In this four-part series, I aim to explore a need-based approach for offering care to students experiencing mood or personality challenges while they are on the waiting list.
Our school counselling profession often encourages us to go above and beyond to offer professional and ethical support to our students. In this series, we focused on finding ways to provide effective counselling support to students experiencing personality and mood challenges without depending solely on a diagnosis. This final installment will examine strategies to support students experiencing personality and mood-related challenges within the context of career counselling. Additionally, I will outline interventions I use in my career counselling work with high school students encountering these difficulties before bringing this article, and series, to a close.
Not an Expert
When I first started working in the school counselling field I struggled to navigate the career counselling side of our work. Most of my previous experience was in mental health and spiritual care settings, so career counselling was not a task which came naturally to me at first. But through supervision, consultations and ongoing training, I am more comfortable in the career development side of the school counselling role. Like Redekopp & Huston, I now see that career counselling and development have a significant impact on student mental health and their ability to develop resilience and the skills to face their challenges – weather or not they are clinically diagnosed.1 This means that our students facing personality and mood related challenges also merit and need our career counselling interventions to support recovery and school success.
Starting Career Conversations Early
One thing I have noticed when working with students who face personality and mood challenges is the need to start career development conversations early. At times, I prioritize assisting students through immediate challenges or crises, postponing career-related discussions until the situation stabilises. However, I have observed that this approach can occasionally limit opportunities for meaningful career development conversations. As pointed out by Vernon G. Zunker, having a holistic view of the person leads us to an integrated understanding of counselling, and not separating our work into two entities of personal vs. career counselling.2 Since reading Zunker, I try to integrate career related questions and reflections early on in my work with students’ – especially those facing personality or mood challenges. I routinely incorporate these career related conversations when helping students reflect on the long-term impacts for their challenges, when helping to create an action plan, or simply come to a lull in the conversation. My aim isn’t to demand concrete decisions or put pressure on the student; rather, it’s to encourage early reflection on career development and explore ways to incorporate this into their individual counselling support. By starting this process early (such as a year or two ahead of their last year of high school) it allows students to make changes with less stress and pressure to decide which can reduce their sense of being overwhelmed. In other words, we are allowing them to look at career development not as another big hurdle to jump, but rather as a part of their overall self-discovery, recovery, and journey to overall school success.
Creating Space
I am a profound believer in the power of giving students a safe psychological space in our school counselling practices. I believe this safe space also applies to the work of career counselling. In the words of Verginia Satir, “An adolescent’s psychological context needs to be able to accommodate mood swings, seemingly irrational ideas, occasional bizarre behavior, new vocabulary, and awkward performances. Each or all of these arise as adolescents play with their power, their autonomy, and their dependence and independence.”3 For me, career counselling involves creating a space where our students can make decisions, change their minds, or make mistakes on applications and learn from them. Students facing mood and personality related challenges also need this same space, especially if their decisions are connected to experiences such as strong emotions, complex social and cultural contexts, or overthinking. When we make a conscious effort to create this space for students in our counselling offices, I believe we are offering an essential element in effective student care and career development.
Interventions
In previous articles in this series, I share some general and specific interventions to support students facing personality and mood related challenges. In supporting these students during career development discussions and activities, I find it helpful to introduce the following three interventions alongside those we’ve already discussed.
- Yes and No: One strategy I use involves educating students that agreeing to one choice means they are often denying another – this is what I call the “yes and no” intervention. By using this education as a threshold for career reflection, students become more aware of both what they’re choosing and what they are leaving behind. Framing the conversation through this intervention can also provide us with an opportunity to address various feelings, thoughts, and fears should they arise.
- Practical support: I’ve often been surprised by how many of my students freeze when they’re faced with tasks that technology can’t do for them – like filling out college applications or writing resumes – even though we have so many helpful tools at our disposal. In my role as a counsellor in academic training, I focus on guiding students through these application processes without doing the work for them. I’ve also learned not to assume that all students already know how to tackle these challenges. As Norman Wright reminds us, “remember that insight, in and of itself, is not sufficient. Teens need to do something about the symptoms and the direction of their life. You may become frustrated in counseling adolescents, because you may be putting adult expectations for change on people who are not yet adults.”4 Thus, practical support as an intervention not only helps my students build confidence and independence but also encourage them to take meaningful action toward their goals.
- The Dream: I often ask students, “What’s your career dream?” or “Where do you see yourself in ten years?” Open-ended questions like these help me connect with students who struggle with personality or mood challenges during career counselling. Hearing their dreams lets us set goals collaboratively, break the dream down into manageable steps, apply a “yes and no” intervention, and prevent the students getting stuck in overthinking or feeling overwhelmed.
Conclusion
In this four-part series we have explored how to respond to the needs of our students’ surrounding personality and mood challenges. We reviewed practical theories and identified interventions to enhance our school counselling strategies for these students. By starting early and providing opportunities for students to navigate their growth into adulthood – including managing challenges related to personality and mood – I believe we can make meaningful progress in assisting students through career and personal challenges at school. Ultimately, my hope is that this article and collection of reflections encourage us to find creative ways to assist students dealing with personality and mood issues – not just while they’re on a waitlist – but by responding to their individual needs and giving them every chance to thrive both academically and personally.
THE AUTHOR:
Justin Bertrand is a counsellor in academic training at the high school level in Quebec, with over a decade of counselling experience across diverse settings. He holds a Master of Divinity and is currently a candidate for the MA in Counselling and Spiritual Care at McMaster Divinity College.
References
1 Redekopp, Dave E, and Michael Huston. 2020. Strengthening Mental Health Through Effective Career Development; A Practitioner’s Guide. Toronto: CERIC Foundation House.
2 Satir, Virginia. 1988. The New Peoplemaking. Mountain View, California: Science and Behavior Books, Inc.
3 Wright, H. Norman. 2014. The Complete Guide to Chrisis & Trauma Counseling: What to do and Say When it Matters Most! Reprint. Bloomington, Minnesota: Bethany House Publishers.
4 Zunker, Vernon G. 2016. Career Counseling: A Holistic Approach. 9th ed. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.
