Palm Beach State College Career Counselor Responses

Description Respond to your peers 1) Shiana Robertson Week 1: Meaningful Developments in Career Counseling Much like any major concept that has been created or discovered, the development of a concept has been proven to change with societal changes and advancements. This is true for the developments in career counseling. There have been six stages in the development of career counseling in the United States, each stage making a significant contribution to the progression of career counseling. Major Contributions to the Development of Career Counseling One major contribution to the development of career counseling originated in the 1940s. The third stage of counseling development focused on providing societal resources to colleges and universities in training professional counselors(Pope, 2000). This stage is important because it provides a standard for the counseling profession in providing counseling services. Another major stage pivotal in the development of career counseling was the sixth stage: increasing sophistication in the use of technology, internalization of career counseling, the beginning of multicultural career counseling, and the focus on school to job counseling (Pope, 2000). The importance of this stage is that career counseling became diversified and specialized for otherwise marginalized groups (African American, women, LGBTQ+, and individuals with disabilities). For me, these will impact my career development based on the specializations and demographics I look forward to servicing. As a student in the Dual Counseling program, engaging in a program and profession that has an established standard of practice is significant to my success as a professional counselor. Likewise, it is important to note that historically societal norms were focused on supporting and providing resources for white males. Providing that stage six diversified counseling provided an opportunity for marginalized groups to be recognized and given more career opportunities. Multicultural Considerations in the Development of Career Counseling It was not until the 1990s that career counseling extended in various new directions (Pope, 2000). This extension began to introduce laws and policies that supported individuals of diverse identities or backgrounds. To reach stage six, which began to include marginalized groups, it took approximately 100 years (the 1890s-1990s). It is because of societal challenges that the development of career counseling has not been beneficial to marginalized populations. According to Census.gov, In 2020, there were 37.2 million people in poverty, approximately 3.3 million more than in 2019. The research further supports that disparities amongst minority groups have increased in poverty over the last few years. Although career counseling has made strides towards including marginalized populations, historical developments in career counseling have not always considered minority groups. I would even go as far to say that career counseling as it relates to education and employment has not been adapted to thoroughly support minority groups or those in poverty. Despite laws and regulations, due to lack of education, these marginalized populations tend to face many challenges when it comes to finding decent employment. Conclusion In conclusion, the developmental stages of career development began in the late 1800s and have continued to evolve up until the present day. Credit can be given to stage three for defining a standard of practice or career counseling as a profession. Likewise, the inclusion of marginalized groups began to take into consideration societal changes. Although progress has been made in this field, unemployment numbers and the poverty gap that impact minority populations continue to be a challenge. 2): Dan’Yell Hastick Main Post Dan’Yell As in all counseling fields, the history to understand how career counseling has come to where it is, bring context to the field, and the interventions used. By reading through this weeks material, the political and social impacts surrounding the ending of war efforts stuck out to me in the “stages” of career counseling’s history. I have reviewed how World War 2’s and theVietnam war was apart of the job growth within this field. World War 2’s Impact After veterans returned from world war 2, and due to the lack of jobs available, government investment went into training for Career counselors, with a push towards science and math careers. The boost from the development in the field produced other organizations that would later develop into the ACA (Pope, 2000). This historical development is meaningful as it establishes s major push to train within the college level during the third wave, and established the major association for the counseling field as a whole. Although marginalized groups would have still struggled given the timeframe, this development opened opportunities through the countries desire to gain rapid progress in the field of science and technology. Vietnam War’s Impact During this timeframe, the economic prosperity and desire to find “meaningful” work among the masses encouraged legislation and program funding to become available, as the expectation of the role of career counselors broadened. This timeframe was relevant to career development of marginalized group as it encouraged the beginning of the interest of the client, and working through their interest. I see this as the beginning to the multicultural lens being applied to the individual, by starting with the clients interest rather than the trying to search and encourage individuals into particular fields (Niles & Harris-Bowlsbey, 2022). Conclusion The history of counseling is rich in that it can be viewed between major well known events. In viewing these events through developments, I have been encouraged to consider the large overarching themes during the time that interventions are developed.