I wanted to start of with saying that last week's activity was very eye opening that culture plays such a huge rule in career decision. For my case study, the woman was torn between helping her family or following her dreams. Family was very important to her culture and her contentedness with them, but on the same hand she didn't want to let down her professor whom she worked very closely with. The activity made me want to research the Taiwan culture even more. I think it would be beneficial for our class to actually learn some of these huge cultural differences, such as cultures where the parents make the occupational decision for their children.

Brown (2007)  really opened my eyes even more on how to better serve individuals with disabilities through the career development process. When I was an intern at Danville State Hospital, I found it very interesting that many of the consumers held jobs within the hospital. Many of the consumers worked at a frame shop which provided them skills and experience that they would need upon discharge. They really enjoyed the work and it gave them a sense of belonging and a way for them to make money to spend in the vending machines. I think that Danville's willingness to create job opportunities really gave the consumers a head start on recovery with their rehabilitation process.

Brown (2007) also gave me an idea of how to go about opening a private practice and completing tasks such as budgeting, marketing, and buying a building to perform services in. I did find it strange that he states many private practitioners decide to provide services in their own homes because it's convenient and less expensive. I completely understand wanting to save money by not having to commute, but I would never want a client to know where I live! Even though these rules apply to career counseling, I think that confidentiality is important. If a client we're to become unhappy with your services or hold you responsible for an unforeseeable event in their life that greatly alters their occupation, they would then know very personal things about you.

 I am a currently a TSS and I refuse to transport clients in my own car. There is a lot of personal information that can be gathered just from the inside of my car and I wouldn't feel comfortable having a client in my car. I like to keep my personal life and my work life 100% separated from each other and having a private practice out of my home is completely out of the question!






References:

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