Chapter 8: Solution-Focused Theory Applied to Career Counseling

The solution-focused counseling approach is widely recognized by professional school counselors for its positive, empowering model of change and its focus on strengths that students already possess. At the same time, school counselors are increasingly aware of and responsive to the need for implementing a comprehensive developmental career counseling curriculum that aligns with the ASCA National Standards, the ASCA National Model, and the local needs of the school system. This chapter introduces a new perspective—a solution-focused approach to career counseling—to assist school counselors as they develop comprehensive developmental career counseling programs. This chapter describes the basic components of the solution-focused approach and discusses how this approach successfully partners with career counseling. It provides specific examples of how four professional school counselors have integrated a solution-focused framework into career counseling at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. This chapter also provides ideas for how counselors can team with teachers in the implementation of comprehensive developmental career counseling programs.