week 7

            I enjoyed our discussion about narratives this past week.  The use of narratives is something I learned to apply my current job with a different type of population.  We may use narratives in situations where a client may be working towards improving a behavioral issue.  The client is encouraged to think of a situation, think of what they should do, and how this would pan out for them if they followed through with what they think is right.  The client is encouraged to look at other possible options and always play out the entire scenario until the end.  This is similar to narratives in career development, as the clients need to identify a past, present, and ending. 

            Brown (2007) discusses the impact that technology may hold in career settings.  When I read the part about the use of Internet to aid in career counseling, I was pleased to see this is an acceptable means of communication with clients.  It makes so much sense to be able to simply send an e-mail to client with the intentions of keeping up to date with the clients goals and recent achievements, provide support, request feed back as well as ensure the client is on the right track.  I found this section not only to hold true for career counseling, but other areas of psychology may benefit from this open means of communication.  For example, I have a friend who receives counseling.  My friend’s therapist communicates with him via e-mail to ensure he is transitioning smoothly from a medication change, his recent business trip went well, or to seek out any other pertinent updates.  I have a co-worker who works with children in speech pathology outside of the clinical setting.  She actually holds web chats (using web cams) with her clients.  This is helpful for those students who cannot travel to a therapist for a number of different reasons.  The Internet offers a numerous amount of information that one could obtain regarding jobs, qualifications, and skills that may be needed.  With this being said, I appreciate the fact that the book noted that Internet counseling is not sufficient to replace traditional counseling, but technology is an added bonus when combining the two methods. 

            Brown (2007) also mentions why programs such as CACGS and other computer based programs are used if paper and pencil are more cost efficient.  The rationale behind this makes sense, as we are human, we make errors.  We do not always follow the same protocol.  Computer systems aid us with storing and presenting information, administering and scoring tests and inventories, and matching common information (Brown,2007).  The text also provides a number of different assessment and exploration tools for career counseling.

References

Brown, D. (2007).  Career information, career counseling, and career development  (9^h ed.).  New York: Pearson Education, Inc.