Problems in Career Counseling

Lesson #2: On Weight Loss and Writing

The Lesson

Counseling Mistakes

A Dropout: A fictional short-short story

Mixed Feelings About Commonly Dispensed Personal-Growth Advice

A Too-Honest Counselor: A short-short story

Do You Need a Coach, Really?

REBT/CBT doesn't work for all with Dr Marty Nemko

The Art of Remote Counseling for Counselors and Clients

Whether you’re the helping professional or the client, we’ve all gotten used to remote sessions. I had been conducting them long before COVID but have done many more during the pandemic.

My Psychology Today article today offers some things I’ve learned that may be of help.

Making the Most of Counseling’s Final Session: Advice for client and counselor

The client says, “I think this will be our last session for a while.” (S/he appended “a while” to soften the blow.)

Or the client doesn't state it overtly but by implication, for example, “Now, as I’ll be sallying forth without training wheels, thank you for helping me accept myself.”

My Psychology Today article today offers thoughts on making the most of the final session.

Difficult Clients: Advice for counselors, and a wake-up call to clients

If you’re a helping professional, chances are you’ve had difficult clients. My Psychology Today article today offers composite examples of difficult clients I’ve had and what has worked best in working with them.

And if you are a client or patient, perhaps you will see something of yourself in one or more of these, which might help you get more out of the relationship.

 

The Rise, Fall, and Rebirth of a Career Coach: Life lessons for all of us

My Psychology Today article today offers a composite of the experiences of career and life coaches and counselors I have known. It embeds life lessons for us all.

Outsmarting Your Clients and Patients

Sure, some clients are always rational and statesmanlike, disclosing all relevant information, responding honestly, dispensing due praise to you, etc. But such purity isn’t always the case.
It can’t hurt to have some under-discussed but crucial tools in your helping kit. I describe them in my PsychologyToday.com article today.

Making the Most of Counseling, Psychotherapy, or Coaching

You’re spending time, probably money, and emotional energy on counseling: whether psychotherapy, career counseling, personal coaching, whatever.  Yes, choosing a well-suited counselor matters, and a previous article focused on that. But making the most of your counselor can be at least as important. I offer tips in my PsychologyToday.com article today.

Embracing Eclecticism: One-size-fits-all therapy doesn't.

Therapists and counselors tend to emphasize one treatment modality: cognitive-behavioral, family systems, etc. But the research doesn't support a one-size-fits-all approach. 

The field is still in its adolescence. That means the mental health counseling is more an art than a science, and the good practitioner needs skills in a range of modalities and must restrain the temptation to too-often rely on his or her favorite modality, but flex to accommodate that client's needs.

My PsychologyToday.com article today fleshes this out and provides supporting data.

Life Decisions: Two poems by a career and personal coach

I've been career and personal coach to over 5,000 clients. And the longer I do it, the less sure I am that there are clear-enough answers. Of course, it could simply be that I'm an inadequate counselor. 

In any event, as my PsychologyToday.com contribution today, I offer two poems I've written that acknowledge that lack of clarity.          

Even the Brainiest May Need Help... And Maybe You Can Help

The Society for Neuroscience is a prestigious organization for scientists studying the brain. More than 30,000 people from 80 countries, mainly hard-science PhDs. attend its annual conference, which will end tomorrow morning. 

Yesterday and today, I was privileged to do 15-minute one-on-one career coaching with attendees.  

In my PsychologyToday.com article today, I offer summaries of some of the sessions. It should offer career lessons for a broader audience as well to remind us that if even top scientists can benefit from help from not-technical people, perhaps you can too. It also suggests that you may be able to help technical people even if you're not technical.

How I Coach Actors

I use a number of techniques in coaching actors that may be useful in many forms of coaching, counseling, and management. I describe them in my PsychologyToday.com article today.
 

Co-Coaching: "I'll Coach You if You Coach Me" (New version)

In co-coaching, you coach a friend for a half-hour and then your friend coaches you for a half hour. 

In my PsychologyToday.com article today, I explain why it's often a great thing to do and how to do it.

And this Saturday from 10 AM to noon at the main branch of the San Francisco Public Library, I'll do a workshop on how to co-coach. It's free. HERE's more info on it. 

UPDATE: They made videos of parts of it:

Marty Nemko, Co-coaching Introduction
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbrQx-qVoC0

Marty Nemko, Co-coaching Short Example
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_m3pEohm3s

Marty Nemko, Co-coaching Example Lesson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAWqovItVgc

Marty Nemko, Co-coaching Audience Participation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZmLpgWTcrQ