Abstract:
This article reports on the value of career construction counselling (CCC) with a gay
person. The participant was selected purposively, with the selection criteria calling for
a mid-career woman who had sought career counselling. The intervention involved
administration of the Career Construction Interview (CCI) and the creation of a life
portrait. A case study design (working with a participant in a one-on-one research
setting and incorporating a qualitative, interpretive paradigm) was implemented. The
CCI (including the three early recollections technique) was administered to gather
qualitative data, and Savickas’ eight-step strategy was followed to complete the
participant’s life portrait. After the intervention, the participant demonstrated an
enhanced sense of self as well as an increased sense of personal authorship. CCC can
thus meet the career counselling needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered
people, and, possibly, also of members of other minority groups.
