Integrating Career and Mental Health Counseling: Necessity and Strategies

Abstract

Individuals seeking counseling might not recognize the interconnectedness of health, mental health, work, and life concerns. Counselors, however, need to be mindful that a person's wellness is interwoven with their work, life roles, and health. Research supports the interrelationship of career development and mental health as well as the effectiveness of an integrated approach to mental health and career counseling. An integrated approach from an ecological counseling perspective is proposed for conceptualizing client issues and intervention strategies.

Impact of COVID‐19 on Employment: Exploring the Perspectives of Job Loss and Mental Health of Individuals From Minimal‐Resource Communities

“…Although all participants experienced job loss several months prior to their interview and were still unemployed, it was hard to determine whether the emotions and reactions shared in the interview were experienced immediately following their termination or were still reoccurring. Job loss has been described as traumatic and has been compared with grief, both of which vary in length of recovery depending on the individual (Akkermans et al, 2020 ; Tang et al, 2021 ). Although many researchers agree that unemployment affects individuals at various stages, time frame is generally not specified, similar to the model used in this study.…”

“…Prior research has explored the intersection between employment status and mental health. Those who are unemployed are more likely to experience increased stress, negative mental and physical health symptoms, and lower life satisfaction (Tang et al, 2021 ). Much of the reactionary feelings that participants felt reflected similar symptoms of mental health disorders that have resulted from quarantine mandates (Blustein et al, 2019 ).…”

“…In addition, increases in family and community support were noted among participants; therefore, career practitioners are encouraged to identify relational supports because job‐seeking efforts and decisions will more than likely affect these networks. Furthermore, prior research has identified the correlation between relational processes and their influence on career decision‐making and career development tasks (Blacker et al, 2020 ; Tang et al, 2021 ). According to Motulsky ( 2010 ), having clients identify significant relationships in their personal lives will allow them to assess both positive and negative aspects that may influence career development.…”

The Role of Human Resource Management in Employee Well-Being and Mental Health: A Systematic Literature Review

“…Career development opportunities are essential for enhancing well-being and mental health. Research has shown a significant interrelationship between career development and mental health (Tang et al, 2021). emphasize the necessity and effectiveness of integrating career and mental health counseling to address these interconnected aspects (Tang et al, 2021).…”

Serially mediated effects of psychological inflexibility on quality of life of refugees in Uganda during coronavirus pandemic

“…Psychological inflexibility and avoidance coping have connotations for perceiving the threat a situation poses. Yet the perceived threat level has implications for distress, wellbeing, and adherence to control measures [ 36 – 39 ]. As depicted in Fig 1 , we propose a serial mediation of the effects of psychological inflexibility on the QoL of refugees in Uganda during COVID-19 through avoidant coping, which could have affected perceptions of the threat posed by the COVID-19 situation, adherence to control measures, and mental health; and consequently, impacting on QoL.…”