Career Therapy – Bridging the Gap between Career Coaching, Career Counseling, and Psychotherapy
Your career is one of the most important and defining aspects of your life… So, whether you’re just getting started, changing positions, or feel like you’re in the wrong industry entirely, you owe it to yourself to do everything you can to make sure your career provides both meaning and joy. You deserve it!
Unfortunately, embarking on a new career – whether it’s for the first time, the second time, or any time thereafter – can be a difficult and stressful event.
And, what if you love the career you have, but you have “the boss from hell” or can’t stand your colleagues? Or you feel like you’re being prevented from reaching your career goals? Or worse, you’re experiencing harassment, or feel threatened by the possibility of termination?
In these and other situations, many people turn to a career counselor or coach for help, and for good reason…
Career Counseling and Coaching
Career counselors are much more than the glorified guidance counselors many perceive them as being. And career coaches are much more than supportive cheerleaders. Both career counselors and career coaches can provide career assessment tests, help you with your job search, role play interviews and salary negotiations, help you get training on new skills and professional development, and even help you navigate tricky interpersonal situations in the office.
In short, career counselors and career coaches CAN empower you to achieve your goals by providing you actionable plans and advice.
However, most career counselors and coaches CANNOT help you deal with the anxiety, depression, and fear that often come up when making a career change. Nor are most career coaches capable of helping those who have social anxiety issues that make networking and interviewing extremely difficult, or those who are depressed because they’ve been looking for a job for months or even years and are having difficulty putting food on the table.
And, then there are the deeper questions involved in one’s career… questions that revolve around your self-confidence, your self-esteem, and truly knowing who you are and what brings meaning and joy to your life.
This is where professional counselors and psychotherapists come into play…
Professional Counseling and Psychotherapy
While career counselors and coaches are generally trained to administer and interpret aptitude and ability assessments, provide career information resources, and help you with your career development, they tend to help you focus on more optimistic and forward-looking career challenges.
For some this is all well and good, but many people need the help of a professional counselor or psychotherapist to help them discover and work through the personal core beliefs that keep them from making the most of their careers and professional lives.
The longer you’ve been dissatisfied, frustrated, or stressed, the greater the chances for anxiety and depression to take root.
You may notice signs of this in your relationships with others or with yourself. You may be experiencing more arguments, feel more irritable, or have self-defeating thoughts.
You may even begin to feel physical symptoms, such as difficulty sleeping, loss of appetite or overeating, lack of energy, a decreased interest in physical intimacy, back, shoulder, and neck pains, headaches, stomachaches, and even anxiety or panic attacks. These are all ways our bodies tell us that it’s well past time to make a change!
Although therapists typically CANNOT offer as much career-planning guidance or advice as career counselors and coaches, they CAN help you cope with and discover the underlying causes of these symptoms, as well as work with you to overcome interpersonal issues both at home and in the office, and help you look inward and discover what brings the most meaning and joy to your life.
So, should you hire a career counselor or coach or seek out the help of a licensed mental health professional?!?
Career Therapy
My name is Karen Rose, and as someone who’s been a career counselor, coach, AND licensed psychotherapist for the past three decades, I can honestly say that this question has been difficult to answer… at least until now.
Many career counselors and coaches have referred clients to me whom they’ve been unable to help overcome interpersonal relationship issues, anxiety, stress, and depression, or when they’re clients are just stuck and they can’t help them do the deeper work necessary to get them back on their feet and moving forward again.
Most career counselors and coaches are extremely qualified at helping people find a new career or locate professional development opportunities, but they are much less knowledgeable when it comes to helping people explore personal meaning, values and life dreams. Similarly, career counselors and coaches are typically quite adept at helping clients prepare for interviews and salary negotiations, but they are often far less comfortable when a client returns from an interview or negotiation in tears, feeling deeply emotional and even broken by what happened.
On the flip side of the coin, many counselors and psychotherapists have referred clients to me whom they don’t feel qualified to help with the logistical steps and action plans necessary to find a new job or career, simply because many therapists have little knowledge of the world of work – knowledge of writing cover letters and resumes, behavioral interviewing, job search strategies, networking, salary negotiations, and overall economic trends.
So, either one of these types of professionals can help, but ONLY if you’re really clear about your needs…
The problem is, most people aren’t really clear about what it is they want to do or what they need to do to get there.
All of this is why I finally decided to bridge the gap I and other professionals like me have been straddling for the past 30 years and offer my unique experience and the advantages of career counseling, coaching and psychotherapy all under one virtual roof!
Now, you don’t need to know what you need (at least not to get started), and you don’t need to spend time and money on both a career counselor or coach AND a professional counselor or psychotherapist.
You CAN have the best of both worlds with Career Therapy!
Contact me, today, and together we can make sure you have the answers you need to the most important questions, such as:
- What activities provide me the most meaning and joy?
- What am I good at?
- What type of work environment would be most comfortable?
- What do I value most in life?
- What do I need in terms of stability and security?
- What can I do to bring my personal and professional lives in balance?
- What do I need to do to move forward in the direction I desire?
During our first session together, we’ll complete a thorough career history so we can develop a comprehensive idea of how your work patterns and beliefs are impacting your personal and professional life.
From there, I’ll tailor my approach to help you work on whatever it is that’s most important to you…
- We can address negative beliefs, or patterns of behavior and interpersonal relationships that are affecting your sense of satisfaction at work.
- We can work towards identifying career options or the specific career skills you need to feel empowered to make a change.
- We can work on developing coping skills or improving personal relationships that may be affecting your professional performance or job satisfaction.
- We can work on any issues that come up for you during the career assessment, job search, or interview processes.
- We can work together to help you cope with and overcome issues such as perfectionism, indecisiveness, anxiety, depression, stress, family expectations, or codependency…
- Or whatever else it may be that’s keeping you from feeling passionate and proud of the work you do!
Whatever it is that you need help with, we can work together to create and manage realistic goals and timelines, as well as utilize proven career coaching and career counseling strategies and techniques that can help you respond to almost any personal or professional challenge you’re facing.
Struggling with career-related issues can cause your whole life to fall out of sync. Career-related stress can lead to anxiety and depression, as well as negatively affect your physical health.
Yet, you CAN feel confident, passionate and successful in your career.
So, if you’re ready to have a career that you feel passionate about… a career that is aligned with your life purpose and in harmony with who you REALLY are…
If you’re ready to take control not only of your career, but of your life…
By combining my unique talents and skills – by bridging the gap between career counseling, career coaching, and psychotherapy – I’ve helped an almost countless number of people over the past three decades to identify their dreams and realize them. And I know Career Therapy and I can help you, too.
Contact me, now, while you’re think about it, at (510) 486-1188 or schedule a free initial phone consultation, and let’s partner together to create the career and life you know deep down inside are possible.