A Metaphor for Guidance

After the Centigrade interviews a wee metaphor popped into my head about guidance so in light of todays session I thought I'd share it. At secondary school I had a great Art teacher his name was Mr Loyd, he really inspired me and during the time I spent in his class he introduced me to a whole range of mediums and techniques to use in my artwork, but at no point did he ever produce my piece of artwork for me, no where near it , the finished piece was mine alone and I owned it!

Pause for thought on Centigrade

On Monday it was my turn for the Centigrade interviews. The expereience had quite a big impact on me and since then I've spent quite a bit of time reflecting on the whole thing, thinking about what I've learned both about myself and the guidance process. Apparently the interviews went well, the feedback was good and both students seemed to get something useful out of the experience, the question was how did I feel about the whole thing. The reality was that initially I wasn't quite so sure ,I felt it could all have been alot better. The pupils I saw were bright and articulate and I greatly admired their honesty and openess, for example the first young person I saw within minutes of sitting down may no bones about the fact that although it may sound shallow her number one motivating factor in choice of further study and future career was the potential to earn alot of money, as she was fairly materialistic. I was blown away by her honesty and the potential risk she may have seen herself taking in telling me this, I think it's something that perhaps many would not emphasis so boldly through fear of being judged in some way. I didn't find myself judging her but I did catch myself feeling a little sad that this played such a big part in influencing her thinking, but that was my stuff coming in, my values and life experience and I realised that. I told her that it was good that she has realised that financial rewards were very important to her but encouraged her to continue thinking about the other factors that were also important to her in a future career and this is where I would have loved to use the self characterisation exercise, instead we continued our discussions thrown up by the results of the Centigrade Report. I have to say though, the findings did trigger her to identify some of the other factors that would be important to her so I have to say although I didn't particularly enjoy using this type of tool in a guidance interview it seemed beneficial for this particular pupil.
The second interview was a complete contrast to the first, in that they didn't have any fixed ideas about what they wanted to do apart from knowing that they wanted to go to university and they wanted to study for a degree that would have good job prospects on completion. The Centigrade Report was useful for highlighting areas of interest that the person had never considered and I think it was quite a revelation to them,it really opened things up,he asked so many questions, I didn't know the answer to all of them ofcourse but we made a start and I'm sure he'll continue.
So what have I learnt from using this type of tool in guidance, I have to say I didn't particularly enjoy explaining lots of information it seemed a bit of a dry repetitive process which at times I felt got in the way of the guidance process, maybe though that was because of the focus I was giving it . There are ofcourse as we have experienced over the past few weeks many different tools we can use to help poeple move forward in their thinking and I think I have a preference for those that are more creative and encourage free thinking . Having said that I can't deny that the pupils I saw seemed to find Centigrade useful and worthwhile . What else have I learned? I've learned not to rush and I've learnt that silence is golden, that some of the best things happen in this space. I don't find this easy though, and I can feel the panick rising at times (especially when we're being assessed) but one of the best things I did on Monday was at times not say anything , just giving the person a space to think and take things in, and although I sometimes get the overwhelming urge to spout lots of premature advice or information I know I need to stop and ask myself for whose benefit am I doing this is it mine or the clients. Maybe just maybe I'm beginning to learn what guidance is all about .

PCP Is it a pyramid or is it a ladder?

How refreshing this lecture was, and what a great tool to use in our guidance work, it is a tool which potentially we could use in any setting and one which would travel well. I found the self characterisation exercise totally engaging and like the way it helped the client set the scene and the agenda. I find approaches like Careers Scotlands "career planning (one size fits all )journey" so uninspiring, linear and dull, in comparison. The work we did with the Repertory Grid can be quite intense but what I like about it is that journey you go on with it is unique and can be full of surprises .The thought processes it encourage involve going off in all different tangents there is so much to be explored and so many levels you could take it to depending on the needs of the client. Having said all this I don't think this approach that would suit everyone and thats as should be and we may also be working under constraints that make using this kind of approach difficult, however it is an adaptable tool and there will I'm sure be room for bringing elements from it into our practise.

Gloria and Monty Python say it best!

Have just been looking at Sartre's Existentialism is a Humanism (condensed version) with an intro by Glyn Hughes where he sites Gloria Gaynors song as succintly exprssing what existentialism is all about so for those of you who haven't seen this yet or who are too young to remember...

I am what I am
And what I am needs no excuses
I deal my own deck
Sometimes the ace
Sometimes the deuces
It's one life and there's no returning, no revising
One life and so it's time to open up your closet

Thankyou Gloria!
Also for a bit of light relief you might want to check out U Tubes Monty Python's Flying Circus Sartre Sketch.

Back to Carl!

Now what was the question again? Do we agree that the client counsellor relationship is the most important thing?
I feel that I've spent so much time thinking about this one I'm almost chasing my tail so to speak, my recent experiences on placement both with Careers Scotland and Napier University helped to clarify my thoughts.
The client counsellor relationship is a key factor, building rapport is important, being present not ofcourse just physically but mentally, awareness of self , warmth the list could be endless.
For me on a matter of ethics though the element of choice in being that relationship for the client is key, as well the agenda being set by the client (another key element of Rodger's approach). On reflection one of the reasons I felt uncomfortable in my Careers Scotland placement is to a large extent in schools I felt that the two affore mentioned things were missing and it's not how I wish to practice Career Guidance.

Rodger's client centered approach is a useful base on which to build ,but for me as an approach to use in Career Guidance it would have limitations. Rodger's says there is no place for the giving of advice, information or suggestion, we should not be meddling! But for me there is a place for challenging perceptions, to raising awareness to help spark an interest to enable and help people to help themselves and this may well involve sharing information, knowledge and signposting to other resources afterall isn't that why we are specifically training in Career Guidance ?