Many counselor are innovating their practices by shifting concentration from fostering career development to designing lives.  This shift in practice has been prompted by changes in the social organization of work and occupations.  To respond to these changes, some counselors have turned to narrative models and methods for self-construction and identity shaping. Looking at lives as novels being written focuses attention on the themes that activate and characterize individuals in both the work and partnership/family domains. This narrative approach to career construction counseling enables clients to fit work into their lives, rather than fit themselves to jobs.  This presentation will discuss and demonstrate practical techniques for using stories and articulating life themes to foster educational and career decision making.  Participants will learn how to integrate these techniques into their ongoing practice and may even use the techniques to better understand why they became advisors and counselors and how their occupations allow them to advance their own life stories. 

Workshop Goals for Dr Savickas (9-Noon)

1. Participants will be able to differentiate among vocational guidance, career coaching, and career constructing.

2. Participants will learn the conceptual model for career intervention called Career Construction Counseling.

3. Participants will practice the methods for Career Construction Counseling.

4. Participants may complete the workbook entitled “My Career Story” and evaluate its usefulness.

5. Participants will engage with the presenter in a live demonstration of Career Construction Counseling

6. Participants will apply the Career Construction Interview to a demonstration.

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