Cotter Careers

What can career counseling do for me?

Career counseling can help you identify career and life goals and the importance of understanding your personal strengths, aptitudes and values as they relate to developing and maintaining a fulfilling and satisfying work life. There are a variety of benefits that can come from career counseling and they tend to be individualized. Of course, career counselors can’t just ‘fix’ everything on their own. Still unsure about what career counseling could do for you? Let’s take a look a few examples of some common benefits:

• Promote self-advocacy and determination
• Increase self-knowledge through the use of career and vocational assessment tools
• Assist in making informed education and career decisions
• Teach job search strategies such as networking, resume writing, interviewing, labor market trends
• Provide assistance in the selection of high school & post high school educational options
• Grasp a deeper understanding of who you are
• Identifying your goals and dreams
• Obtain the right skills for bettering your career options
• Boost your self-esteem and confidence

What is a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor?

Rehabilitation counselors who obtain the CRC credential from the Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification are counselors who possess the specialized knowledge, skills and attitudes needed to collaborate in a professional relationship with people who have physical, mental, developmental, cognitive and/or emotional disabilities. Certified Rehabilitation Counselors have specialized skills to work with individuals with disabilities to achieve their personal, social, psychological and vocational goals. CRCs adhere to the highest professional and ethical standards, including the Code of Professional Ethics for Rehabilitation Counselors. CRCs have met national standards for rehabilitation counseling and are committed to continuous learning and upgrading of skills.

What is a Certified Career Counselor?

This credential is for career counselors with an advanced degree (master’s or higher) in a counseling field (including rehabilitation counseling) who are engaged primarily in a career counseling practice. The Certified Career Counselor, CCC credential from the National Career Development Association is a recognition of two important factors in training and experience including both counseling and a specialization in career development, theory and practice. The most important aspect of this credential that differentiates it from other recognized practitioners is that it recognizes the intersection of counseling and career development. Career counseling involves a core set of competencies that bring together counseling and career expertise.

Why a focus career counseling on young people with disabilities?

The seeds of career decisions are made long before one becomes an adult. Decisions made in middle school will determine which high school options are available. Course selection in high school will determine post high school educational options. Teens with disabilities who have school based accommodations are more likely to be under or unemployed as young adults. Special education plans may leave a teen ill prepared for adult life and the work world ahead. Time is of the essence when choosing high schools and classroom based accommodations. Accommodations in a middle school IEP can keep students from attending the high school of their choice. Course selection and ‘tracking’ can deny a student the opportunity to earn college credit while in high school. Students with disabilities may graduate from high school with good grades but lack the skills they need for a great career.
Career counseling that includes career exploration, vocational assessments in addition to career assessments, academic guidance and advocacy are necessary features of good career development for young adults with disabilities.

Why not ask my child’s school counselor and special education teacher to help my child develop appropriate career related skills?

School counselors have a caseload of 200 to 600 students and often teach classes on a regular basis. They have very large numbers of students who demand help in social, emotional, academic and behavioral support. School counselors have some knowledge about careers and college admissions but they are not experts in the area of disability, functional limitations or labor market trends.

Special education teachers understand how to individualize instruction for a student’s unique disability, but they are not experts in vocational assessment, labor markets or vocational preparation. Specialized graduate level training is required to understand which comprehensive vocational assessments will address your child’s career interests and aptitudes, unique functional limitations of specific disabilities, current labor market trends, and the specific vocational preparation required for your child’s career development. These professionals may not know how to determine appropriate accommodations for the classroom that will support and not limit your child’s future career plans.

Your child’s future demands a counselor who understands disability, the world of work, academic preparation, the educational system, vocational skills assessment, career planning and appropriate accommodations that lead to success in the workplace.

How does insurance factor into career counseling?

Insurance companies are different – some offer mental health coverage, while others do not. Career development and career counseling is not generally covered in health insurance plans.

Do the topics in each career counseling session remain private?

There is nothing more important in a counseling relationship than confidentiality. Your privacy is of the utmost importance. A good counselor understands the vulnerability and openness that must come from each client in order to really get to your dream career, so counseling itself takes a lot of trust, and that must be developed over time. Make sure your counselor offers a confidentiality agreement before you begin your sessions, typically called ‘informed consent.’ It is your choice if you’d like to have your counselor share anything significant with others but this can only be done with your written consent. Nothing you share in your sessions is to be told to anyone else, with the rare exceptions of suspected abuse of any kind (including child protection) or if the counselor has any reason to believe the client may hurt themselves or others. These situations are a matter of ethical procedures and even the law.