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Little has been written about the reciprocal effects of the mental health and the career development of college students. Nevertheless, college students seeking services in college career and counseling centers often present both types of issues simultaneously. Service providers must, therefore, be cognizant of these potentially interactive issues. This article provides a summary of theoretical foundations and recent research regarding the interaction between psychosocial and career development. Implications for theory, research, and practice are provided.

Currently, a window of opportunity exists to greatly expand career counseling services for kindergarten through twelfth grade students. Enhanced career development activities for all students are presently mandated by federal legislation (School-to-Work Opportunities Act of 1994), supported by widespread public opinion (Brown, Minor, & Jepsen, 1992), and advocated by the school counselor profession (American School Counseling Association, 1985). Unfortunately, as Bloch (1996) pointed out, in many states school administrators and counselors have limited awareness of and commitment to workforce preparation policies (Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills, 1991) and related K-12 career development objectives (National Occupational Information Coordinating Committee, 1989) (NOICC). However, Lapan, Gysbers, and Sun (1997) found in a statewide study of high schools where counselors were more fully implementing a comprehensive guidance program concept (Gysbers & Henderson, 1994) students reported that: more career information was being made available to them, that their education was better preparing them for their futures, and that they were earning higher grades.Recently, increased attention has focused on the specific career development needs of middle school students (e.g., Lapan & Jingeleski,

Although the diminishing role of career counseling in the future plans of counseling psychology trainees has been well documented, no empirical data have explained why this phenomenon is occurring. A sample of 290 counseling psychology graduate students was surveyed from 12 American Psychological Association (APA)-approved counseling psychology training programs. Results indicate that trainees' most negative experiences were disparaging remarks about career counseling from faculty and supervisors and their formal course work in career development. Conversely, trainees reported that the most positive influences on their attitudes were experiences obtained by working with career clients. Further, initial regression equations indicate that 45% to 59% of the variance in trainees 'interest and their positive experiences practicing career counseling could be explained by their self-efficacy in career counseling, their training experiences, and their participation in vocational research. Implications for the training of counseling psychologists are provided.

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