Active Listening

Carl Rogers on, 'My way of facilitating a group', quite simply uses the same techniques as we would do with an individual interaction. Active listening is a major role in group work and aspiring to make sure every person, who wants to be, is heard. He doesn't make assumption that everyone will actively participate in discussion and doesn't belive in forcing anyone into a situation they may feel uncomfortable with. He uses a 'Climate Setting Function' where he sets the tone of the group session as a free, fairly unstructured session, taking direction from the group and presents himself in a relaxed fashion as to promote the same feel with the session. He describes a notion that he doesn't agree with in group work as 'Non-facilitative behaviour': …show more content…
Implementation of the Careers Education Standard (DYW) within schools was evident as I witnessed while on placement. In one school they had a representative for DYW who works intensely within the school with a clear objective of making sure that this standard is being delivered throughout the curriculum. From what I experienced and integrated myself throughout the interview process in schools, Career Management Skills (CMS) was at the forefront of every interaction. Although I used it just as a prompt to enhance my exploration skills, CMS is a core element in all practice currently. However, this can conflict with the idea of a person-centred approach as CMS is an imposed external goal which puts more focus on a higher set objective than that of the …show more content…
Every person is an individual and at different points in their career journey. Some may just need that one 'meaningful' interaction to make all the difference, where others need more sufficient help and guidance. How we categorise who needs what is defined by our assessment as practitioners, but also through the input of other governing bodies and policies that weigh down upon us. It may seem like a struggle at times to feel like, as a Careers professional, you have accomplished the delivery of a successful intervention with meaningful interaction based on active listening, working together, relationship building and facilitating. At times it seems as though the struggle comes from higher up the ladder, however, it can also come from the individual who you are trying to help. Either way, goals are determined by both those higher up the ladder and the clients. Subsequently, both affect how we perceive the client-centred approach as goals from government, for instance, are based on facts and figures where client goals can be unrealistic based on where they want to ultimately be in a career in relation to what fits within what the 'facts and figures' tell us. Our goal as practitioners is to facilitate clients to be flexible and prepare them for life-long learning with the use of CMS as jobs are not finite anymore. Thus, goal-directed interventions and client-centred approaches must marry together to attempt

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