Alexandra Reeves

CNS 743
Assignment 3.3
2015Jul07

The article I selected was on women leaving abusive relationships and career counseling.

I found this article to be the most intriguing. While I have not dealt with abusive relationships

personally, I know a few girls that have and I wish they would have sought out help from a

career counselor. This article explains SCCT in relation to abused women. The article discusses

the challenges that these women face after leaving an abusive relationship and how a career

counselor can help them. One of the key points of the article is that as the counselor, you have to

help build the clients self-esteem. This can be accomplished by setting small goals and working

towards them. Often abused women encounter feelings of depression, low self-esteem, and

possibly PTSD. This can all lead to negative things in her life. It is important to help your client

work through this. I could not believe that the article states that women are 7 times more likely to

be in abusive relationships. On top of that, 20 percent of non-fatal violence towards women is

done in an intimate relationship. It makes sense that by accomplishing small goals, a women can

feel self-confidence and potentially tackle larger goals. This is the case for anyone not just

abused women. The article suggests having your client sort potential jobs into piles. These piles

would be; might choose, would not choose, and in question. This is a very good idea and that it

helps the counselor know exactly what the client wants to do and would be open to doing.
Reference:

Wacther Morris, C., Shoffner, M., & Newsome, D. (2009). Career counseling for women

preparing to leave abusive relationships: A social cognitive career theory

approach. Career Development Quarterly, 58, 44-53.