Career Counseling and Coaching in Valinda, California.

Are you unhappy at your job? Do you dread going to work? Or do you feel lost, feeling like you should have a career but you do not know in what field? Our career and work is a big part of our lives--usually taking up a third or more of our adult lives! And typically, a person's career is tied to a person's life goals and their sense of direction in life. That is why dissatisfaction at work impacts our happiness so much. Stop dragging yourself to work and feeling like you are forced to tolerate a job you hate. Come talk to me so we can explore your real hopes and dreams for your life and find ways to get you on the right track.

Clients seeking career counseling are usually seeking more than an increase in their income and benefits package. They are often seeking a path to identify and express their life’s purpose professionally (and personally). In our collaboration, clients and I identify their core values and creative options. Also, together we uncover conscious and unconscious “cognitive constructs” that undermine the active pursuit of their ideal career. Finally, we collaboratively design a flexible plan that embraces their life’s purpose, while cultivating insight, skill and the daily commitment needed to attain a professional (and personal) path that will give them the most intrinsic satisfaction.

Most people will have very different multiple careers in their lives. This can be very confusing and frightening. We all want to make the right choices. We want to be happy in our work and make enough money to live the life style we desire. We want to make as few mistakes in our choices as possible. We will work to clear the clouds by getting closer to understanding our needs and desires. We will set action goals, identify targets, evaluate results and continue refining the process until we are satisfied with the results.

Careers are integral to the identities of many people, while for others careers are simply means for attaining a happy life. Whether you’re developing your first career or looking to switch careers, I use a combination of assessment batteries and counseling to explore my clients’ goals, preferences, and aptitudes to identify their career path and develop a plan for achieving it.

Counseling can help you explore alternatives related to goal strategy and achievement Dr. Larry Kuhn, and the other Counselors at Prepare to Change, help individuals define how they want their lives to be different and identify the steps that will help them reach their goals. If you’re looking to bring improvement or change into your career direction or other area, counseling may be a good option for you.

The approach that I use is to use current on line career tests/assesments available for people by integrating Myers-Briggs theory and levels of interests and passions when it comes to finding a proper career. As they take these tests and assessment, I then use a few books such as "Now, Discover your Strengths" as a way to help people integrate their gifts, talents, interests, passions and desires so that they feel that they can succeed in life.

Today, with the economy in trouble, people are having a wide range of employment issues, from difficulties finding work and career selection to conflicts with employers and charges of sexual harassment. As a psychologist, I offer a variety of serves to facilitate a clarification of goals of priorities, including career interest testing to match current skills and aptitudes. I also provide sexual harassment seminars for local companies.

Although my title is a Marriage and Family Therapist and not a Career Counselor I do provide support for clients that are exploring their life path which many times includes their career. My approach is to work with each client to formulate their own goals and to create a plan to get there. Together we work on identifying barriers and how mental health may play a part in reaching one's goals. Although I am not a career counselor, I can work with a client short term if that is what the desired outcome is.

Oftentimes, people seek out career counseling because they are finding that their current job is not making them happy. From a Christian perspective, finding the work or "mission" God has designed you for is often called "finding your purpose" which we believe is the key to happiness in your work. In my work with Christians I strive to help people to find this purpose in their lives.

The work that I do with adult clients usually relates to a developmental life crises. We are always facing dilemmas and struggles that affect our mental health and well being. For many the work that we do in part defines who we are and how we feel about ourselves. The counseling that I provide in may practice relates to either: 1) developing a career plan/path from what has been previously established or 2) forging ahead in un-chartered territory to establish a different career/employment path. Your work or your profession needs to have meaning and you need to know what that meaning is all about.

Exploring strengths/weaknesses, talents and gifts, it makes it easier to maneuver through career choices. We strive to find how and where the client can do their best and how to create that opportunity for themselves. We work together to find necessary testing, training and education so that they have a realistic and achievable goal and plan. Areas of needed improvement are challenged and grown. Personal accountability is strengthen as well as communication skills.

Unlike many other counselors, I have worked extensively in the corporate world and even own my own computer consulting business and counseling practice. I have over 25 years experience in the computer field and I am also a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. I not only understand personality fits for particular careers, but I also understand the politics of the corporate world. Furthermore, I understand the psychology of marketing yourself, which is a critical skill in terms of getting a job in this down economy.

The two major areas of life are work and love. We must deal with them both well to be happy. If you are in need of help with your career path, job stress or satisfaction with you work we can help. We have trained professionals who have many years of experience in career counseling and helping people find greater meaning in their work lives. In this complicated world of career challenges you may need a professional who is skilled in this area to come along side of you. We have resources to help you if you give us a call.