A study of career patterns of women college graduates

The employment and educational histories of 498 women college graduates of 1968 were investigated to assess the women's career progress in the 10 years since college. The women were classified in a proposed seven-category system of career patterns adapted from those of D. G. Zytowski (Personnel and Guidance Journal, 1969, 47, 660–664) and K. P. Wolfson (Journal of Counseling Psychology, 1976, 23,(2), 119–125). The system established categories for pioneer (nontraditional) as well as traditional women's occupations at varying levels of both span (length) and degree of participation in paid employment. The seven resulting career pattern groups were compared on personal and career-relevant variables. The findings indicated that a majority of the women graduates have worked continuously outside the home since 1968, and many have entered pioneer occupations. Only 1.4% of the present sample of women were full-time homemakers throughout the 10-year period. On the other hand, 28.5% of the women in the sample were currently employed in pioneer occupations. A majority of the women (79%) have combined both careers and homemaking. Women in traditionally female careers, as compared with pioneer women, were less likely to change careers across the 10-year period, and were more likely to move in a horizontal or downward career direction. Pioneer women were more likely than traditionals to move from lower-to higher-level careers. The findings support the use of the adapted classification system in future studies and also provide data for use with women who are now planning for future careers and lifestyles.     

Do birds of a feather flock together? A test of the similarities within and the differences between five occupations

Two sets of samples of 40 women from each of five different occupations were subjected to J. H. Ward's (Journal of the American Statistical Association, 1963, 58, 236–244) hierarchical cluster analysis, using an index of similarity from Kuder, 1977, Kuder, 1980, 40, 1–8). The five-group solution in neither case adequately recaptured the occupational membership of the original groups. This finding was interpreted to mean that there may be important differences in the interests of person in the same occupation, which in turn has implications for occupational scaling on interest inventories and theories of career development and counseling.     

Enabling,facilitating, and precipitating factors associated with women's career orientation

Women who had completed a career/life survey 13 to 21 years after enrolling as freshmen in college were classified as career (N = 372) or homemaker (N = 797) oriented on the basis of their actual work experiences. Statistically significant differences between the groups were found on 90% of the variables within the enabling conditions (i.e., family characteristics), 60% of the variables within the facilitating conditions (i.e., educational and vocational characteristics), and 88% of the variables within the precipitating conditions (i.e., attitudinal factors). The proportion of variance accounted for in career orientation by these variables varied from 0 to 32%. The variables which best differentiated between the two groups were categorized within the enabling conditions. The results are discussed in terms of previous theory, research, and practical application.     

Vocational behavior and career development, 1977: A review

This review covers several books and selections from several journals published in 1977 on topics in vocational behavior and career development. Coverage includes theoretical contributions in vocational choice, development and correlates of choice, decision and indecision, assessment of career skills and interests, self-estimates, and sex bias. Material relating to the vocational behavior of adults contains sections on theory, satisfaction, performance, career development, and mid-career change. A final section is devoted to a review of studies of interventions.     

Examining Leadership With American Counseling Association Presidents: A Grounded Theory of Leadership Identity Development

In a grounded theory study, the authors examined the leadership identity development of 12 past presidents of the American Counseling Association. Using individual interviews, the authors identified 3 interactional themes that form a theoretical framework for leadership identity development: (a) influence, motivation, and support to lead; (b) leadership skills; and (c) reinforcing experiences. Implications for counselors and counselor educators are offered.     

A Study of Religiosity and Psychological Well-being Among African Americans: Implications for Counseling and Psychotherapeutic Processes

This study examined whether a relationship exists between religious orientation as a therapy intervention and the degree of depression, coping behavior and self-esteem among African American adults. In addition, the relationship and predictive power of selected religious and socio-demographic variables and religious orientation as a therapy intervention were studied. African American adults were randomly selected to participate in this empirical study. Age had a significant independent effect on intrinsic religiosity and extrinsic religiosity and a linear relationship was found between extrinsic religiosity and the seven demographic predictor variables at the .05 level of significance.     

Using Visual Journaling in Individual Counseling: A Case Example

The purpose of this article is to describe and illustrate through a hypothetical case example how visual journaling, a form of expressive arts counseling, can be adapted for use in individual counseling. Counselors may consider using visual journaling as a counseling intervention when working with clients who may not have words for what they are feeling or experiencing, and for clients who tend to be very analytical. Visual journaling can be a way to bypass the intellect and give clients another way to access their experience.     

Behind the (Virtual) Mirror: Online Live Supervision in Couple and Family Therapy

Online therapy and supervision, a rapidly rising practice in couple and family therapy, has been the subject of a growing body of literature. From its early days, family therapy training has included live supervision, which has typically been conducted by a supervisor and a team of trainees situated on the other side of a one-way mirror. With the outbreak of the COVID-19 global pandemic, we—the staff of supervisors at the Barcai Institute in Tel Aviv, Israel—were compelled to find solutions to continue meeting with clients and to provide supervision for family therapy trainees. To this end, we have shifted our live supervision courses (“practicums”) to the virtual arena, adapting the popular application “Zoom” into what we call “PractiZoom.” Based on over 100 PractiZoom sessions conducted between March and May 2020, involving 14 supervisors and 28 therapists-in-training and their clients, the article reflects on this pioneering online practicum for the online live supervision of therapists with geographically distributed participants. In this article, we outline our operational methods and adaptations for conducting live behind-the-mirror supervision online. Following a short theoretical background, we outline the process of online live supervision, discuss our reflections and those of our trainees on the challenges and possibilities it poses, and offer a number of preliminary conclusions and recommendations.     

Interventions to Empower Adults with Eating Disorders and Their Partners around the Transition to Parenthood

The transition to parenthood is perceived as a stressful life event, when parents experience an immense change of their psychological focus and a reorientation of roles and responsibilities in the family system. This process may be even more challenging in the presence of a parental eating disorder history. This paper reviews the impact of parental eating disorders on the parents, the couple relationship, and their child during the perinatal period. A parental eating disorder is associated with more negative expectations of parental efficacy as well as specific difficulties in couple communication over the child’s feeding, shape, and weight. Providers who better understand the effects of an eating disorder on parental functioning can more effectively intervene early on. We also present couple- or parent-based, empirically supported interventions for adults with eating disorders and their partners in the prenatal and postnatal periods: Uniting Couples in the treatment of Anorexia Nervosa (UCAN) and Uniting couples In the Treatment of Eating disorders (UNITE) both enhance recovery from the eating disorder through a couple-based intervention; the Maudsley Model of Treatment for Adults with Anorexia Nervosa (MANTRA) incorporates the support of partners, when appropriate; Parent-Based Prevention (PBP) focuses on improving parental functioning and reducing risk of negative parental and child outcomes. Finally, we discuss the clinical implications of addressing parental eating disorders and encourage more research on these families.