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CAREER COUNSELING PROCESS ANALYSIS: A STUDY OF THE THERAPEUTIC REACTIONS
1 University of Minho, School of Psychology (PORTUGAL)
2 Instituto Superior de Línguas e Administração de Lisboa (PORTUGAL)
About this paper:
Appears in: ICERI2010 Proceedings
Publication year: 2010
Pages: 301-308
ISBN: 978-84-614-2439-9
ISSN: 2340-1095
Conference name: 3rd International Conference of Education, Research and Innovation
Dates: 15-17 November, 2010
Location: Madrid, Spain
Abstract:
Career counseling process research is an important component of the study of career counseling efficacy (Osipow, 1982; Rounds & Tinsley, 1984; Spokane, 2004). In fact, the affective and cognitive reaction system is a key dimension in the dynamic process of client-psychologist therapeutic relationship and, in association with the psychologist reactions it is an intermediate and very important aspect of the analysis of the career intervention’s impact (Spokane, 1991).
The main goal of this study is to evaluate the career counseling process through the assessment of affective and cognitive complex reaction’s system of career counseling clients. Differences in clients’ reactions are analyzed taking into consideration clients’ particular characteristics and needs, types of career interventions, and the effect of time.
The sample includes two groups of clients. The first group is composed by 153 adolescents, attending 9th grade, from both sexes, and with ages ranging from 13 to 17 years old (M=14,12; SD=0,50), clients of the Career Counseling Center, at the School of Psychology of the University of Minho, attending a brief and structured career intervention designed to help students in their proximal career decision making. The second group is composed by 191 adults, attending college intermediate years, with ages from 18 to 40 years old (M=22,65; SD=3,38), and also clients of the Career Counseling Center of the School of Psychology of the University of Minho, attending a career management seminar, a preventive intervention designed to promote clients’ career adaptability.
The reactions of the clients to the career counseling process were measured through the Client Reaction System (Hill, Spiegel, & Tichnor, 1988, adap. Taveira et al., 2004), in three different moments throughout the career intervention, within a time interval of two weeks. Cochran’Q test was used to proportion of clients’ responses changes thoughout the career intervention. Results and implications for career intervention are discussed considering also the clients’ needs and the specific type of intervention design.
Keywords:
Career, counseling process, clients’ reactions.