Informational interviews can be great tools for your clients or students (and you) to use to explore potential career options. For this discussion, summarize your informational interview so your peers can learn from your research. Include the specialization of the person interviewed and summarize the responses to the following questions: In what kind of environment does the person work (school, community center, private practice) and how has that environment affected his or her own career development? How does the interviewee integrate career counseling into his or her practice? What career counseling models does the counselor use in his or her practice (school counselors should consider P-12 comprehensive career development; mental health counselors consider theories and models of clinical mental health counseling)? What inventories or assessments does the person use and how are they integrated into the individual or group career plans? Describe their work with those who are of a different culture or race. What strategies for career development program planning, organization, implementation, administration, and evaluation does the interviewee use? What are the rewards and challenges to the job? What advice did the person have for you as a counselor in training to integrate career counseling into your specialization? How did this informational interview increase your knowledge about integrating career counseling into your specialization? In your post, please also include any additional, relevant information or insights you gained from your interview. Response Guidelines Respond to the posts of at least two of your peers and provide feedback. Compare and contrast their interviews from your interview in the approach to integrating career counseling into their practices. You must respond to at least one peer from a different specialization. First peer posting Who was interviewed? I interviewed Melissa Edelmayer. She is a licensed independent social worker. In Ohio, social workers are eligible to practice counseling with the proper training and education. I have known Mrs. Edelmayer for approximately 9 years. She currently works at a private practice agency called Providers for Healthy Living. She specializes in mental health counseling with juveniles with training in CBT, Motivational Interviewing, and I-FAST where she has addressed substance abuse disorders, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, Conduct Disorder, Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, anxiety disorders, and family dysfunction In what kind of environment does the person work (school, community center, private practice) and how has that environment affected his or her own career development? As stated above, she currently works in private practice. Prior to her joining a private practice agency almost two years ago, she worked in a myriad of positions in non-profit mental health organizations ranging from Clinician to Director of Residential Care. Her.

1. Informational interviews can be great tools for your clients or
students (and you) to use to explore potential career options.
For this discussion, summarize your informational interview so
your peers can learn from your research. Include the
specialization of the person interviewed and summarize the
responses to the following questions:
In what kind of environment does the person work (school,
community center, private practice) and how has that
environment affected his or her own career development?
How does the interviewee integrate career counseling into his or
her practice?
What career counseling models does the counselor use in his or
her practice (school counselors should consider P-12
comprehensive career development; mental health counselors
consider theories and models of clinical mental health
counseling)?
What inventories or assessments does the person use and how
are they integrated into the individual or group career plans?
Describe their work with those who are of a different culture or
race.
What strategies for career development program planning,
organization, implementation, administration, and evaluation
does the interviewee use?
What are the rewards and challenges to the job?
What advice did the person have for you as a counselor in
training to integrate career counseling into your specialization?
How did this informational interview increase your knowledge
about integrating career counseling into your specialization?
In your post, please also include any additional, relevant
information or insights you gained from your interview.
Response Guidelines
Respond to the posts of at least two of your peers and provide
feedback. Compare and contrast their interviews from your
interview in the approach to integrating career counseling into
their practices. You must respond to at least one peer from a

2. different specialization.
First peer posting
Who was interviewed?
I interviewed Melissa Edelmayer. She is a licensed independent
social worker. In Ohio, social workers are eligible to practice
counseling with the proper training and education. I have known
Mrs. Edelmayer for approximately 9 years. She currently works
at a private practice agency called Providers for Healthy Living.
She specializes in mental health counseling with juveniles with
training in CBT, Motivational Interviewing, and I-FAST where
she has addressed substance abuse disorders, Oppositional
Defiant Disorder, Conduct Disorder, Attention-
Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Post-traumatic Stress Disorder,
anxiety disorders, and family dysfunction
In what kind of environment does the person work (school,
community center, private practice) and how has that
environment affected his or her own career development?
As stated above, she currently works in private practice. Prior
to her joining a private practice agency almost two years ago,
she worked in a myriad of positions in non-profit mental health
organizations ranging from Clinician to Director of Residential
Care. Her experiences in residential have greatly influenced her
career development and decision to join private practice. With
larger agencies, there exist a larger bureaucracy that controls
the direction of clinical practice. Mrs. Edelmayer stated that she
has been appreciative of the experiences she received in these
environments; however, she required some additional freedoms
that allow her to spread her “clinical wings” into a new area.
How does the interviewee integrate career counseling into his or
her practice?
Mrs. Edelmayer stated that she has not solely focused on
integrating career counseling into her practices as most of her
clients tend to be youth and are afflicted with mental health and
behavioral issues; however, she admits that there is some career
counseling involved with many of her juvenile clients especially

3. towards the middle of her treatments. Mrs. Edelmayer stated
that this is useful in planning as career (or in the case of many
of her clients, education) goals tend to be universal in many
settings and situations throughout the lifespan process.
What career counseling models does the counselor use in his or
her practice (school counselors should consider P-12
comprehensive career development; mental health counselors
consider theories and models of clinical mental health
counseling)?
Mrs. Edelmayer states that she is extensively trained in
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Because of this, she has utilized
it in ways that implement career counseling objectives and
goals. Because CBT is rooted in the theory that cognitive
processes (which includes feelings and beliefs) determine
behaviors, it makes sense that irrational or miscommunicated
feelings and beliefs can lead to incorrect behaviors. Especially
when working with youth, it can be a matter of challenging
these feelings and beliefs in an attempt to change the behaviors
so they can be more congruent to accepted societal norms. With
career counseling, it can provide hope to break cycles of poor
behaviors.
What inventories or assessments does the person use and how
are they integrated into the individual or group career plans?
Mrs. Edelmayer was asked specifically about career inventories.
She stated that for her older adolescent clientele (and more), she
uses the Career Thoughts Inventory. She stated that this has
been especially useful in helping her clients help make
decisions about which direction to take with their careers and
appropriately integrated into her mental health sessions to work
towards having unifying goals. She is able to streamline her
services with their wants and needs.
Describe their work with those who are of a different culture or
race.
Mrs. Edelmayer describes working with people of all different
backgrounds including variations in race/ethnicity, cultural
identity, sex, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation,

4. ableism, and socioeconomic status. She also acknowledges that
her own unique cultural background has made her much more
aware of how these different roles intersect for people of all
backgrounds.
What strategies for career development program planning,
organization, implementation, administration, and evaluation
does the interviewee use?
Mrs. Edelmayer states that this is not necessarily the focus of
her role since her clientele is largely juveniles with mental
health concerns; however, with her partners, the topic is
discussed during their supervision and consultation.
What are the rewards and challenges to the job?
Mrs. Edelmayer states that with her being in the field so long, it
is always nice to see former clients who were on the brink of
despair return from that place and lead happy, healthy lives in
the best way they define it. The greatest challenges have been
losing clients to death for circumstances that have been outside
of her care.
What advice did the person have for you as a counselor in
training to integrate career counseling into your specialization?
Mrs. Edelmayer re-emphasized her above statements by saying
that it does not have to be particularly challenging to add career
counseling goals into mental health treatment. She stated that if
clinicians look at the totality of the client, it only makes sense
for career counseling goals to be integrated into the clinical
sessions.
How did this informational interview increase your knowledge
about integrating career counseling into your specialization?
Because I have worked with Mrs. Edelmayer in the past, I have
already had a decent amount of these conversations with her.
With this particular interview, I was better able to understand
how to implement career counseling by using CBT as I, too,
have novice experience with it. We also discussed how using
Motivational Interviewing in conjunction with our clients who
have a substance abuse issue could benefit from these
conversations; however, we both agreed that it is best to address

5. the substance abuse issue first before discussing career goals.
Second peer posting
Informational Interview
Erick Rask, a licensed mental health counselor, was interviewed
on 11/22/16 for this discussion post. He currently functions as
the mental health specialist for the Show Low Unified School
District in Show Low, Arizona. Erick integrates career
counseling into his practice by teaching and promoting life
skills such as organization, time management, interpersonal
skills, communication, anger management, problem solving,
productivity, punctuality, attendance, attention to task, etc. into
his work with children and adolescents. This method of
integrating career services aligns with Gysbers (2013) student
career readiness skills of personal qualities, diversity skills,
social competence, positive work habits, personality, and
entrepreneurship. The thought process is that career skills are
not simply a class that seniors in high school sign up for; career
skills begin to develop early in life as parents and educators
plant the seeds for positive social, emotional, and vocational
development. By creating a foundation of prevocational skills
in elementary and junior high school, high school students and
recent graduates are better able to focus on the planning and
transitional activities associated with career readiness and
development.
Career Counseling Models, Assessments, and Strategies
The person-environment-fit model is incorporated into the
current mental health practice when providing career related
services. Erick reviews a student’s file, evaluations, and
diagnosis, and conducts additional assessment and interviews as
needed. In cooperation with the student, careers are researched
based on a match between their presenting information and the
environment. The person-environment-fit aligns individual
interests, abilities, and values to work environments that are
most conducive to their well-being and productivity (Zunker,

6. 2016). For example, a client with high social anxiety will
likely do poorly in a direct store sales position and may be
better suited to internet sales with less direct customer contact.
The Arizona Career Information System (AzCIS) is utilized to
provide comprehensive educational and career guidance to
students at the Show Low District. The system is easy to use
and readily accessible on line providing interest and values
inventories, occupational and post-secondary educational
databases, and job search tools. The tools provided with this
system aid counselors in program planning, organization,
implementation, administration, and evaluation of effective and
comprehensive career development.
Erick also incorporates components of social learning, cognitive
information processing, and happenstance theory into his career
approaches. From a social learning perspective, he takes into
consideration the abilities and disabilities of each student along
with the environmental conditions that combine to influence
their current behavior and choices. He also considers career
choice to be a result of the interaction between information
learned and the associated feeling that ultimately results in a
problem solving activity (Zunker, 2016). Erick also encourages
his students to volunteer, job shadow, and even interview
people who are active in the field they are considering. This
experiential and active approach is reminiscent of happenstance
theory, which suggests that unpredictable life events have the
potential to influence and shape individual career trajectory
(Zunker, 2016). By getting his students active and involved in
the community, they are more likely to meet new people and
gain new experiences that will benefit them in the long run.
Cultural Considerations
Erick works mainly with students of Caucasian, Hispanic, and
Native American decent. He considers culture to be extremely
important in career planning, and advises counselors new to the
field to be especially sensitive to this issue in particular. For
example, the Hispanic population is a very family oriented
culture, and career development will likely actively involve the

7. parents and even other extended family members. The opinion
and approval of family members will be very important to a
Hispanic client. Caucasian students, on the other hand, are
more likely to be independent in their career making decisions
after having talked it over with their parents outside of
counseling. Career development for Native American students
also has a very different course, especially with limited
occupational opportunities on the reservation. Additional
considerations with careers for Native Americans include the
high value that they place on rituals around death and transition
and the low value that they place on punctuality and overall
time management. Therefore, jobs with high flexibility for
attendance may be more attractive to students of Native
American decent. Again, Erick’s best advice for future career
counselors is to be very aware of how the unique culture of each
client plays into their worldview, especially their view of career
development.
Rewards and Challenges
Erick described some challenges to this work as keeping current
on job markets and trends, helping clients to narrow down
career choices, and making sure students with academic and
mental health challenges graduate with the foundational skills
necessary to secure gainful employment. Some of the rewards
that Erick identified included successfully preparing clients for
and assisting them in job placement, as well as helping them to
pinpoint potential career choices in order to narrow down their
post-secondary training or education course.
Knowledge Gained from Interview
Knowledge gained from this interview will assist the future
counselor in several ways. First, cultural diversity will be
considered a high priority for all clients, especially clients from
marginal populations. Different cultures have different norms
and expectations around career development, and these will be
important to consider in planning. Second, it will be helpful to
utilize a comprehensive career development program such as the
AzCIS. Even though certain aspects of this program may not be

8. relevant to each client served, knowing they are readily
available in a complete internet based program is helpful.
Finally, the importance of getting career minded individuals
active in the community through job shadow and volunteer
opportunities cannot be overstated. Not only is serving with a
purpose important for overall mental health, it benefits the
community and keeps the individual active and more likely to
run into potential career opportunities.
References
Gysbers, N. C. (2013). Career-ready students: A goal of
comprehensive school counseling programs.
Career Development Quarterly, 61
(3), 283-288. doi:10.1002/j.2161-0045.2013.00057.x
Zunker, V. G. (2016).
Career counseling: A holistic approach (9th ed.).
Boston, MA: Cengage Learning. ISBN 9781305087286.