I regularly review new and existing literature from various disciplines such psychology, philosophy and neuroscience to further my study of career counselling. During one of my recent dives into the literature on career theory, I discovered the work of Diana Richman and her model of Cognitive Career Counselling (CCC). Richman (1993) introduced CCC as method for helping clients address the uncertainty of the stagnating economy of the time. As we once again navigate turbulent economic waters, I think it’s time that we revisit this model and include Cognitive Career Counselling as part of career education.
Understanding Rational Emotional Behavioral Therapy and Cognitive Career Counselling
Richman (1993) based her Cognitive Career Counselling model on Albert Ellis’s Rational Emotional Behavioural Therapy (REBT). REBT (Ellis, 1962) was designed to help people rationalize their way to improved mood. Ellis argued that emotional (sadness, anger, despair, anxiety), behavioural (isolating, freezing, lashing out) and physiological phenomena (elevated heart rate, tense muscles, fatigue) find their source in the beliefs we hold about ourselves. These beliefs stem from activating events – for instance, “My manager rejected my proposal at work today that I had been working on for two months.”
REBT proposes that we engage in Unconditional Self Acceptance, which encourages us not to be ashamed of our perceived weaknesses and behaviours. Instead, the aim in REBT is to challenge underlying belief structures, which in turn should positively influence our emotions, behaviours and physiology. Ellis (1991) also recognized the need for us to define a goal to aim for as a further motivational component to the process.
“Envisioning their ideal career situation also helps clients understand how current beliefs may be holding them back from their goals.”
Building on REBT, Richman (1993) created Cognitive Career Counselling. CCC proposes that the best way to achieve career goals relies on a client’s belief that they can identify and take action to achieve objectives. This approach is seen as more effective than hopeless and defeatist forms of thinking, which are less likely to produce the results clients are seeking.
Here’s how it works in practice. During a consultation, a client is invited to describe a current career issue (e.g. unemployed, passed up for promotion, dissatisfied with nature of work) that is causing them to have negative emotions. The career practitioner then asks the client where they would like to see themselves. Comparing the client’s current situation with their goal exposes central themes in their current thinking, beliefs about themselves and their career. It also surfaces how they feel about their career circumstances.
This process creates the conditions necessary for challenging clients’ negative belief structures. Envisioning their ideal career situation also helps clients understand how current beliefs may be holding them back from their goals. Then, the career practitioner can discuss the client’s strategy for moving toward a defined career goal and support them to break this into smaller tasks.
The need for CCC is significant at the present time as technology companies continue to lay people off, with obvious psychological consequences for those being made redundant. Worries about future layoffs and the global economy also linger for employees who survive cuts. The negative economic climate affects everyone’s mental health.
Teaching CCC
In practical terms, job hunting is a harder task during economic stagnation and therefore more energy is required in the job search process. This means that clients need to be as motivated as possible should they need to seek employment; negative beliefs will not help them. Clients will need to demonstrate higher levels of goal-directed behaviour, better ability to deal with rejection and higher levels of resilience. Career counsellors can use Cognitive Career Counselling to help address this challenge.
I often speak with career counsellors who advise me that they struggle when supporting clients on psychological issues, they say that they feel ill equipped in this regard. Cognitive Career Counselling is a practical model taken from the discipline of therapy that we career counsellors can use to help client challenge negative thinking in our clients. I therefore propose it is worth considering in the context of career counselling.
