Career Counseling: A Narrative Approach [Paperback]

Larry Cochran (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 8, 1997 | ISBN-10: 0761904425 | ISBN-13: 978-0761904427 | Edition: 1

`This book should be viewed as essential reading for anyone interested in developing their understanding of the field of career counselling and developing their own approach. Practitioners will find much they might want to consider incorporating into their own work' - British Journal of Guidance and Counselling

`As a career counsellor working with clients of all ages and situations, I found Larry Cochran's new work both pragmatic and intellectually stimulating... [he] provides fresh insight into the essence of career counselling, examining the past to be able to understand the present in order to plan for the future. Written in an accessible style... this book is certainly something which encourages further re

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Sage Publications, Inc; 1 edition (April 8, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0761904425
• ISBN-13: 978-0761904427
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,730,781 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars An OK Introduction, January 8, 2007

By 

Allan Revich (Toronto, CANADA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Career Counseling: A Narrative Approach (Paperback)

When I first read this book I was graduate student in adult education, taking a course in adult career counseling. Compared to the highly prescriptive, formalized, and test-based/type-based approaches that still dominate the career counseling field; this book was an eye-opener. Cochran lays out a detailed narrative approach to career counseling that requires no personality tests or career-matching to personality type. He was the first career counseling "expert" that I came across who was prepared to completely get away from Holland Codes and Myers-Briggs Types and their ilk.

But... If you are seriously interested in narrative counseling approaches, or are already familiar with narrative theory and therapy, you will probably quickly realize that Cochran has simply substituted his own "orthodoxy" for the prevailing model. Cochran's idea of narrative still uses tests (albeit card sorts etc. rather than type-testing) and still follows a formal seven step process.

For the career counselor looking for a way to break free from personality testing, or for the counselor trying to pitch a newer approach within a rigidly structured institutional setting, this book is "short and sweet" and tells you exactly how to do it. For counselors further along on the postmodern counseling path, (i.e. Solution-Focused Therapy etc.) this book will probably seem like a step backwards.

The book is written for carer counselors, and not for individuals seeking career guidance.

3.0 out of 5 stars Succinct and to the Point, August 4, 2010

By 

J. Lukenbill-Bowles "Mid-Centurian" (Chicago) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Career Counseling: A Narrative Approach (Paperback)

Career Counseling: A Narrative Approach is a good survey of applying Narrative Therapy to every day career counseling. This book can either be condemned for it's brevity or lauded for coming to the point without over-explaining and micro-managing the subject. This book is best read and understood by counselors who have at least some professional experience and are working in the field of career counseling.