The Use of Modelling in Career Counselling: A Case-Study

Through the presentation of a case-study, two issues are addressed: the application of modelling to career counselling and the generalisation of counselling effects. The case-history is presented of a client who was failing in nursing. Modelling was used to reduce the fear and to enable the client to implement her career plan. Particular attention is focused on the initiation of modelling, the use of a modelling hierarchy, the self-efficacy mechanism, the use of mental rehearsal, and the implications of reciprocal determinism for counselling. It is concluded that modelling may be an effective technique for career-development problems. Further, modelling may enable the effective transfer and generalisation of coping strategies.