Developmental Tasks During the Growth Years

Posted by: Jeffrey Landine on October 17, 2011 12:56 pm

In our last blog, we focused on the need to develop character traits that have been found to enhance success at work during an individual’s development years.  In this presentation, we want to focus on the idea of developmental tasks and the role they play during the growth phase (childhood and early adolescence). We think that career practitioners, and more particularly career educators who focus on these tasks help provide individuals with the background and foundation to enter the exploration phase of vocational development and to be able to accomplish the dynamics inherent in this phase.

Theory suggests that young children, as a consequence of secure attachment develop an “internal working model” of human relationships, characterized by trust and confidence in others.  With the development of this model, the ground is established for future relationships with others generally, and fellow workers more particularly.  Additionally, the model promotes a sense of security as children explore and daydream about their place in the adult work world. We see secure attachment as a critical factor that enhances mastery of the developmental tasks during the growth period.

Continue reading




*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

“To Google or not to Google”[1]

Posted by: Dawn Schell on October 17, 2011 12:46 pm

Go ahead and Google yourself. 

How many hits did you get?  What kind of information is out there in cyberspace about you?  Photographs?  Training programs?  Schooling?  Home address?  Political or religious affiliations? Anything else? 

Now – think about this.  Lots of people you know have likely done the same thing – googled you – including your clients.  

Which brings up an excellent question. Should we, as counsellors, be googling our clients? Is it ethically appropriate to search for information about clients using the Internet? What about a client’s right to privacy or informed consent? 

Continue reading




*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

What Can We Learn From the Wind About Making Career and Life Choices?

Posted by: Mark Franklin on October 17, 2011 12:39 pm

When you feel the wind in your face, most people don’t realize the moving air isn’t ‘pushed’ from the direction it’s coming from, rather, it is ‘pulled’ in the direction it’s going. This lack of clarity about how wind works parallels many people’s lack of clarity around making effective career and life choices. You may look where you’ve been and push yourself from behind, by your history, by your resume, into repetitive patterns that may be less than satisfying.

Do you want to be as effective as pushing air from behind? Or, do you want to flow like the wind, with ease and speed and power?

When considering where you’re going in career and life, it’s easier, more effective, and feels better, to think about what you want, what’s important to you now, what your desires are for yourself, for your development, for your future. This positive mindset cultivates a predisposition to noticing clues that lead to rewarding action in the direction of your desires. Like the wind, you can allow yourself to pulled into a more satisfying future.

Watch the following video that I made on a windy day by the lake.

What’s your story of being pulled or being pushed? Leave a comment on the blog post!
-Mark at www.CareerCycles.com




*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

The Psychology of Feedback

Posted by: Asa Don Brown on October 13, 2011 12:29 pm

The challenge of providing feedback is knowing exactly what to say and how to say it. Constructive feedback can be either positive or negative.  Either way, constructive feedback should always be positively influential even if the message is critical. 

When a parent or teacher offers feedback, it should always offer a message of hope, inspiration, and positive motivation.   A majority of society has probably experienced negative criticism without a positive conclusion. 

Why offer something positive? When an individual receives a negative critique it is frequently received from a judgmental perspective.  Youth especially receive constructive feedback as a putdown, rather than as a motivational source.  Therefore, it is important that parents and teachers reassure the child of their goodness, potential, favorability, and capability. 

Parents and teachers should aim to provide feedback that is straightforward, direct, to the point, and constructive in nature.  Feedback should not be destructive.  It should not have a tone of superiority or  condemnation. 

Continue reading




*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

What Could Be More Important to Life Achievement and Success Than IQ?

Posted by: John Stewart on October 13, 2011 12:22 pm

From a developmental perspective, the tasks involved in growth as a person and as a future employee greatly overlap. In our last blog we described the phases and tasks involved in human development between the ages of 4 and 13 according to Erik Erikson and explored how these relate to career development and the growth of a self-system that is characterized by a sense of trust, personal autonomy, the ability to take initiative, and personal competency. The resulting resolution of each of Erikson’s stages is a particular character trait.  Career guidance and education is often focused on the provision of information – about occupations and about self – and over time the emphasis evident in the information changes.

It is not uncommon to have a student engage educators at the post-secondary level in discussion on the importance of their final grades because of their belief that their grades will play a pivotal role in the realization of a satisfying career.  Our response as educators is often that students should look past the grades attained and consider what they have learned and how they have grown as a result of the learning experience. Often this advice falls on deaf ears, however, as the myth of achievement as the defining indicator of potential success in their future endeavors is too firmly ensconced after years of pursuing good grades and being evaluated by such.

Continue reading




*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

Hope-Infused Conversations: Part II – The Counsellor’s Role

Posted by: Debbie Grove on October 13, 2011 12:18 pm

In Part I of my discussion about hope’s role in the healing journey, a comment by one CCPA reader, inspired Part II. Here’s the comment from reader, Paul, and the ideas that continue this conversation about hope:

“Hope is so often overlooked when working with clients. I know that I have the tendency to try and “figure out what’s wrong” so it can be fixed. But, if the client doesn’t actually believe that they can be better—if they’re lacking hope—then no amount of fixing will take root. I’ve wrestled with how to convey hope to my clients…”

The counsellor’s role in hope is an important one. Special considerations include respectful use of motivation for change during an appropriate time in therapy. What might hope from a counsellor sound like during a counselling session? What discourse helps convey a brighter future is possible – that possibilities are present. As I reflect on my work as a therapist, I find there is an interplay of hope-infused words, statements, metaphors along side clients’ desires for some aspect of life to be different, times in their lives when the problem was not present and/or not as impactful. I am not certain I can imagine a counselling session without some element of hope intertwined in our conversation, problem-solving, brainstorming, goal-setting, and processing.

Continue reading




*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

A Brief Introduction to the Check, Connect and Expect Program

Posted by: Lori Walls on October 13, 2011 12:09 pm

The Check, Connect, Expect program (CCE) is a tier 2 intervention model within the school-wide positive behaviour support model (SWPBS) of intervention. The SWPBS was established to support students and staff in efforts to decrease problem behaviours by providing interventions intended to increase positive social behaviours within the school. The CCE program is in keeping with the goals of the response to intervention pyramid and aims to target problem behaviours in a proactive and responsive manner in order to reduce the need for further academic or external supports. Over the course of a two year study, 18 school sites with diverse student populations were studied. Results indicated that 84% of students in the program (n=338) did not go on to require tier 3 intervention services. The program was therefore shown to be a cost-effective and successful means of ameliorating student behavioural difficulties while increasing positive daily interactions in the classroom.

One of the goals of tier 2 interventions is to identify students at risk of school failure due to behavioural difficulties as early as possible. To accomplish this, teachers were asked to identify at risk students and to complete a behaviour rating scale. Student scores were then compared with a national normative sample and those meeting the specified criteria were eligible for the program. Paraprofessionals were hired as student coaches and underwent a two day training course on how to implement the program. Program coaches were then supplied access to consulting services with a behavioural specialist, typically a school psychologist, in order to discuss any difficulties that might arise.

Continue reading




*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

How Do I Know When I Have Finished? When to End Your Counselling.

Posted by: Maritza Rodriguez on October 13, 2011 12:05 pm

You have been engaged in therapy and have made gains in your insight and have changed the behavior that wasn’t in your best interest. You are very pleased with your progress and are feeling good about yourself and your abilities. You have also established a trusting, therapeutic relationship with your counsellor and eagerly look forward to the exchange during psychotherapy sessions. You have reached the point where you are starting to contemplate wanting to handle your life situations on your own with your new tool box of skills. But it is a bit scary to let go of the safety net. Now what?

The transition of ending counselling can bring with it some fear and anxiety along with excitement and a sense of power. You have reached a point in the therapeutic process where you are consciously aware of your strengths and abilities to not only cope with life’s challenges but to also thrive and grow under the circumstances. What an empowering place to be! Simultaneously, you might be experiencing the anticipation of separation anxiety from your counsellor or maybe you are afraid you might hurt his or her feelings by ending therapy.

Continue reading




*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

All By Myself

Posted by: Dawn Schell on October 13, 2011 12:02 pm

There are times when I revel in working on my own in my online private practice.  I like being able to choose the work I do, set my own schedule, and work at my own pace [to name a few of the advantages]. 

Then there are the times when it feels lonely.  It’s just me and my computer and occasionally my cat for company. Sometimes I would like to debrief a session, find out about resources, ask for suggestions on ways to proceed with a client, or simply connect in person. Taking a moment to talk with a colleague can be a way to clear my head and refocus my attention and energy.

Don’t get me wrong.  I have colleagues in the online counselling world– amazing, experienced, gifted, supportive colleagues – with whom I feel deeply connected.  Sometimes I just wish I could walk down the hall to talk with them or have coffee/lunch together while sharing information, resources, and maybe even the story of our lives [which, considering they are scattered across Canada, would be a long road trip!].

Continue reading




*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

Multicultural Counselling: From Diversity to Universality

Posted by: Priya Senroy on October 13, 2011 11:53 am

Hello blog readers- 2011 is nearly over and I thought of sharing this article with you which interested me. I found it interesting as I read the view point of author, C.H.Patterson on the shift of using counseling as a universal intervention modality than just a diverse one.

 I hope you find it interesting too!!

 http://www.baatn.org.uk/Resources/Documents/MULTICULTURAL_COUNSELING_FROM_DIVERSITY_TO_UNIVERSALITY.pdf




*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA