soon-to-be high school graduate with his lack of confidence in enrolling in his local university. Self confidence is directly associated with the client’s attitude, feelings and personal perceptions of Self, therefore, a mental health counselor could help the client explore his worldview, the influencing development experiences, and the client’s self-efficacy (Moakler & Kim, 2014).
Furthermore, it is important for mental health counselors to recognize the vital integrative relationship between life experiences and career path choices (Zunker, 2016). One directly influences the other, and vice versa. The intricate combination can also affect the client’s life satisfaction, and overall wellness, which emphasizes the vital component of addressing career choices, educational planning, placement and evaluation for mental health professionals (Zunker, 2016).
The conceptualization of implementing interventive strategies and vocational opportunities has proven to be a valuable detail for working with children and adolescents. It is important for counselors to recognize the sources of potential influences for developmental and vocational opportunities. At the elementary level, children are exposed to certain experiences that develop skill sets and knowledge of potential careers (Zunker, 2016). However, at the secondary level, adolescents have more awareness and choice, as well as the ability to develop their skills and advance their knowledge on a chosen career path (Zunker, 2016).
Moreover, high school students are better able to apply their personal abilities, talents and skills toward a career development goal (Zunker, 2016). Therefore, personal development and influencing experiences help build the foundation for career planning. It is paramount that professionals implement effective strategic models to assist children and adolescents through the various stages of their lives.
Erik Erikson provides valuable insight on the development of children and adolescents with his identify model and eight life developmental stages (Zunker, 2016). However, other models such as Super’s life span theory also contribute to the important link between the conceptualization of self-awareness, personal needs and vocational decision-making (Zunker, 2016). Essentially, as children mature and adapt to life situations, their awareness of personal attributes, beliefs and worldview begin to shape their career path. Based on these models, it is important to establish effective placement interventions for students, and to assist them with their future occupational goals throughout their life span (Zunker, 2016).
Respond to the posts and provide substantive feedback on their research questions. In your response, address at least one of the following:
What additional resources could be provided to support understanding of the need for research in that area? Provide additional academic support by providing URLs of two professional organizations that could assist in the research for answers to your peer’s questions.
What types of professionals in the human behavior field would be able to provide insight into the proposed questions?
Sametris Ferguson
U8D2
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One question I would ask when it comes to human development is, does the use of prescription medication increase the risk of depression in aging adults? As we age there is sometimes a decline in overall health. With changes in health and physical ailments, comes the use of prescriptions medication. If depression increases with age it would be important to know if medication for things like diabetes are a contributing factor. A study was conducted that took 2,552 adults with type 2 diabetes, between the ages of 50 and 75. Twenty-nine percent of patients had likely depression, 7% had high diabetes distress, and 5% had both (Nanayakkara, Pease, Ranasinha, Wischer, Andrikopoulos, Speight, Zoungas, 2018). What his study doesn’t show is if these patients had shown symptoms of depression prior to the diagnosis of type 2 diabetes or after, and what factors contributed. Darwish and colleagues had similar findings without making a determination if medication is a risk factor.
Another question I ask is does having children decrease the onset of depression later in life? Do the children have to be an active support system and does having absent children have the same risk factors and individuals without children, or do the risks increase. Parenthood, marital status and social networks have been shown to relate to the well-being and mental health of older people. A group of people over the age of 50 were studied and it was concluded that there is an association between well-being and mental health with family status (Becker, Kirchmaier, & Trautmann, 2019). It was also identified how different social support networks correlate with the well-being and health indicators. Results suggest that non-residential children are important providers of social support for their parents at older age. Is this due to the idea that older parents who have the support of their children are more likely to get necessary care and treatment, or is it the presence of the child that decreased the risk?
Read post below and answer these questions What research have you done to address gaps? In other words, how do you know that the questions you pose, we do not already know? What are several resources that would help you address new approaches to studying this particular topic?
Identifying gaps in knowledge
I chose the physical development in adulthood as an area of study covered in the adult human development. The research questions to be addressed would include; what are the various stages of physical development within adulthood? Which factors contribute to the aging of an individual during his or her adulthood? What are the various physical developments witnessed in adulthood?
The study would mainly target adults who would be grouped by their age. In such a case, there would be young adults, middle-aged adults, and older adults (Papalia, Sterns, Feldman & Camp, 2007). There would be a thorough investigation of the factors that contribute to the aging of an individual while taking a view on what the existing literature offers and trying to come up with factors that are not yet addressed by the existing literature. By grouping the adults, there is a possibility that there will be evident distinguishing characteristics between the various stages of adulthood and this may help to identify more than five stages of development in adulthood. By reviewing the existing literature and observing the research population basing on all aspects of human development, it is possible to identify new factors that contribute to the aging of an adult.