Contemporary Approaches to Career Counseling: Critical Perspectives on the Life-Design Paradigm

Abstract

Because of the ease with which ideas originating from trait-and-factor theory can be implemented in practice, these have had, and still have widespread acceptance (Brown, 2002). The objective perspective on careers has been challenged by many researchers and led to the development of theories that account for individuals changing life situations and the subjective meaning they ascribe to their choices. The increased interest in understanding how subjective factors influence career choices has resulted in the emergence of several different theories based on constructivism, each offering new perspectives on how individuals may influence their career. The most recent contribution to the field of career counseling is the life-design paradigm (Savickas et al., 2009) adhering to social constructionism and thus emphasizing the significance of the stories that individuals construct about themselves and their career. Comparing some of the key assumptions underlying the life-design paradigm with ideas originating from other theories, this article invites further discussion about the methodological implications of relying on different assumptions about the individual and the context in which career choices are made. Questions will be raised about the emphasis on people’s stories and whether these have the potential to help them overcome the many different challenges they may face during their career. It will be argued that overemphasizing individual learning and promoting adaptive behavior and self-governance might contribute to individualize career problems that may have a structural origin.