Week 5

            During the Joan Blades “Living Room” conversation, she announced that the United States is one of three countries that do not give paid maternity leave.  I find that statistic to be disheartening as I have many friends who are at that stage in life and see the lack of options they are given.  Most people think of the United States as a country that is very supportive of its citizens and understanding of our needs, but seriously, one of three countries to not offer an extremely needed employee benefit is ridiculous.  I guess if so many other countries were not offering this to their women, I would not find it as disappointing but something needs to be done about that.  The question is, how?  Again, we are back to the main issue of trying to get the higher up people, to hear the voices of the less privileged, which has always been proven to be a challenge.  How can the U.S. not find a way to provide some type of paid maternity leave (Sreedhar, 2012)?   The Democratic Republic of the Congo pays for 14 weeks of maternity leave, a corrupt and extremely underprivileged country!  Canada offers 15 weeks paid maternity leave or a paid combination of maternity and paternity leave lasting up to 35 weeks (Sreedhar, 2012).  The rest of Joan Blades presentation was less intriguing to me as it did not help me understand how they were directly trying to help, rather than discussing it in front of us.

            During class, we discussed the theory of work adjustment.  This theory identifies the relationship between satisfaction and satisfactoriness.  Satisfaction is the employee’s feelings about the work he/she does.  Satisfactoriness is the employer’s satisfaction with the individual’s performance in the workplace.  I realized this model appears to be very “on point” in my eyes.  So many people I know, may not necessarily love their personal job description, but because they have good benefits and are compensated well, they will stick with the job.  These people learn to perform satisfactory for their employer to ensure their position.  My employer gives fairly constructive benefits and I enjoy working with my clients, keeping my satisfaction up.  Each year, I see I am within the company’s description of satisfactoriness as I regularly have a salary increase as well as positive feedback on my yearly evaluations, making my stay more enticing. 

            I have trouble feeling positive or negative about Guindon and Hanna’s (2002) article “Coincidence, Happenstance, Seredipity, or the Hand of God Case Studies in Synchronicity.”  Yes, I agree that sometimes things are timed well in life and we may happen to have something really bad happen, in which something positive may come from.  With this being said, there are so many small instances in life that we could potentially pick apart and say “well this happened, now what do you want to make of that?”  I may be having trouble with this because I am having personally cannot point out a time that I could relate to this theory.  I would like to discuss this idea along with the three different forms more in class, as reading about them was a little confusing (although the case studies gave me a better understanding). 

Guindon, M. H., & Hanna, F. J. (2002). Coincidence, happenstance, serendipity, fate, or the hand of God: Case studies in synchronicity. The Career Development Quarterly, 50(3), 195-208.

Sreedhar, A. (2012). Only three countries don't parental leave: can you guess which one isn't in africa. Retrieved from http://www.policymic.com/articles/20721/only-three-countries-don-t-offer- parental-leave-guess-which-one-isn-t-in-africa

Week 5

            The presentation on Living Room conversations by Joan Blades was an eye opening experience that afforded me to see how important it is for people to communicate with one another despite political, economic, and cultural differences. As career counselors and clinicians, relating to and empathizing with people of different backgrounds is something that is always strived in practice, which parallels some of the ideals brought about in “living room” conversations. How uninteresting would career counseling be if all clients that were seen were of a homogenous group, in terms of their background, socioeconomic status, and political affiliations? I believe that differences help with opening up one’s mind, which can lead to unbelievable outcomes of growth and development.

            According to Guindon and Hanna (2002) synchronicity is a new entity that is important to career development because it deals with looking at the outcome of one’s career pathway selection, as one filled with hope and unpredictability.  Overall, its idea fosters coincidental opportunities that open up for clients in tuned with one’s own personal circumstance. Synchronistic events seem to be crucial factors in a client’s career decision that usually come up during the career counseling process (Guindon & Hanna 2002). When I think about this phenomena, I think about how “chance favors only the prepared mind,” a quote by Louis Pasteur. Preparation in one’s career development will help people be ready to recognize and receive a good opportunity when it comes along. Once client’s figure out what it is they want in a career, and they have a sense of self, knowing their wants and needs, then when opportunities come along they are easily identifiable. Another words, the chance that an opportunity comes along that meets the desires of a client, is more prone to happen when he/she knows what it is that they are looking for. Clarity in one’s career development, essential, and should be a goal for client’s to expect from working on one’s career development with a counselor. Through guidance, clients should be shown ways to tackle indecisiveness, and investigate personality preferences in efforts to experience synchronicity.

In class the theory of work adjustment model was discussed, and I began to think about how this career development model can be applied to my life. According to this theory one must have a certain amount of satisfaction and satisfactoriness to remain in a job or occupation. Satisfaction is looked at how well a job meets the needs of an individual. Satisfactoriness is how well an individual meets the needs of the work place. I’ve worked as an emergency medical technician for several years, and I had low satisfaction because of the long hours, and the stressful nature of the job. I ended up quitting because the job was too inconvenient for my life style. From this analysis, I am able to see how important it is for people to consider if they are happy at a job, and if it is one that meets their needs.

Guindon, M. H., & Hanna, F. J. (2002).  Coincidence, happenstance, serendipity, fate, or the hand of God: Case studies in synchronicity.  The Career Development Quarterly, 50, 195-208.
 

Week 5/ Synchronicity Article Blog

        During class, I identified with the Minnesota Theory of Work Adjustment.  In order to remain in a job, a person must have both satisfaction and satisfactoriness.  In my previous job as an Ultrasound Technologist, I met the demands of the work environment, or satisfactoriness.  However, I did not have satisfaction of the job or the job did not meet my expectations or needs.  Therefore, I quit the job to go back to school in order to pursue a career that I can have both satisfaction and satisfactoriness with.
        As others have said, I enjoyed the presentation by Joan Blades.  I was shocked to hear that the United States is only one of three countries that does not have paid maternity leave for mothers.  Mothers have to decide between being with their babies or feeding their family by working.  This is a horrible decision for mothers to have to make because mother-child bonding occurs early in infancy.  I thought the Living Room Conversation demonstration helped me to understand more about what that is.  However, I think that the idea of the Living Room Conversation, that we need to get past all the opinion differences and see that we are all similar, can be connected with psychology.  It reminds me of the therapeutic factor of universality and that when people realize that they are not the only ones suffering then that helps them to heal (Yalom & Leszcz, 2005).
        After reading the case studies in the article, I understand more about the three different forms of synchronicity (Guindon & Hanna, 2002).  I like how synchronicity is defined "...as the occurrence of a meaningful coincidence in time" (Guindon & Hanna, 2002, p. 197).  All three cases seem to say that they were coincidences that occurred.  However, with Dan's case, I think the coincidence of wanting to become the owner of a small town printing press and then having his attorney friend acquire a printing press is just luck.  I think some people would say that is God showing Dan that this is the right career for him.
        Sarah's case and Billie's case both involve dreams (Guindon & Hanna, 2002).  This seems similar to Freud's dream analysis in psychoanalytic theory.  However, I think dream analysis is extremely subjective and not really helpful or therapeutic.  Dreams are just our brains way of working out any issues or problems during the day.
        When I was starting college, I had a dream about being happy working as an x-ray technologist in a hospital.  This dream did not help me because I did not enjoy working as an Ultrasound Technologist in a hospital.  Dreams do not always actually mean something.  They could just be what you wish could happen.  It is like what Cinderella says in Disney's Cinderella "A dream is a wish your heart makes."
        I think that synchronicity can be used with career counseling but not the dream analysis part.  The most important concept is for career counselors to help their clients to find meaningful work for them (Guindon & Hanna, 2002).

References

Guindon, M. H., & Hanna, F. J. (2002).  Coincidence, happenstance, serendipity, fate, or the hand of God: Case studies in synchronicity.  The Career Development Quarterly, 50, 195-208.

Yalom, I. D., & Leszcz, M. (2005).  The theory and practice of group psychotherapy (5th ed.).  New York: Basic Books

Week 5: Synchronicity

Week 5: Synchronicity

I must admit that I have mixed feelings about Joan Blades’ presentation last week. I found her work around living room discussions to be highly relevant and applicable to our class because we are all entering the mental health field in some capacity. I like that this concept promotes tolerance, open-mindedness, and really listening to opposing ideas (compared to just hearing what others say). However, I wondered how realistic this idea actually is. Ideally, we should all feel pretty comfortable in our own living rooms. On the other hand, how often do ordinary conversations turn into heated discussions even in our own homes? At the same time, I think this living room discussion idea is metaphorical, implying that much like we feel comfortable relaxing in our own living rooms, Blades hopes that in all discussions individuals can feel safe and comfortable enough to express their true thoughts and authentic selves. I found it interesting that most of the ladies on the panel were in agreement on social/political matters. While they each had the opportunity to voice their personal opinions, the group as a whole appeared to be liberal. Would the tone of the conversation have been different in some conservatives were also on the panel? I did not appreciate the political undertones throughout the presentation. I was disappointed that Blades’ presentation did not have more direct applications to our Career Development class. I was hoping to hear more about current work trends, especially those involving women. For instance, are the “mommy wars” still alive today? How so? What does research say about stay-at-home fathers?

I really enjoyed reading the Guindon and Hanna (2002) article about synchronicity and its role in career opportunities and the decision making process. I grew up in a religious home where meaning-making was a common occurrence. “Everything happens for a reason” was a popular saying in my house. We believed that to some degree God orchestrated the events in our lives. While He had a certain path chosen for each of us, each individual ultimately makes their own choices. God may “toss” various opportunities into our path, but it is our responsibility to make the right choices. Jung’s definition of synchronicity, defined as the “occurrence of a meaningful coincidence in time,” (de Laszlo, as cited in Guindon and Hanna, 2002) is pretty congruent with my own experience and background.

According to Guindon and Hanna (2002), “career development… is no less than a searching for meaning” (p. 196). Based upon this definition, I find the role of the career counselor to be extremely critical. In fact, how can a helpful career counselor not be an existentialist? At the same time, the role of career counselor parallels the role of a cognitive therapist. Guindon and Hanna (2002) stated that many clients seek counseling because they feel stuck in their own maladaptive thoughts. As counseling proceeds, individuals redefine themselves and transcend their own limitations. This sounds much like cognitive restructuring when the therapist guides clients in examining the evidence for and against their maladaptive thoughts.

Some of the implications I take away from this article include the following: 1) whether or not we ourselves buy into interpreting dreams, divine intervention, etc., it is our role as counselor to remain nonjudgmental when working with our client; 2) Be mindful of body language and countertransference; 3) be open to the experience of the supernatural.

Guindon, M. H. & Hanna, F. J. (2002). Coincidence, happenstance, serendipity, fate, or the hand of God: Case studies in synchronicity. The Career Development Quarterly, 50, 195-208. 

Week 5/ Synchronicity Article

After reading Guindon’s and Hanna’s article (2002), I was able to make connections between the article and class on September 25^th. Guindon and Hanna (2002) begin by contrasting modernism and postmodernism.  Modernism highlights a set reality, collective truths, and linear cause and effect (Guindon & Hanna, 2002). In class, we discussed the Modernist Trait-Factor Approach, more specifically, the Minnesota Theory of Work Adjustment. The MTWA’s linear model examines why people remain at a job by examining the worker’s satisfaction and the work environment’s satisfactoriness (Brown, 2012). In contrast, postmodernism proposes that holistic, contextual, and nonlinear approaches are more realistic (Guindon & Hanna, 2002). To explore synchronicity through the lens of postmodernism, Guindon and Hanna (2002) used Jung’s definition of synchronicity - a significant coincidence at a certain time, linking two or more experiences (thought/ feeling and event).

I was also able to connect the idea of synchronicity to Ms. Joan Blades’ presentation on September 25^th. Blades (2013) explained the situation in which MoveOn.org was developed, as a coincidence of “being in the right place at the right time.” When Blades (2013) sent a brief presidential comment to a few contacts, the comment was forwarded across America. Had she sent the email to different people on a different day, would she have still discovered MoveOn.org? She may never know the answer to this question, but the conditions were right to act on her discovery at that given moment to promote a second order change, the reorganization of a person, way of life, or way of interpreting the world (Guindon & Hanna, 2002). In this case, this coincidence changed the way Blades interpreted the world. She saw the comment go viral and may have thought, “How can I utilize this idea?”

I support the holistic ideas of postmodernism, but was a bit skeptical about synchronicity as a reliable aid for career development. Although backed up by religious, scientific, and psychological constructs, we cannot rely on coincidence, happenstance, serendipity, fate, or the hand of God to make career decisions. I believe we must be active in the career development process rather than passive, waiting for a transcendental occurrence.

Guindon and Hanna (2002) were able to clarify some of my concerns, stating that career counselors should integrate the “more objective indicators of interests, skills, values, needs, and personality with the subjective, transcendent, and spiritual dimension.” Career counselors create a solid foundation by identifying transferable skills, “unblocking” thoughts, and releasing self-limitations (through modernist techniques/assessments), building upon that foundation with the development of self-awareness and openness to synchronicity (Guindon & Hanna, 2002). When counselors combine these traditional and nontraditional interventions to support the client’s goals, the client can clarify an authentic identity and understand transcendental coincidences in “aha!” moments of clarity (Guindon & Hanna, 2002). Guindon and Hanna (2002) state, “rather than seeing chance events as random and meaningless, synchronicity provides a framework for understanding and working with such phenomena when they occur,” meaning that coincidences occur every day, but it is the knowledgeable individual that can detect and utilize their significance.

Blades, J. (2013, September). The Second Annual Innovator in Residence. Lecture conducted from Millersville University, Millersville, PA.

Brown, D. (2012).  Career information, career counseling, and career development (10^th ed.). New York: Pearson Education, Inc.

Guindon, M. H., & Hanna, F. J. (2002). Coincidence, happenstance, serendipity, fate, or the hand of God: Case studies in synchronicity. Career Development Quarterly, 50(3), 195-208.

Blog 5

             As I read the article this week I found it very hard to find this to be a type of counseling which could be applied to a large group of people. I know that sometimes as we are cloudy with our decision making there is sometimes a sign that shows us the way we need to go. However, I feel like there is not always a sign there for us when we are trying to decide what we are looking to do with our lives. Sometimes we make the decision to go with a certain career because it is what we feel deep down inside is the right thing to do. We make this decision based on what we feel not because of a dream that we have. I guess the biggest problem I had with this theory was the dream part. I do not feel that prophetic dreams are common enough when people are trying to make a career decision.

            Also, I felt like this theory took the personal aspect out of the career development journey. It seemed to me that this theory left a lot of the career decision making up to chance. It would happen by chance that if you quit your job and decide to open your own business your friend would come through with a building for you. I mean I think this could happen for some people but not everyone. I feel like more people are actively involved in their career journey and I think this theory just throws that aspect out and leaves it all up to chance and signs. I guess I personally cannot see the benefit of this theory because I do not believe in its bases for things being left up to chance. I personally just feel a person needs to be more invested in their career journey and this theory I feel like leaves that crucial piece out.

            The case studies were very interesting, but I think those were three very rare cases that actually take place when a person is looking for a new career. The third case study I found the hardest to find as truly conceivable (2002). Her dream did work for her situation but I feel like a person could really interpret their dream to be whatever they want it to be showing. I think that this case study is something that can only really happen to a person once in a while. I just really did not like this article and found this theory to be very inapplicable to a large group of clientele.  

Guindon, M., & Hanna, F. (2002). Coincidence, happenstance, serendipity, fate, or the hand of    god: Case studies in synchronicity. The Career Development Quarterly, 50, 195-208.

Week 5 Reflections

Before getting into the article that we read for class, I wanted to do some reflecting on the speaker, Joan Blades, who we had the chance to hear from on Wednesday night. Without getting too political, one thing that I didn't appreciate about the "living room discussion" is that it seemed to me like all of the members of the discussion were from a liberal standpoint. That's fine, but it kind of contradicted what she was getting at--to have discussions with friends with different views. I thought overall the discussion was interesting and I appreciated the professors' willingness to note other points of view, but I wish I could have actually heard from someone with those opposing views and see what these "living room conversations" would truly look like.

Anyway, the article by Guindon & Hanna (2002) provided insight and application into the idea of synchronicity, which for me wasn't easily understood. This very psychoanalytic phenomenon in counseling was introduced by Carl Jung in the 1930s and used techniques such as meditation, guided imagery, active imagination, and dream analysis (Guindon & Hanna, 2002). Guindon & Hanna (2002) note that the phenomenon is underrepresented in career literature, which doesn’t surprise me, because of the dwindling of the use of psychoanalytic techniques overall in the field of counseling. After reading the case studies I began to understand more what Jung defines as synchronicity. To me, synchronicity is the hand of God, not coincidence or happenstance. The stories that these clients told almost seemed unreal to me. Although, I agree that these things happen in life and I’ve heard it first hand, I don’t necessarily think that these happenings are “normal and expected” as Krumboltz and Mitchell et al. (1998) described them. I feel like it would be giving clients unrealistic expectations to teach them that these coincidences are normal. I’m very skeptical about if the techniques described are actually true and I don’t really see how the “dreams” presented relate to the client finding the right job for them.

Furthermore, I think that the clients described all had a new found sense of self-identity and new goals were set to find meaning in their lives, which in turn led to them finding ways to reach those goals. I think that the traditional approaches are more applicable than synchronicity because they are more applicable to the general population, not just a select few “miracle” people. At the end of the article Guindon & Hanna (2002) even note that “limited case studies do not justify any sweeping conclusions” (p. 205), which is why I have a hard time straying from more traditional trait-factor and developmental approaches. 

Guindon, M., & Hanna, F. (2002). Coincidence, happenstance, serendipity, fate, or the hand of god: Case studies in synchronicity. The Career Development Quarterly, 50, 195-208.

Krumblotz, J.R. (1998). Serendipity is not serendipitous. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 45, 390-392.