Thank you to everyone!

I want to say a big thank you from the bottom of my heart to you all!

My class mates, for being part of my first university experience (not bad at 34 yrs) and for the massive support they have been without even knowing it! My lecturers for introducing me to essays, referencing and reading books (other than a trashy novel at bedtime) and to all my friends and family for their support and belief in me (I know they don’t read this, but wanted to thank them anyway!)

I have gained so much from this experience, an experience you have all been part of and I will never forget it!

THANK YOU

Last blog entry?

So it is over, no more reflective practice about the course! I am a little sad actually as I have enjoyed this new experience a lot.

 I was absolutely terrified after the first PP2 lecture we had with Grant. I didn’t think I would ever be able to get my head round what was being discussed. I felt very thick, a feeling I have had before in a learning situation and again, not for the first time on this course, I felt really out of my depth! As it was after talking to other people I soon realised we were all a bit confused, about different things of course but it was reassuring to know I was not the only one feeling it. So on the lectures went and some days I was really interested and compelled to read up more on the subjects discussed, some days I was overwhelmed and daunted by the thought of being able to deliver the approach or use the theory being discussed, some days I was confused as I couldn’t see the connection with career guidance and some days I just listened. Whether or not I have agreed with Grant, I have always looked forward to his lectures as they were very different to our other lectures and like it or not I found them contagious! He is so passionate about things whether agree or disagreeing with them, which came as a light relief!

 So on to the subjects we have covered. I hadn’t considered that I would need to choose which type of career guidance I would give and I’m not sure I really can yet, or ever will but if pushed then I am probably a humanist. I am always positive, enthusiastic and I think that is where my strengths lie when working with people. I like the idea of some of the ‘Post-modern’ approaches and I am looking forward to using and learning more about constructivism and narrative approaches. These along with ‘Community Psychology’ are the ones I feel most drawn to. I am scared of how to use them but that is just because I haven’t tried yet and I can’t wait till I can. This leads me on to where will I put all this knowledge in to practice.

I started this course with only one outcome in mind, to get a job back with Careers Scotland. I do still want to work for them, use the dreaded AtG, learn and gain experience and hopefully complete the Masters top up (if it’s still available with SDS). But I also know now that its young people I want to work with. Not sure about those with disabilities, metal health problems or criminal records, even though I have had some invaluable experiences working with this client group on the course, I still find it upsetting (curse that heart on my sleeve). So I am now very interested in working in the community or with a training provider, even a volunteering or charitable trust organisation which is so different to my feelings before the course. Whatever company I work for I do hope the client group are young people with all their challenges in life.

Lastly, I really enjoyed the last lecture we had, to come together in groups and share our idealistic dreams of what career guidance should be with each other, why not! On further reflection I really do like the idea of going back to smaller communities. I know many will disagree but after three years of trying to encourage young people to go outside of their local communities to source training, education and employment and failing I think I need to try a different tack?

I read with interest that the Borders College has decided this is also positive direction to take. In the beginning, there were college campuses in every large town in the Borders, however this changed over time and over recent years the decline of the local campus has been sad, resulting in only two campuses for the whole of the Borders, Galashiels and Hawick hosting the only campuses for many years. This is changing, with the popularity of college growing and the realisation that people steeped in tradition will not travel, Borders College are opening larger campuses in more towns and offering a wider range of courses in the main campuses. This is the sort of idea we had in our group, back to basics. Let’s try to keep our local community going and then hopefully this will have a positive effect on the local economy? Probably not (economics not being a strong point) but I love the idea! I grew up in a large town, experiencing community when I was younger but it declined as I got older and when leaving my childhood home, I didn’t know my neighbours. How sad, I think now, but it was a sign of the times. I do believe it’s changing though, slowly, gradually I feel the spirit of community is still there and my generation would like it to come back? Again, that’s just my view and of course a very blinkered one as I now live in a complete contrast to where I grew up! In a village, so small, when you drive through it, blink and you will miss it! I do know my neighbours in fact I know everyone that lives in my cal de sac, that’s to say I know their names. I know most of the mums in the school playground and I often have a house full of children whose names I all know. This is so different to how life has been for the last couple of years but again I do think it’s changing. Anyway, encouraging wealth and growth in smaller communities is an interesting idea, so let’s see what happens?

So goodbye my friends and thank you for taking the time to read my thoughts, I like the idea that we are not alone!

The final essay!

Wow, that’s it! It’s all over for now………..

No more referencing, no more wondering ‘have I answered the question? No more blood, sweat and tears!!! Strange but it feels very weird not stressing about something, anything, it’s what I have survived on for the last 8 months…………

 I have (in a very twisted way) really enjoyed the essays! From a very personal view, I am amazed I have been able to do them – I had never written anything remotely close to an academic essay and to have managed to write them has been a huge achievement for me. I have totally exceeded my expectations and am very pleased with myself.

 I can’t wait to officially put on that gown and receive my piece of paper The piece of paper that has been so important to me, the piece of paper that will hopefully improve my career from now on in and hopefully improve my life – a simple piece of paper has never meant so much to one person!!! Also can’t wait for my mum to see me graduate – something she never thought she would ever see!!

 Bring on the Master’s top up please, I am ready for another challenge!

John McLeod’s chapter on Narrative Counselling

After reading the chapter entitled ‘Narrative approaches to counselling: working with stories’ in his book ‘Introduction to Counselling’ I have questions and uncertainties! However this has been a useful reference for my last essay!

Firstly, I do understand that the subject is being discussed from a different perspective than that of career guidance professional and I also know this kind of approach is one that we should be embracing and adopting, I just don’t know what to do with the story once it is told…….

‘Bruner argues there is two ways of knowing the world, paradigmatic – creating abstract models of reality and narrative – making sense of the world by telling stories. Even though we are in a world saturated by stories – myths, novels, TV soaps, office gossip etc, very little attention by the social scientists and psychologists has been paid to stories. He suggests we should take stories more seriously’

So here lies my question, one which has been bothering me throughout all of the information I have read covering the whole ‘narrative approach’. What if the client is telling you what they think you want to hear or what they want you to hear?

My uncertainty linked to this, are they telling me the truth and what do I do with the story once it is told true or not?

In the chapter, examples are given of stories told by clients. They are sad, sometimes unpleasant but really interesting, my concern is am I able to cope and deal with the information being given through the story?
As I am not a counsellor I am very worried that I would not be able to do anything constructive with the story. We are being told that they story will help us and the client to figure out the world, their career or life journey – how??

Maybe I am making things too complicated, maybe I need to try it out and see what happens? Maybe I am terrified of something that I shouldn’t be? All will be revealed when I try this approach in the big bad world! Wish me luck………………

Last placement……

Well it’s the start of the second week and I am amazed at how different my placements have all been!

I am with Intowork, a specialised employment and support service working in Edinburgh and the Lothians. They work with people who have sustained an acquired brain injury or who have Aspergers Syndrome.

What has been interesting for me is working with this client group, especially the aspergers syndrome clients. When I started here, some of the EDO’s giggled and said once I knew more about the condition I would start putting people I know on the spectrum! Oh how right they were!! I have in my past job worked with clients who had some kind of difficulty or barrier to gaining employment, making friends and even struggled with conversation. I never knew how to help or advise them and thought that was a failing on my behalf, now I am starting to realize that there is a plethora of learning disabilities out there, so many of them are undiagnosed, so how could I know what to do for the best!

The frustration for most of the EDO’s is finding employers who are willing to offer work placements with a view to paid employment, especially in this current climate where so many people are losing jobs and employers are paying of staff who need no support to do the job. Why then would they take on a person who is likely to bring many challenges and require support?? ‘Banging their head against a brick wall’ seems to be the best expression and the situation is bound to get worse! Employers don’t have to take any of Intowork clients on, they certainly don’t have to offer them paid employment at the end of the placement either but surprisingly a lot of them do and are, ‘why then?’ was my question??

It turns out because the EDO’s here are specialist they understand fully the potential of their clients, even with their disabilities. Someone with aspergers for example has the potential to be very good at doing a job such as data inputting because it is repetitive, they enjoy work like this as it is constant and very rarely changes. This can be a useful selling point when discussing jobs with employers. Of course because I am cursed with wearing my heart on my sleeve, I had to ask ‘Don’t they mind, don’t they mind doing a rubbish job that no one else wants to do?’ I received a resounding no, they love it, they don’t see it being the job no one else wants because they are unable to read or understand feelings, so when they tell someone what they do or they discuss it with other colleagues they don’t pick up on any ill feeling? Amazing, sad but amazing – I had no idea that this is one of the common traits of someone with aspergers, of course that is the tip of the iceberg and I could go on for hours about other conditions they suffer with but I wont, I’ll just leave you with the conformation that there is fantastic work being carried out with all sorts of people, all over the country and even though we don’t know about it, someone will!!

Telephone and e-guidance, it’s already happening!

I’ve just read an interesting article in the Career Guidance Today magazine written by Graham Allan.

 

He is asking the question, shape of things to come or current practice? Learndirect has been offering careers information and advice for sometime now over the phone or via email and now with the recent guidance aspect being introduce to adults in England, surely it is already current practice? Again, something I think we need to be aware of, the growing demand for people to access guidance through other means than just face to face in a careers centre.

 

Whilst working (latterly) within Careers Scotland, we had to deal with clients over the phone and via email and I agree with Graham that in some cases it can be beneficial. Due to budget cuts our centres were only opening 2 or 3 days a week. We needed to find another way of helping and guiding clients without the use of the centres. I do understand that when you don’t have the face to face contact and it may be hard to read the client, build up a ‘rapport’, but nowadays more people communicate via email and texting, so it can work  and it did work well, with a lot of successful clients utilising our services via these means. Similarly some people like the animosity e-guidance offer them, those few people who aren’t looking for reassurance from anyone and don’t need to see or meet the person they are working with.

 

Key Workers have been using mobile phones now for a long time when working with there client group. They do use this as a way to communicate, help and give guidance to their clients. Rightly or wrongly but sometimes this is the young persons preferred way of communicating too!

 

Murphy and Mitchell (1998) write that there may in fact be ‘benefits in not having face to face contact with clients. Such an approach can allow the client to tell their story as they see it, without interruption and clarification-seeking of the practitioner, an important feature of the emerging literature of narrative approaches’. I experienced this when working with foreign clients who found it much easier to communicate with me via email then face to face. They were able to tell me their story and I could then work with them myself or refer them on appropriately.

 

However successful using e-guidance can be there is no doubt that some people will be happy to use it once or twice but will often want to speak to someone face to face. That natural urge to still gain reassurance I think from the person you are speaking to? With the amalgamation of Careers Scotland with Learndirect, I think it is definitely the way career guidance will move forward. Careers Scotland already has a call centre and with footfall dropping in some areas, shutting centres completely will become a reality!

 

My worry is that not everyone working in career guidance would feel comfortable using email or the telephone as a way to work with clients, but i could be wrong!

In reply to Paddy, cant post a comment on his blog!

And to think, when I started the course everyone thought I was mad wanting to go back and work for Careers Scotland!!!

I’m with you Paddy and good on you for being able to admit what a lot of people are probably thinking at the moment! I think we are all feeling a bit flat and dejected. However, I am always the optimist and I’m sure the jobs are going to out there for us!

Love the can!

How much can be achieved, if we think outside the box………….?

I said in class that I have been lucky enough to work with a very inspiring CA working for Careers Scotland – yes I did really say that, there are some good ones out there!

 

The CA in question works in two schools which are poles apart! But he is able to work very successfully in both because he thinks outside the box!

 

It’s frowned upon by management but not stopped, as they know the work he does is second to none! He has been the driving force behind a ‘careers support service’ delivered through the use of ‘blogs’ on the East Lothian teaching and learning website.

 

http://edubuzz.org/blogs/careers/

 

Please if you have time, have a look! It’s still developing but it is being used by the school CA, parents, pupils (current and ex) and some guidance teachers. It is the way the world is moving and something I think we need to be aware of.

 

AtG model – really the best model CS could come up with??

Well, wasn’t the talk from Andrew Paine the other week interesting!! I am amazed how one sided his version of the AtG was, the only criticism he had was of the use of the word, diagnoses! I think all of us sitting there had our own criticisms to make of it and I don’t believe it is perfect! I have yet to meet someone who works for CS who thinks it’s perfect! Actually, I have yet to meet anyone who works for CS who even likes it!! One member of staff while I was on my placement referred to it as a ‘rather large lumpy elephant’ and she is an assessor!! The company line of course is that all CA’s use the AtG but do they, in reality, do they??

I was interested  to see whilst on my placement with Connexions that they don’t have a strict structure every CA has to follow when interviewing, there seemed to be no particular model being used at all. In fact it was encouraged to use any model necessary that worked best for the client and the CA at that time. It changed every time the client did and surely this is real life??

Our CDT case study proved that no one model can be followed all the way through life, so why should we be expected to use the same model with every client that walks through CS doors? One size can’t possibly fit all??

Reflection on Centigrade Interviews and PCP

 

It seems appropriate to reflect on my centigrade interviews from yesterday after discussing and exploring PCP today.

 

I was sure that having some background information on the pupils I was due to see, would help the interviews go well? I felt confident and in control rather than previous interviews where I felt like I was fishing around for information from young people who didn’t always know or want to give it!

 

So, I read the report complied from their answers thoroughly, prepared (in my head) some possible avenues where I thought we might go with our chat and I assumed 2 or 3 subject areas the pupils might want to cover.

Great, I really felt like I had some background on this young person, after reading through the answers they had given I knew them a little bit and they weren’t a complete stranger. This I feel helped me to conduct two of my best (although my second was challenging) interviews.

 

At times I felt restricted by only being able to talk about the subjects covered in the report but it was so interesting watching them digest their results and wonder at the answers they had given a couple of months ago. That’s the part for me that I find so interesting after today’s lecture.

 

Kelly talks about ‘re-creating ourselves, changing if we don’t like it, the first pupil I saw yesterday was not happy that Drama, Arts and Music was her second highest scoring subject and she completely disagreed with it.

In fact, she really couldn’t understand why this subject had been thrown up at all as she had never even taken Drama. She asked if we could go through some of the question related and try to see connections. We did this, found some and the first thing she said was ‘why did I give that answer?’

She was starting to question herself and disagreeing with how she felt five months ago, to how she felt now.

Was it because she really didn’t mean to give those answers, or was it because she didn’t take it seriously enough at the time or was it because she didn’t like the result so wanted to change it?

 

Why not? I do it and I bet so do a lot of us?

 

I didn’t like my job with CS, I wanted more, so I changed things, re-created myself………….how I felt a month or so ago about Psychology has changed, why, because I’m now involved in learning about it, I’ve opened my mind to change, I am re-creating myself…………isn’t that what our roles may be……..helping and advising people to change an dre-create themselves if they want to?

 

Also highlighted from today’s lecture, for me, is just how useful knowing a little bit about your client can be for your first meeting. To have the opportunity to ask a client to give you a description of themselves, for me couldn’t be more interesting or more helpful – of course you need to make sure you don’t make assumptions and the information gained is used constructively, but by using yesterday as an example, it really helps to have tools to use when working with clients.

 

That’s how I see Kelly’s approach, giving yourself and your client tools to help, assist, guide and sometimes question themselves, their decisions, feelings and even maybe their understanding of what it is they are looking for…………………