Career development of trauma survivors: expectations about counseling and career maturity

Abstract

Trauma survivors are individuals who have been involved in an experience that includes the likelihood of loss of life or grievous harm to oneself or others (Allen, 1995;Matsakis, 1998; Rosenbloom, Williams, & Watkins, 1999). Trauma survivors may have experienced an accident, natural disaster, abuse, crime victimization, or violence including sexual assault, incest, or physical abuse (Rosenbloom et al., 1999). Shengold (1979) referred to trauma events as indignities imposed by one human being upon another and labeled their outcome as "soul murder"@. 533). An individual's capacity to cope with the traumatic experience is determined by their cognitive, emotional, behavioral, intellectual, and psychological capacities, as well as their support system. Shengold (1979) noted that the outcome of trauma experiences is often the developmental arrest of the individual's soul, psychological structure, and functioning. It is possible that these trauma experiences may have had a negative impact on the psychological, physical, and emotional development of these individuals (Allen, 1995; .... Bowen, 1982; Erickson & Egeland, 1987;Parker & Parker, 1991). Consequently, many trauma survivors often experience difficulties with trust, guilt (Rosenbloom et al., 1999), self-esteem, decision making, assertiveness, fear of success, and anxiety (Allen, 1995; Gianakos, 1999, Ibrahim & Herr, 1987 Peterson & Priour, 2000). Diane H. Coursol is a professor of counselor education, and JacquelineOne aspect of an individual's functioning that may be affected by trauma is their ability to engage in activities that are related to career and work. An important element of this area of development is career maturity (Super, 1990). Career maturity refers to an individual's capacity to handle the developmental tasks appropriate to their life stage (Super, 1990). This construct encompasses the individual's biological, psychological, and social development. However, few studies have addressed the impact of the trauma experience on the process of career development (Bowen, 1982; Erickson & Egeland, 1987;Ibrahim & Herr, 1987;Parker & Parker, 1991). Given the consequences of trauma, it is possible that the career maturity of trauma survivors may be arrested and can prevent them from achieving their full potential within the world of work. Consequently, the issue of career maturity warrants attention during the career counseling process.When trauma survivors seek career counseling, it is important for counselors to understand the expectations that these clients have for the counseling process. Understanding expectations is important because client expectations for counseling have been shown to affect the process (Corbishley & Yost, 1989). Galassi, Crace, Martin, James, and Wallace (1992) investigated preferences of clients for duration, outcomes, client and counselor roles, and career assessment. The study found that clients knew what they wanted to accomplish from career counseling but were uncertain about what the process involved. Clients preferred...

Trauma Symptoms: Relationship With Career Thoughts, Vocational Identity, and Developmental Work Personality

“…In addition, significant and meaningful differences were found between the low-and-high trauma groups for all the career variables used in this study. Upon reanalysis, these results are similar to those of Coursol et al (2001), who found small to medium effect sizes for the CMI Total score, the CMI Involvement subscale, and the CMI Independence subscale. The results of the correlation between trauma symptoms and career thoughts indicate that as trauma symptoms increase so does the level of dysfunctional career thoughts.…”

“…Peterson & Prior, 2000;Rosenbloom et al, 1999). Coursol et al (2001) suggested that one aspect of an individual's functioning that may be affected by exposure to traumatic events is the ability of the individual to engage in the career-and work-related activities needed to reach his or her full potential within the world of work. To date, there has been limited research and discussion regarding the relationship between trauma symptoms, career development, and vocational behavior.…”

Interpersonal Behaviour in Counseling: Client and Counselor Expectations and Experiences Related to Their Evaluation of Session

“…Research on expectations in counseling has been conducted, ranging from different client characteristics expectations, expectations of content to more behavioural expectations (e.g. Coursol, Lewis, & Garrity, 2001;Galasi et al, 1992;Tinsley Tokar & Helwig, 1994;Tracy & Dundon, 1988). The primary focus in these investigations has been on the clients' expectation and perception.…”

Career Adaptability of Trauma Survivors: The Moderating Role of Posttraumatic Growth

“…Impaired functioning across multiple domains (e.g., interpersonal, developmental, physical) is a necessary diagnostic criterion associated with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), including impaired functioning in occupational domains (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). In addition, those who have experienced trauma or are living with PTSD may have overall issues with career maturity or issues in the workplace, such as difficulty communicating with coworkers and completing job responsibilities promptly (Coursol, Lewis, & Garrity, 2001; Wald, 2009). Female survivors of interpersonal violence have experienced challenges returning to work following their trauma, including physical health concerns, social isolation, feeling disconnected, and a loss of control (Ballou, Balogun, Gittens, Matsumoto, & Sanchez, 2015).…”