Career counselling
OUR OFFER
- Academy of Career Construction (CBA) ©
Training on methods / tools of global career counseling:
https://poradnictwo-konstruktywistyczne.pl/
- Advisory Supervision Platform (PSD) ©
- Tools for advisers
* Alternative Career Plans (APK) ©
Contact: poradnictwo@fundacjaimago.pl
Our activities in the area of lifelong career counseling are guided by the development of the competences of counselors in the constructivist trend. We have adapted inspiring methods and tools for you:
- the Canadian sociodynamic approach by prof. Vance Peavy (“New perspective of career counseling” project),
- the Canadian Hope-filled engagement approach by prof. Norman Amundson (project “Space for development! Adaptation of the method of integrated career development counseling for young people”),
- the Finnish model of Stop and Go group counseling by Dr Timo Spangar and Anita Keskinen (project “Stop and Go – adaptation of an innovative career counseling method”),
- the Spanish Vives Emplea counseling model by Action Against Hunger organization (project “Teamwork model for socio-professional reintegration of people from excluded groups”).
What is Constructivist Counseling?
… reflexively analyzes not only the sphere of skills or competences, but also values, attitudes, beliefs, senses, needs, ways of coping with changes, adaptation strategies, life roles, support networks, dreams, life perspectives and worldviews, etc. These are the key elements of building counseling process, decision-making, authorial life creation and creation of personal meanings and identity by the person seeking help.
It problematizes the identity of counselors, proposing a transition from expert orientation and career counseling to the use of empowerment strategies and facilitation of counselors’ involvement in constructing their own careers / lives.
As prof. Vance Peavy, one of the modern experts in constructivist counseling, writes:
Constructivist counseling means accompanying you on your life path. It proposes a departure from the traditional, positivist and reductionist understanding of career (instead, he proposes a holistic approach, taking into account non-professional areas, including social and personal, and interactions between different areas of life) (Vance Peavy, 2014, p. 48).
Who is a career counsellor?
He/she is a professional, prepared to conduct an independent process of individual and group counseling …
… recognizes the needs of the consultant and develops an action plan with them,
… monitors the implementation of jointly agreed actions,
… is ready to raise his/her qualifications and personal development,
… is guided by the principles of professional ethics.
Why is the development of career counseling important to us?
There has been a focus in the world on a holistic approach to the consultant. The substantive context of the above-mentioned changes is the use of the expertise of experts, often derived from the constructivist approach in counseling, such as M. Savickas, V. Peavy, J. Krumboltz. Polish advisers emphasize the need to develop process support for clients, especially long-term unemployed people who need a lifelong approach. Implementation of the above goals will be more effective thanks to …
… using useful tools to meet the complicated life situation of people seeking help,
… taking care of the development of advisers (including their participation in supervision and training),
… networking of groups of advisers (networking, inspiration, cooperation platforms).
Career Counselling Mentoring Team
… their task is to support advisers – both individuals and advisers from various institutions in implementing new solutions in counseling.
Testing Institutions that have implemented the final products in the implemented projects of the Foundation in the field of counseling may use free consulting services of our team during the durability period, at agreed dates. Other entities interested in the development of counseling services and the competence of advisers are invited to take advantage of paid consultations.
Contact e-mail: barbara.gorka@fundacjaimago.pl
Mentors: Dr Anna Górka, Marta Cygan, Barbara Górka, Agata Włodarczyk.
Development of counsellors
A cross-sectoral team of experts, established by the Imago Foundation in 2018 developed the assumptions for the process of validating the qualifications of counsellors in the constructivist trend:
1. Knowledge of theoretical trends as well as methods and tools in constructivist career counseling,
2. Conducting an individual career counseling process,
3. Transferring the ways of working of individual career counseling to group counseling,
4. Ethical conduct and professional development. The assumptions of the process were widely consulted with the advisory community.