Career Counseling
Career Counseling
Career Counseling:
Module 5 Discussion
Review Chapter 9 and read Chapters 13-14 then answer the questions below:
a. Discuss the similarities and differences between the career counseling processes for men, women, and sexual minorities.
b. Discuss the process of Multicultural Career Counseling
c. What resources can be used by clients with special needs to cope with their problems?
d. What are the major problems facing individuals who bring special concerns to the career counseling process?
Chapter 9 Career Counseling for Clients with Unique Concerns: The Disabled, Economically Disadvantaged, Veterans, and Older Workers
Things to Remember
How the career counseling approaches discussed in earlier chapters apply to the groups highlighted in this chapter
The groups that may require special consideration in the career counseling process and the issues they bring to the counselor
One or two strategies that may be used in career counseling and career development programming for each group discussed
The two previous chapters were devoted to providing career counseling to women, GLBT individuals (sexual minorities), and cultural and ethnic minorities. At this point, readers may be wondering if they need to develop an unlimited number of approaches to help in the career development process. Career counselors with a postmodern perspective might subscribe to that point of view; I do not. However, this chapter supports their position to some degree, particularly as it concerns counseling disabled persons, because much of the process of helping disabled clients deals with the historical context and the current impact of educational and work environments on their functioning. However, Fabian and Perdani’s (2013) position that none of the theories that have been advanced are adequate to explain either the career counseling process or the career development of the disabled because of the heterogeneity of this group is undoubtedly correct.
One aspect of career counseling simply involves the application of sound counseling techniques. Another deals with cultural sensitivity and the importance of self-efficacy in occupational choice and implementation (Lent, 2013). Specific knowledge of a client, his or her unique needs, and their context is also required for success. Nowhere is this latter point more obvious than when dealing with the client groups addressed in this chapter. However, after reading this chapter you will not be an expert in providing career counseling to the vast array of clients who request career counseling. If you expect to be successful, you will need additional study and supervised practice. Hopefully, this chapter will whet your appetite for more study in order to work with clients with different backgrounds. The client groups discussed in this chapter include:
Disabled individuals, including those with physical and mental disabilities
Workers who have been displaced because of economic conditions or other factors
Economically disadvantaged workers
Delayed entrants to the workforce, including retirees who return to work, military personnel transitioning to the civilian workforce, and ex-offenders
Older workers, including people who prefer work to retirement because of personal satisfaction and financial need
The primary objective of the discussion in each section is to develop increased sensitivity to the special needs that clients bring to the career counseling process. A second objective of each section is to raise readers’ awareness of the distinct characteristics that influence the career development process. Some of these characteristics, such as physical limitations, may be quite obvious. Others, such as learning disabilities and mental health, may be hidden from superficial observation. Although few well-trained career counselors and career development specialists would assume that all clients are alike, they might overlook some subtle details that determine success or failure in career counseling.
Individuals with Disabilities
The World Health Organization (WHO) adopted the following definition of disability: “A disability is any restriction or lack (resulting from an impairment) of ability to perform an activity in a manner or within the range considered normal for a human being.” Most contemporary organizations have adopted a similar definition, but many elaborate it by including terms such physical, sensory, cognitive, intellectual impairment, mental illness, and some types of chronic, disabling diseases, such as fibromyalgia. The WHO definition and the extensions listed here have been adopted for this discussion.
According to a report released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS; 2013), based on the 2012 Current Population Survey, the U.S. workforce totaled about 135 million workers, of whom approximately 5.2 million were classified as disabled. The report also notes that nearly 80 percent of the disabled population were not in the workforce, and, of those who were counted as workers, over 13 percent were unemployed. The bottom line is that over 80 percent of disabled people are either not in the workforce or are unemployed. Before going further into what is a daunting situation for career counselors, particularly those who spend much of their time providing services to this group, some clarification of terminology will be presented.
The term rehabilitation—the process by which people with disabilities are prepared for work and life in general—has gradually been broadened in concept to apply to overcoming many kinds of disabling problems, including physical disability, mental illness, mental retardation, alcoholism, drug addiction, delinquency, and chronic involvement in criminal activity. Rehabilitation may involve services such as education, improvement of physical functioning through physical therapy, enhancing psychological adjustment, increasing social adaptation, improving vocational capabilities, and/or identifying recreational activities.
Vocational rehabilitation traditionally has been referred to as the process of returning a disabled worker to a state of reemployability. However, when defined in this manner the conceptualization of vocational rehabilitation is unnecessarily narrow. The concept that employability is supposed to be a product of rehabilitation services would make some clients who are unlikely to join the workforce regardless of the services provided ineligible for other rehabilitation services that might deal with health or psychological issues. Fortunately, there has been movement toward eliminating the idea that rehabilitative services are aimed solely at the development of employability skills as the aforementioned definition suggests. For example, disabled people who have never worked may qualify for rehabilitation services. In addition, individuals for whom assistance may result in greater self-esteem and self-satisfaction without clear certainty of employment may receive rehabilitation services.
People who have disabilities are often seen by rehabilitation counselors—particularly if they are severely or moderately disabled—because of the expertise required to deal with their concerns. However, school counselors, community college counselors, and counselors and psychologists who work in four-year colleges and universities are likely to encounter disabled persons as well. Of these groups, school counselors are probably the most likely to encounter the disabled because of the vast numbers of students enrolled in special education. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), passed initially in 1975 and last amended in 2004, requires not only that nearly 6.5 million special education students receive the benefit of what is termed the least-restrictive education by qualified teachers but also that students over the age of 16 be prepared to pursue postsecondary education and work. The implication of this requirement is that students need a plan and a course of study to support their transition to their postsecondary life. It is already the case that some school counselors are included in the transitional portion of students’ Individualized Educational Programs (IEPs) and are thus partially responsible for their career and educational planning and transitional plans.
School counselors, rehabilitation counselors, and others need to be aware of Public Law 101-476, The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which prohibits discrimination against disabled clients in the hiring and worker-retention processes. Moreover, it requires employers to make reasonable workplace accommodations for workers who have disabilities. Other legislation—including the Workforce Investment Act and the Ticket to Work program, which establishes employment networks (ENs)—will also be invaluable. Under the Ticket to Work program, a department in the Social Security Administration (SSA), a “ticket” is provided to disabled beneficiaries of Social Security so that they may use to secure jobs from these networks. This program was designed to facilitate the movement of persons with disabilities into the labor force without fear of losing their federally funded health insurance. Social Security beneficiaries who wish to work make an application to SSA, are given a ticket if qualified by SSA, and are provided with a telephone number or website address that enables them to identify ENs in their area. In-depth knowledge of legislation, such as Public Law 93-112, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and Public Law 95-602, the Rehabilitation, Comprehensive Services, and Developmental Disabilities Amendments of 1978, will also be useful.
Rehabilitation services are provided by a number of professions: psychology, counseling, medical, nursing, social work, and others. Career counseling services are most frequently provided by rehabilitation counselors, whose counseling preparation has also usually included the medical and social aspects of various disabilities and their relationship to work. In 2012, there were 129,800 rehabilitation counselors in the United States, according to the most recent version of the Occupational Outlook Handbook (BLS, 2012a). These counselors are employed by state-level rehabilitation offices as well as a number of national, state, and local public and private social agencies. Among the well-known organizations involved in rehabilitation are Goodwill Industries, Jewish Vocational Service, and the Department of Veterans Affairs. Some rehabilitation counselors are assigned to work in public schools, community colleges, and postsecondary institutions to provide counseling and various educational services.
