1. Counsellingthe whole person:a marriage of personal and career counselling.
For careercounsellingtobe mosteffective itneedstotake intoconsiderationthe whole person,not
justan individual’sinterests,abilitiesandpersonality. Of course these thingsare essentialinorder
to give goodadvice butit isalsoimportantto understandwhat‘makesapersontick’. A person’s
moods,feelings,spirituality,physical fitnessandmental agilityall needtobe consideredingiving
careeradvice.
In a worldwhere the onlyconstantischange,we needtobe able to assist our students todevelop
life skills thatenable themnot justtoaccept positive change buttoembrace it:to see itas both
excitingandchallenging.Thiswill assistthemtofind successandfulfilmentintheircareerjourney.
We wantour studentstofindhappiness,butalso tounderstandthatlife isaseriesof ‘ups’and
‘downs’ andwe needtobe able toenjoythe ‘ups’ andlearnfromthe ‘downs’.ThisiswhyIbelieve
that ‘marrying’the rolesof careercounsellorandpersonal counsellorcanbe the edifyingapproach
for boththe studentandthe practitioner.
Counsellingshouldtherefore have aholisticapproach;itcouldbe saidthat such counselling islife
coaching. Life coachinghelpsindividualstodetermine andachieve theirpersonal goals.Itaimsto
impartskillsandattitudesthatwill assistindividualstoexperience successandtobe happy and
fulfilled. Holisticcounsellingaddressesthe whole being,ratherthanjustfocusingonaparticular
physical,mental,spiritualoremotional state.
One of the benefitsof holisticcounsellingis thatithelpsclients todevelopself-empowerment.We
needtoassiststudentsto:
 be able to take responsibilityforthemselvesandtheirownlearning
 setgoals:short,mediumandlongterm
 accept themselves- ‘wartsandall’,andfindthe courage to deal with issues andtomake
changesin theirliveswhenthe needarises.
 be resilient
 serve othersandpractise randomacts of kindness
 have a healthylifestyle (eatingwell,sleepingwell,maintainbalance andtakingtime outfor
recreation)
 developgood communicationskills
 learnto relax
 utilise the powerof positive thinking
 nevergive upevenwhenthe going getstough- insteadseeingproblemsaschallengesthat
can be conquered
 laughand have fun
 make wise decisionsinlife style choices- consideringissuesrelatingto substance abuse
 take calculatedrisksandlearnfrommistakes
 developtime management skills
 manage stress,- a small amountismotivating, while toomuchcanleadto illness
 have a positive setof values- honesty,integrity,reliability…
 think,thinkandthinkagain!

2. I believethatthe mostimportantforce inour lives ismotivationanda positive emotional quotient
(EQ)- withoutthese,anindividual will notfulfil hisorherpotential. A formulaIshare withmy
studentsisP= (K+S+IQ)(M+EQ). Inthisformula,performance isafunctionof anindividual’s
knowledge,skillsandIQall multipliedbymotivationandEQ.No matterhow much knowledge or
skillswe have orhowhighour IQ, withoutmotivationandapositive EQitwill notamountto much.
Findingacareer isa life journey- itisexpectedthatwe will have a numberof differentjobsina
lifetimeandeven the same jobwill change overtime withchangesintechnology,new researchand
enlightenments.Successdependsonhow we can handle change;the betterourlife skills,the more
equippedwe will be tohandle it.
To get to knowsomeone fully takestime andthisiswhyIlove myrole ina school where itispossible
to see studentsdevelopovertime.AtWestminster,Iambothpersonal andcareercounsellorandI
alsoteach a subjectcalled ‘Careers’whichembraces all those factorswhichIbelieve canleadan
individualtofulfilhisorher potential.
I encourage students todreamdreamsandfindtheirpassionbut alsoto be realistic- thisinvolves
havinga ‘back-up’plan andnot ‘puttingall theireggsinone basket’. Ialsoencourage themtobe
humanbeingsnot justhumandoings- tostop andsmell the roses, toacknowledge theirspiritual
domainand to enjoytheirlife andtheircareers.
Andremember,theydon’tcare howmuchyou know until theyknow how much youcare!
JennyHowland
Headof Careersand Counselling
WestminsterSchool,SouthAustralia