 |
|
   
|
 | Therapy (with an emphasis on career) Traditional career counseling generally offers clients an opportunity to examine how they as individuals fit (or don’t fit) with many different careers. This type of examination can be highly useful and productive when a person is unsure of their chosen (or yet to be chosen) career path. Career counseling like this is often aided by the use of assessments (career interest inventories and personality tests). Contact our Director if you would like to discuss career counseling and career assessments. Is It Deeper Than That? In many instances finding a good match between you and career does not tell the whole story, and an expanded examination is required. Just like any aspect of our lives, career and work is complex. It is probably one of the most commonly overlooked aspects of mental health. It often takes a thorough and deep understanding to address difficulties that may interfere with your career and work life. Although, much more complex in reality, from my clinical experience career and work dysfunction often fall into one of four broad themes. They are:
1 - Nothing is more important than my career. Over involved? Being over involved with your work, although often times rewarded by organizations, may have serious negative consequences, both in the workplace and in other parts of your life. It may compromise your relationships at work or ones with friends and family, or it may entirely take the place of relationships. It may paradoxically undermine your goals to have a successful and meaningful work life. 2 – Everything else is more important than my work Under involved? Many people struggle with a very weak or nonexistent connection to work. For them, work is something that they "should" or "have to" do, but it holds very little personal importance or value. Because work is often an expression of deeply held ideals and ambitions, the seeming inability to develop a satisfying work life can be significantly troubling. It can lead to people feeling very poorly about themselves and their abilities, with these negative feelings encompassing their life. 3 – Why can't I find the right career? Can’t Commit? A seemingly endless search for the "right" work, or a sense that better career opportunities are always around the corner may lead to an inability to develop and expand on a person's work-related skills and talents. It may be related to desire to find the "perfect" job that will hopefully bring about an increased sense of well-being and success that is otherwise lacking. It may be related to a sense that work is an uncomfortable, conflicted choice among options that all feel wrong. The thought of pursing work may lead to avoidance and/or a sense of helplessness. 4 – Is it where you work and who you work with? Work place environment? Difficult co-workers, demanding supervisors, unrealistic deadlines are only some of the environmental facts that may take a serious toll on a person's ability to enjoy or find success at work. Strategies to cope with these and other work place stressors can be an important component of developing a satisfying work life. It is important to remember that work almost always occurs in a social context, and leaning to read and adapt to the environmental cues and messages may help people to find a more successful path at work. Contact our Director Brad Brenner, Ph.D. or call him at 202.986.5941 to discuss your work life difficulties or talk over your questions.
|
