Toward Trauma‐Informed Career Counseling

Abstract

The Adverse Childhood Experiences study (Felitti et al., 1998) showed that early adversity can have a profound lifelong effect on personal development, social relationships, coping methods, and career trajectories. The authors review critical findings related to trauma‐informed counseling practices, discuss literature linking trauma and career theories, and consider how career counseling could address the effects of adverse childhood experiences using trauma‐informed practices. An integration of trauma‐informed practices with career counseling using narrative and other approaches is proposed. The proposed integration holds implications for incorporating trauma‐informed practice in career counselor preparation programs and in career counseling practice.