A Process and Outcome Study Examining Career Indecision and Indecisiveness

Abstract

Despite the abundance of research on undecided and indecisive students, there is a lack of literature on the actual change process of counseling these individuals. No published studies have applied advances in single‐subject methodology to career research. This study uses both process and outcome measures to investigate the counseling process with an undecided and indecisive college student to examine (a) what specific events were the most significant in each session, (b) counselor intentions in the “best” versus “worst” sessions, (c) role of the working alliance with career clients, and (d) differential counseling outcomes. Participants were two female counselors, one male undecided student, and one male indecisive student. Results (a) support previous speculation about the differential utility of interventions for undecided and indecisive clients, (b) suggest that the relationship may be important to clients in career counseling, and (c) raise questions about previously assumed intervention strategies for career clients.

Good looks and good practice: the attitudes of career practitioners to attractiveness and appearance

“…The reasons behind these inconsistencies are likely to be complex. Some elements of career image are delicate, and career practitioners may feel that highlighting a client's perceived shortcomings might risk damage either to the client's self-esteem, or to the vital working alliance between practitioner and client (Heppner and Hendricks, 1995). Other aspects might be thought to be symbols of a client's social identity (Hogg and Terry, 2000), so could be considered by practitioners as inappropriate to raise.…”

Goal instability, self-esteem, and vocational identity of high school Portuguese students

“…Campbell & Cellini, 1981;Miller, 1993). The effectiveness of career counseling is not questioned (Fretz, 1981;Oliver & Spokane, 1988;Whiston, Sexton, & Lasoff, 1998), but very little is known about the relationship between the intervention process and specific client attributes (for an exception see Heppner & Hendricks, 1995). However, some research suggests goal instability may be a variable that moderates the effectiveness of career interventions.…”

Psychological Separation and Dimensions of Career Indecision in Secondary School Students

“…Indecisive individuals are characterized by high levels of anxiety, external locus of control, low self-esteem, and inadequate identity formation Hartman, 1990;Johnson, 1990;Salomone, 1982), and for these individuals a more prolonged intervention, approaching a psychotherapeutic process, is needed (Hartman, 1990;Heppner & Hendricks, 1995;Salomone, 1982).…”