Counseling strategies
Five Empirically-Based Counseling Related Strategies and Annotated Bibliography
1. Reframing Negative Thoughts
​
As a strategy to reframe negative career thoughts, cognitive restructuring has been proven to be useful. This study, conducted by Bullock-Yowell, Reed, Mohn, Galles, Peterson, & Reardon (2015) examined how neuroticism, negative career thoughts, and coping strategies relate to attaining a positive career decision state. The study demonstrates how using cognitive restructuring to challenge and alter these negative thoughts can help clients with neurotic characteristics, such as anxiety, establish career goals. Specifically, the study suggests using the Career Thoughts Inventory as a tool to measure negative career thoughts and address these before establishing career goals. With the accompanying CTI workbook, counselors may process negative thoughts with their clients and practice reframing these thoughts through identification, challenging, and altering the maladaptive beliefs using cognitive restructuring.
Bullock-Yowell, E., Reed, C. A., Mohn, R. S., Galles, J., Peterson, G. W., & Reardon, R. C. (2015). Neuroticism, negative thinking, and coping with respect to career decision state. The Career Development Quarterly, 63(4), 333-347. doi: 10.1002/cdq.12032
​
2. Positive Psychology and Strengths-Based Counseling
​
By focusing on individuals interests and strengths, clients may feel more empowered and capable to engage in self-exploration and make more effective career decisions. This study titled, Infusing Positive Psychology with Spirituality in a Strength-Based Group Career Counseling to Evaluate College Students’ State Anxiety, discusses a study based in Taiwan that examines the effect of group career counseling on undergraduate college students’ state anxiety. By incorporating aspects of positive psychology into group career counseling and maintaining a focus on enhancing spirituality, Peng (2015) illustrates how thinking positively and understanding yourself can benefit your career decision-making self-efficacy and overall quality of life.
​
Peng, H. (2015). Infusing positive psychology with spirituality in a strength-based group career counseling to evaluate college students’ state anxiety. International Journal of Psychological Studies, 7(1), 75-84. doi:10.5539/ijps.v7n1p75
​
3. Motivational Interviewing
​
While the benefits of using motivational interviewing as a strategy in counseling have been researched thoroughly, the use of motivational interviewing as a technique in career counseling specifically has not been studied empirically quite as much. Conducted by Klonek, Wunderlich, Spurk, & Kauffeld (2016), this study analyzes the use of motivational interviewing in 14 counselor-client dyads. Ultimately, the study found that using motivational interviewing in counseling can facilitate career interventions.
Klonek, F. E., Wunderlich, E., Spurk, D., & Kauffeld, S. (2016). Career counseling meets motivational interviewing: A sequential analysis of dynamic counselor-client interactions. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 94, 28-38. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2016.01.008
​
4. Group-Based Interventions for Career Counseling
​
Research shows that providing career interventions in a group setting is an effective mode of service delivery, and most focuses on providing these group interventions in a career development course. There are a variety of empirically-based counseling strategies that can be used in groups, but this chapter on Career Planning Workshops and Courses, by Thomas Halasz and Bryan Kempton, focuses on several empirically based strategies to use as group interventions with college students in career development courses and counseling groups. The authors of this chapter emphasize using particular textbooks and assessments that are grounded in a theory as career interventions.
​
Halasz, T. J., & Kempton, C. B. (2000). Career planning workshops and courses. In D. A. Luzzo (Ed.), Career counseling of college students: An empirical guide to strategies that work; career counseling of college students: An empirical guide to strategies that work (pp. 157-170, Chapter xx, 353 Pages) American Psychological Association, Washington, DC. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/10362-008
​
5. Mindfulness
​
Many students struggle with anxiety when it comes to balancing life, school, and making career decisions. Research has demonstrated the effectiveness of mindfulness exercises in dealing with anxiety. This study examines the relationship between high anxiety and poor academic performance. By implementing a 3-minute mindfulness exercise in a college algebra class, the researchers were able to illustrate a marked decrease in these students anxiety as compared to the state anxiety levels of the students in the control group. This shows how mindfulness exercises may be used to cope with anxiety and help improve academic performance.
​
Stein, S. D. (2017). Impact of a 3-minute mindfulness-based exercise on anxiety and academic performance (Order No. AAI10142099). Available from PsycINFO. (1910784304; 2017-01055-029). Retrieved from https://login.proxy.lib.fsu.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/1910784304?accountid=4840