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A relational approach to career counseling: theoretical integration and practical application. (Practice & Theory).

Article Excerpt
Embedded in our mainstream culture is the propensity to equate the need for connection and relationship with dependency--something to be avoided in favor of independent thought and judgment (Stiver, 1991). This theme has pervaded much of traditional psychological thought and developmental theory (e.g., Erikson, 1968; Levinson, 1978). The career development literature has been no exception. Indeed, relational experiences at the heart of career progress are frequently devalued and disregarded in favor of more autonomous approaches to exploration and decision making (e.g., Harren, 1979). This perspective is antithetical to that of relational theorists who have asserted that interconnection and relatedness are central to human growth and development and that relatedness serves as a context for the experience of the self (Gilligan, 1982; Jordan, Kaplan, Miller, Stiver, & Surrey, 1991; Josselson, 1992). Moreover, the capacity to create and maintain growth-fostering relationships is crucial for healthy developmental progress (Gilligan, 1982, 2000; Miller & Stiver, 1997). These views have been echoed in a recent movement in psychology and the social sciences toward a relationally based perspective that acknowledges the adaptive function of interpersonal connection (e.g., Bowlby, 1982; Cutrona, 1996; Gilligan, 1982; Jordan et al., 1991; Josselson, 1992; Teyber, 2000). Consistent with this trend is a recent emergence of literature regarding the interconnectedness of career progress and the quality of relationships in one's life (e.g., Blustein, 2001; Blustein et al., 2001; Blustein, Prezioso, & Schultheiss, 1995; Phillips, Christopher-Sisk, & Gravino, 2001; Schultheiss, 2000; Schultheiss, Kress, Manzi, & Glasscock, 2001). What transpires in our relationships may be key to the facilitation or hindrance of our ability to progress effectively through challenging career tasks and our ability to benefit from more traditional career counseling practices. Despite this burgeoning interest in the interface between work and relationships, career counseling practice is limited by the relative absence of a meaningful approach to intervene in the work/relationship space in the career counseling milieu. Innovative models of career counseling are needed to assist us in revealing the web of relational connections in which clients' career and work lives are embedded. One's deepest connections with others can no longer be ignored or extracted from the career development and counseling process. Practitioners must strive to better understand the interconnections between career progress and the relational experiences of clients. Interventions must be transformed into more sensitively based interactions that nurture mutuality and growth in human connection. Thus, the purpose of this work is to build on recent empirical advances regarding work and relationships (e.g., Blustein, 2001; Blustein et al., 2001; Phillips et al., 2001; Schultheiss et al., 2001) by reviewing the current status of career theory in practice and by presenting a theoretical overview of relational theory and its logical extension to the career domain. A relational approach to career counseling is explored and illustrated with a case example.

CAREER THEORY AND RESEARCH

Career theory (e.g., Gati, 1986; Gati, Fassa, & Houminer, 1995; Holland, 1997; Krumboltz & Hamel, 1977) has traditionally been based on the merit of independent thought and judgment. Indeed, beginning with Frank Parsons's (1909) prescription of a "true and reasoned match," career theorists and practitioners have aimed to formulate autonomous approaches to healthy progress and success in the career realm. Implicit in the trait and factor theories that pervade much of career counseling practice is the underlying value of rational thought and logical decision making--resulting in a successful match between an individual's characteristics (i.e., aptitudes, achievements, interests, values, and personality) and the characteristics of occupational environments. Carefully constructed tests and measurements, such as the Strong Interest Inventory (Harmon, Hansen, Borgen, & Hammer, 1994), have been developed to assess and classify individuals and occupations to aid in this process. Hence, career counseling has been conceptualized as a process wherein individuals are guided through the collection and integration of varied information about themselves and the world of work, followed by a rational process of decision making. Although useful classification systems have emerged from this work, such as Holland's (1997) typology of personality and work environments, trait and factor approaches have been limited in the degree to which they incorporate the context (i.e., cultural, social, economic, and relational) within which careers are created. Whereas contextual factors were long considered moderating influences in the career development and counseling process, contemporary theory, research, and practice have brought these issues to the fore (e.g., Fouad & Bingham, 1995; Leong & Brown, 1995; Sue & Sue, 1990).

The central role of relational experience is the most recent contextual factor to gain serious attention in the theoretical and empirical literature within the career domain (e.g., Blustein, 2001; Blustein et al., 2001; Phillips et al., 2001; Schultheiss et al., 2001). Previously, relational influences invoked a negative connotation and were conceptualized as a hindrance to effective and successful career decision making. As such, those who used others in their career decision making were referred to in the literature as "dependent" (Harren, 1979) or "compliant" (Dinklage, 1968). Thus, often an unproductive passive or coerced position with respect to others was assumed or implied. Rational prescriptive approaches to career decision making leave little-to-no room for the effective use of relational resources in their individualistic models. For example, Krumboltz and Hamel's (1977) systematic approach to career decision making offers a highly organized, detailed, and behavioral prescription for successful decision making. Gati (1986) and Gati et al. (1995) described a sequential elimination approach to career decision making that is also characterized by a series of rational and logical steps. Until recently, these methodical autonomous approaches were met with few challenges (e.g., Gelatt, 1989).

A fresh perspective that views the use of others as a central resource in the decisional process is beginning to emerge (Phillips, 1997). Phillips offered an alternative perspective on decision making that emphasizes implications for deciding within a life-span, life-space context consistent with Super's (1980) model. This perspective appreciates the complexity confronted by a decision-maker when the context of multiple life roles is considered. From this vantage point, consulting others may be viewed as a valuable form of help, particularly when decisional fields increase in complexity and span multiple life roles.

These innovative ideas have led the way to new lines of inquiry using discovery-oriented methods that more sensitively depict the lives and choices faced by those with complex career decisions. To illustrate the role of relationships in career decision making, Phillips et al. (2001) analyzed interview data from young adults who had recently made significant career decisions in the transition from school to work. Their findings uncovered relational themes that provide an enlightened view of how relationships with others are used in the decision-making process. These themes reflect the different ways that others involve themselves (actions of others), are invoked by the decider (recruitment of others), or are excluded from an individual's deliberations (pushing others away). Subsequent research (Christopher, Phillips, Lisi, Groat, & Carlson, 1999; Phillips et al., 2000) has resulted in a reformulation of these themes to reflect two continua: actions of others (i.e., the ways in which others involve themselves in the field of the decider) and self-directedness (i.e., the ways in which the decider relies on self and others in the decision-making process). This research offers a broadened and less negatively biased view of the role of others in the decision-making process and expands on traditional taxonomies of decision-making strategies (Phillips et al., 2001).

To enrich our understanding of relational influences on college student career development, Schultheiss et al. (2001) developed a relationships and career interview to assess how relationships are influential in the career exploration and decision-making process. Using interview data, Schultheiss et al. (2001) identified prominent factors in relational influence across relationship domains (i.e., parents, siblings, extended family members, and significant others). The most consistent factor that was identified was the relationship as a multidimensional source of support (i.e., emotional, social, esteem, information, and tangible assistance). Other important relational factors included role model influences, personality characteristics and ideology, childhood experiences, disruptions in relationships, geographical location of parents, parental nature of the relationship with one's most important sibling, and emotional distance with other siblings. In a related investigation, Schultheiss, Palma, Predragovich, and Glasscock (2002) examined the reciprocal relational influence of siblings' career paths, the influence of the participant's career path on their...