Advancing career counselling research and practice using a novel quantitative+qualitative approach to elicit clients' advice from within

Abstract

This article reports on the results of providing career counselling to a purposefully selected first-year university student experiencing career indecision. An integrative approach based on qualitative and quantitative techniques was used to engage the student (the research participant) in conversations, reflections and meta-reflections on how to find meaning and purpose in his current studies and also in his future career-life. An intrinsic, single-case study involving a purposefully selected participant and the use of two newly developed instruments was undertaken to demonstrate the practical implementation of the novel approach. The intervention helped the participant identify his career-life themes and later choose a field of study that would enable him to fit work into his life, design and live a successful life and make meaningful social contributions. Future research should investigate the longitudinal value of the approach and its use in group contexts.