Counseling: Self-clarification and the Helping Relationship

Although others had been concerned about the vocational and occupational problems of youth, vocational counseling as a field of professional concern is usually considered to have begun with the work, of Frank Parsons in the early years of this century. (1) The model developed by Parsons dominated the field for the next thirty years. The goal of vocational guidance was "the choice of a vocation, adequate preparation for it, and the attainment of efficiency and success.... In the wise choice of a vocation there are three broad factors: (1) a clear understanding of yourself, your aptitudes, abilities, interests, ambitions, resources, limitations and their causes; (2) a knowledge of the requirements and conditions of success, advantages, compensations, opportunities, and prospects in different lines of work; (3) true reasoning on the relations of these two groups of facts.” (2) This pattern or model of vocational guidance went essentially unchallenged for three decades and is still accepted by many. Emphasis shifted from one to another of the major points, but the formulation was not questioned. In the early years (1910-20) there were few instruments for measuring aptitudes, abilities, and interests, and attention was concentrated upon the provision of accurate information about job characteristics and opportunities. With the development of testing following World War I (3) and during the 1930's, the emphasis shifted to the evaluation of aptitudes, abilities, and interests. (4) Emphasis upon the third aspect, the relation of the personal and environmental factors, developed during the 1940's following a series of publications from Minnesota. (5)