Foundations of Career Counseling: A Case-Based Approach

For students taking courses in career counseling.

Help future counselors develop an usable understanding of both theory and technique.

Foundations of Career Counseling: A Case-Based Approach is built around a series of case studies that contextualize and bring to life all aspect of career counseling from theories through assessment, intervention, and education. Designed for students taking courses in career counseling, this practical and engaging text places a strong emphasis on diversity and on passing along a clear and concrete grasp of how to do effective career counseling.

Balancing both theory and application, all of the chapters contain case material like transcripts, examples, and sample assessment results that illustrate Suzanne Dugger’s clear explanations of concepts. The text will help future counselors develop a thorough understanding of working with clients across the lifespan (from children through older adults). And the text also provides a good foundation for working with specific populations such as persons with disabilities, military veterans, ex-offenders, homemakers, and caretakers transitioning back into the world of work. 

• Section I Introduction
• Chapter 1 The History of Work, Globalization, and Contemporary Client Issues
• Section II Theories of Career Development and Career Counseling
• Chapter 2 Trait Factor Theories
• Chapter 3 Developmental Theories
• Chapter 4 Learning Theories
• Chapter 5 Narrative Theories
• Section III Other Foundational Knowledge
• Chapter 6 Cultural Dimensions of Career Development and Career Counseling
• Chapter 7 An Employment Law Primer for Career Counselors
• Chapter 8 Becoming an Ethical Career Counselor
• Section IV The Practice of Career Counseling
• Chapter 9 The Career Counseling Process
• Chapter 10 Intake Assessments
• Chapter 11 Standardized Tests
• Chapter 12 Card Sorts
• Chapter 13 Technology and Information Resources
• Section V Setting-Specific Practices
• Chapter 14 Career Development in K-12 Educational Settings
• Chapter 15 Career Development in Career and Technical Education Settings
• Chapter 16 Career Services in College Settings
• Chapter 17 Job Loss, Unemployment, and the Job Search Process
• Chapter 18 Adult Career Transitions and Specific Populations
• Section VI Career Planning for Professional Counselors
• Chapter 19 Charting Your Own Career Path as a Professional Counselor

• Contextualises all aspects of career counseling in practice with a case-based approach.
  • The in-depth case studies allow for deeper, more practical understanding of the application of theories, concepts, and techniques.
  • To support student mastery of the content and skills across the book, the cases are integrated and elaborated in every chapter.
  • To help students understand how to work with diverse groups, the clients in the cases come from different cultural and social backgrounds and present different career concerns.
• Covers all of the concepts, information, and applications students need to begin doing career counseling.
  • Students are trained in a full range of topics they’ll use in career counseling–many of which are addressed minimally by competing texts
  • Equally applicable to students in school, college or clinical mental health counseling tracks, the book provides thorough coverage of each track
  • A full chapter is even dedicated to the career development of counselors
• Provides extensive coverage of diversity (throughout the text but also see Chapter 6 for a specific chapter devoted to working with diverse clients).
  • The text helps students understand how sociopolitical inequities, socioeconomic factors, and cultural norms can affect vocational development.
  • It helps students learn to how to conceptualise career development using cultural and contextual lenses.
  • It also provides specific practical strategies like cultural formulation interviews and culture and career genograms.
  • Helps students understand the impact of technology on the world of work and on the practice of career counseling
  • The text explores how technological advances (e.g., the digital revolution) have changed the world of work and contributed to the need for career development support and career counseling.
  • Students are also exposed to roles technology play in the everyday practice of career counselors, including the wide variety of technological information resources currently available.

During her 25 years as a counselor educator, Dr. Suzanne Dugger has been recognized for her teaching, advising, scholarship, and service to her college, university, and profession. In addition to her experiences as a counselor educator, Dr. Dugger has also provided counseling services and career development support in K-12, college, and private practice settings. These broad and varied experiences have allowed her to develop a book that thoroughly addresses career development and counseling practices in K-12, college, and community settings. She is one of those very rare individuals who is able to create and maintain a nurturing classroom environment while demanding a very high level of performance from her students. Such a balance is evident in this book where a high level of readability is accompanied by a thorough and careful treatment of the content.