Thoughts on Theories: Case Conceptualization From Five Perspectives

A special issue of the Journal of Employment Counseling in December 2011 presented 13 brief articles from 17 current career counseling thought leaders (Arthur & Collins, Leong, Pope, Krumboltz, Schlossberg, Bright & Pryor, Hansen, McMahon, Niles, Magnusson & Redekopp, Savickas, Amundson, and Neault & Pickerell). Eight of those authors came together at the NCDA 2013 conference in Boston to participate in a “Thoughts on Theories” panel based on their contributions to that special issue. All agreed that, if time permitted, it would have been interesting to apply their theories and approaches to a common case. Seven of the original authors and NCDA panelists have contributed to a brief case conceptualization that vividly illustrates the similarities and differences in their approaches to working with clients. Approaches included in this article include the Chaos Theory of Careers, Culture-Infused Career Counselling, Career Engagement, Happenstance Learning Theory, and Active Engagement through Metaphors.